US1791730A - Moving-figure toy - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 10, 1931. D. H. MQ BRIDE MOVING- FIGURE Toy Filed June 25, 1927 jumiddimjtiifl w rf Patented Feb. 10, 1931 UNITED STATES P-ATET OFICE same constituting a carriage.

DONALD H. MACIBRIDE, or LAPEER, vIrcrrIeAN,

ASSIGNOR, BY MESN E ASSIGNMENTS,

'20 INTERNATIONAL TOY oonroaerioN, on NEW BEDFORD, ivressecnusnrrsn CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS MOVING-FIGURE TOY Application filed June 25,

The present invention relates to figure toys provided with mechanism for giving movements to their members. Its main object is to provide such a toy having a resemblance to a duck together with mechanism for giving movements, to the body and feet of the toy similar to the waddling motions of a live duck in walking. Afurther object is to construct the .mechanism and the body of the toy in such fashion that the entire mechanism may be separately assembled and the body then applied and connected to that part. of the mechanism which is actuated by the leg members of the toy.

The preferred construction embodying the principles of the invention is described in the following specification with reference to the drawings. 7

In the drawings,'

' Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away and shown in section, of a figure toy exemplifying the preferred construction of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

Fig. 3 is an under plan view;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 44 of Fig. l and viewed in the direction of the arrows applied to such line;

F 5 is a perspective view of a saddle which forms part of the mechanism of the toy and to which the body is connected;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of'the leg members of the toy.

Like reference characters designate the parts wherever they occur in all the figures. 1

The base of the toy consists of a platform 1, forward wheels 2, 2, rear wheels 3, 3, and axles 4 and 5, on which the forward and rear wheels, respectively, are mounted, the whole Preferably, the

i v platform is made'of sheet metal with clownturned flanges 6 throughout its periphery. T It may be so formed from a flat blank y drawing operations of the sort well under stood by those skilled in the art of working sheet metal. The flanges at opposite sides of-the platform are pierced with alined holes to provide bearings for the axles, which'bearings are sufliciently far below the platform mounted an upright'post 9 1927. Serial No. 201,296.

proper to give room beneath the latter for the parts of the'mechanism whichare there and 8, offset in opposite directions to one an-.

other and conveniently formed by. making the axle of wire and bending it in the appropriate way. The friction tight connection between this axle and the rear wheels enables the wheels to turn thelaxle and operate the mechanism driven thereby whenthe carriage is rolled over a floor.

At a convenient point on the platform, preferably at or near its middle, there is providing a pivot on which the body 10 of the'toy is mounted and has its Jmovements. This post may be securely attached to theplatform by being passed through a hole therein and having secured upon it, friction tight, washers 11 and 12 embracing the platform. The lowerend of the post is formed with a head 13 which insures its proper placement in assembling and its retention afterwards.

The body 10 is preferably made of wood,

formed by turning into generally oval shape, 7

but tapering to a point l i'at the rear end. The head 15, provided with a beak 16, is likewise preferably made of wood and formed in a turning lathe. by a dowel 17 forming a short-neck. A fanlike pieceof sheet metal 18, inserted into a saw cut in the back of thebody near the rear end forms a tail. body from itsunder sidenear its center of gravity to receive the post 9. Being supported atwhat is practically a single point, the body is capable of tilting in any direction about its point of support and also of swinging laterally about the axis of the post.

Leg pieces or members 20 and 21 carrying the webs 22 simulating the web feet of the duck, are connected to the body, at opposite 7 It is attachedto the body A hole 19 is cut into the their lower ends to bars 23 and 24, respectively, which in turn are connected at their rear ends to the cranks 7 and 8. Their forward ends are adapted to slide back and forth in guides 25 near the forward end of the platform.

The guides are conveniently formed by cutting short'parallel slits in the platform crossing the locations occupied by these bars and striking down the material between these slits far enough to leave a space through which the bars may pass. In other words, the guides are preferably straps integrally connected at their ends with the platform but struck down from the plane of the platform far enough to admit the bars.

Saidbars may be made of sheet metal sufiiciently thick to be stiff enough for the purpose, but additionally stiffened by a flange 26 bent down atone edge, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or by similar flanges at both edges, if desired. These bars are connected to the axles by being bent around them. They are preferably offset near their forward ends, as shown in Fig. 1, so that those parts which connect with the leg members are approximately horizontal when the cranks are horizontal.

Each leg member is preferably made in one piece with its attached foot member 22, by being stamped from sheet metal and the foot member afterwards being twisted at right angles to its originalrelation. The leg member proper has an eye 27 at its upper end and a tongue 28, flanked by a shoulder or shoulders 29 at its lowerend. The leg 20 is connected with thebar or connecting rod 23 and the leg 21 with the bar or connecting rod 2a, in each case approximately midway be tween the end of the bar connected to the crank axle and that end which slides in the forward guideway, by passing its tongue 28 through ahole in the bar of sufficient dimensions to admit the tongue freely, and then bending up the projecting end of the tongue. The shoulders 29 and tongue 28 then form abutments on the leg member between which thebar or connecting rod is confined, but it is thus confined loosely and flexibly.

The'foot part of the leg member is located between the body of the toy and the platform at such a height" above the latter as to permit unimpeded movements of the members in the manner later described, but at the same time near enough to the platform to give an appearance of walking thereon.

The preferred mode of connecting the leg members to the body is to provide a saddle 30 having a bearing 31 to receive the end of the post 9, and having downwardly projecting tabs 32, 33 at opposite sides or ends, each tab terminating in a hook at capable of passing through the eye 27 of one of the leg members and being interconnected therewith. Such saddle piece with itstabs and hooks may be cut in a single piece from sheet metal and then bent substantially as herein, shown.

The bearing 31 is formed by offsetting the central portion of the saddle. The end of the post is preferably made with a spherical curvature and the bearing in the saddle formed complemental thereto, so as to center mg removal of the body after assemblage. It is to be understood that the saddle is made from sheet metal sufiiciently-thick and stiffv to servethe purposes thu's'indicated. Sheet steel is a suitable material for making all of the sheet 'metal members herein described, and the sheets from which the various members are cut may be of any gauge suitedto-the duty to be performed and to the dimensions and weights ofthe parts of the' toy.

When the toy is pushedor pulled over 'a' floor, the bars 23 and 24L are moved back and forthfand at the'same time moved up and down as to all points except those engaged with the guides 25. The leg members 20and 21, at their points of connection with these bars, are thereby also moved back and'forth, and upan'd down also, and they transmit these movements in' some degree, but not in equal measure, to the saddle 30 and body 10. But the body, being held by the post 9, is moved only angularly about the upper end of the post, and it isso'movedwith a combination of sidewise tilting and swinging in the horizontal plane. The legs at the same time have anangular swinging movement on the hooks 34 with respect to'the' body. Due to this swinging movement, in connection with the rise and descent of the leg members, the feet 22 are in turn lifted, moved forward, lowered and then moved backward in repeat ing cycles, while the body swings from side to side and tilts or sways at the same time. The whole effect is a recognizable and eludicrous simulation of the'waddle of-a duck. In obtaining this effect, the leg members act as links pushing and pulling the body at opposite sides of the post alternately up and down while moving the feet up and down and back and forth. The joints at each end of the legs are loose and flexible enough topermit these movements to take-place freely. Such upward movement is applied by either connect-.

ing bar to its attached leg or link member upon-the shoulder 29 to raise it, while the 5 other bar pulls down on the tongue 28 of the other leg.

. It will be appreciated that by virtue of the saddle 30 the mechanical parts of the toy may be-builtup and assembled independently of thebody, and that the parts of this'mechanism may be standardized so that all duplicate parts can be made with a high degree of precision and approximately exactly alike. That is, the parts so made are susceptible of manufacture within smaller limits of tolerance than is possible with turned and bored wooden pieces, such as the body. The body is mounted on the saddle after the parts of the mechanism have been assembled. Considerable variations in the dimensions of the body and in the depth'of the hole 19 which is bored therein may therefore occur without derangement of the mechanism or impairment of the effect produced thereby. The saddle is also a wear plate preventing the wearing and change of relationship of the parts which would occur if the wooden body were caused to rest directly on the end of the post. However, it is within the contemplation of my invention to omit the saddle and mount the body directly on the post, then connecting the legs directly to the body. In either case, however, whether the body is directly or indirectly supported on the post and directly or indirectly connected to the leg members, the same essential combination and result is present of a body mounted on a pivot and connected with legs in such manner as to be tilted and swayed thereby.

ll hat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A figure toy comprising a wheeled platform, oppositely disposed cranks driven by the wheels of said platform, reciprocatively mounted bars connected with the respective cranks, supporting guides for said bars at points remote from the cranks, a body supported on said platform in a manner permitting swinging and tilting movements, and leg members flexibly connected to said body and said bars at points on the latter intermediate the cranks and guides.

2. A figure toy comprising a platform, supporting wheels for said platform, a post rising from the platform, a saddle supported on the top of the post and having tabs extending downward at opposite sides thereof, leg members flexibly connected to said tabs and depending therefrom, means driven by the wheels and connected to the leg members for giving opposite movements both up and down and forward and back to said leg members, and a toy figure body having a hole receiving said saddle and engaged therewith.

3. A figure toy comprising a platform, supportingwheels for said platform, a post risin from tl platform, a saddle supported on the top of the post and having tabs extending downward at opposite sides thereof, leg members flexibly connected to said tabs and depending therefrom, means driven by the wheels and connected to the leg members for giving opposite movements both up and down and forward and back to said leg members, and a toy figure body having a hole receiving said saddle and engaged therewith, the tab the platform into individual engagement with the respective bars.

5. A figure toy mechanism comprising a platform, axles having bearings in said platform, one of said axles having oppositely directed cranks, wheels on said axlesadapted to support the platform on a floor, bars each connected at one end to one of said cranks and having sliding engagement with the platform at points remote from the cranks, a post rising from the platform, a saddle having ball and socket engagement with the upper end of the post, leg members connected to said saddle at opposite sides of thepost passing through the platform into connection, each with one of the before mentioned bars, and a toy figure body having a hole receiving and surrounding said saddle and post.

6. A figure toy mechanism comprising a platform, axles having bearings in said platform, one of said axles having oppositely directed cranks, wheels on said axles adapted to support the platform on a floor, bars each connected at one end to one of said cranks and having sliding engagement with the platform at points remote from the cranks, a body mounted with provision for universal swinging movement upon and above said platform, leg members flexibly connected with said body at opposite sides of the middle part thereof depending therefrom and projecting through the platform into connection each with one of said bars, the said connections; comprising terminal tongues on the leg members passing through the respective bars and bent up under them. 7. In a toy of the character set forth, a leg member consisting of a sheet metal bar having a tongue portion at one end and a shoulder adjacent to such end, and a motion transmitt-ing bar having a hole through which said tongue portion extends, the end of the tongue portion being bent, and said last named bar being confined between the bent tongue end and the before mentioned shoulder.

8. In a toy of the character described, a combined leg and foot member comprising a bar stamped from sheet metal having a web integrally joined at one side, said web being twisted at right anglesto the plane of the bar and representing a toot.

9. In a toy ot the character described, a

saddle member having downturned tabs at opposite sides, a bearing in the part between said tabs, and hooks on the extremities of the tabs.

10. In a toy of the character described, a saddle member having downturned tabs at opposite sides, a bearing in the part between said tabs, book on the extremities of the tabs, and spurs struck out from the tabs.

11. A. figure toy comprising a base having wheels, a support on said base, a body fulcrumed on said support at. a distance above the base and being tiltable and horizontally oscillatable with-respect thereto, leg members connected flexibly to said body at opposite sides-thereof in the same transverse plane with the fulcrum point of the body, depending therefrom and having foot portions, and means driven by the wheels of the base for moving the leg members alternately to one another and each in rotation forwardly, downwardly, rearwardly and upwardly; the leg connections with the body giving to the latter horizontal oscillating movements and vertical transverse tilting movements.

In testimony-whereof l haXe affixed my signature.

DONALD H. MAOBRIDE.

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