US2673419A - Toy smoking locomotive - Google Patents

Description

March 30, 1954 L. F. Kl-:LcH ET AL 2,673,419

TOY SMOKING LOCOMOTIVE Filed Dot. 9, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 30, l1954 L. F, KELCH ET AL 2,673,419

TOY SMOKING LOCOMOTIVE Filed 001'.. 9, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. E37-EP F." KELC'H Patented Mar. 30, 1954 TOY SMOKING LOCOMOTIVE Lester Kelch and AJohn R. Bonnett, Girard, Pa.,

assignorsto Louis Marx N. Y., a corporation of N Application October 9, 1948, vSerial No. 53,628

(Cl. llli-9) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, especially toy locomotives, and V.more particularly to smoking locomotives.

It has already been proposed to provi-de .a .toy locomotive with a smoke generator .and an air displacement device .to help eject the smoke in pulls. One object of .the present invention is to provide such a toy locomotive with air -displacement means lwhich is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is compact enough kto fit in a small locomotive, yet which displaces a large volume of air.

Another object is to .provide yan accessory or smoke generating and puiing unit which may be inserted in a toy locomotive which locomotive otherwise and in other respects is of .standard construction. Still another object .is .to provide a smoke generator which does not require special chemicals or fuel, but which instead may `be readily fuelled, anywhere, and at negligible cost.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specic objects which will `hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the smoke generating, smoke puffing and toy locomotive Ypropulsion mechanism and their relation one to another as are hereinafter lmore Apar ticularly described -in the following specifica.- tion. The specification is aocompanied'by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a toy 'locomotive embodying features of our invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken approximately in the plane of the line l2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section vtaken in elevation approximately in the plane of the line 3-'3 of Fig. 2

Fig, 4 is a fragmentary plan View taken yapproximately in the plane of the `line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail explanatory of a modication;

Fig. 6 is a plan vview with .the locomotive body removed and the smoke unit separated from the motor unit; and

Fig. 7 is an elevational view showing the motor unit and the parts of the smoke unit separated from one another.

Referring to the drawings, the toy locomotive comprises a motor unit I2, including drive wheels I4, a smoke generating device I6, and air displacement means to eject smoke in puifs, said means including `a iiattened cylinder I8 extending across the locomotive from side to side at about the position of the simulated steam cylinders 20, and a relatively elongated air pis- & Company, New York, ew York ton 22 (Figs. 2 and 3:) in the flattened cylinder I8. There are also simulated connecting rods 24 at the sides ofthe drive Wheels I4. These are arranged to operate in unison rather than in alternation, ,the forward ends of the connecting rods being operatively connected in common `to the aforesaid .elongated `piston 22.

The smoke unit comprises a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem portion 2,6 vof the T being hallowed to forma smoke chamber 28 (Fig. 3,)3 The air cylinder I8 previously referred to is formed in the crossbar of the T, said cylinder being :closed at the front :by a wall 30, and open at the back. There is a passage .32 which leads from the air cylinder I8 to the smoke pipe 34. The passage might connect the air cylinder to the ,bottom of the chamber 28, .but we prefer to make :the connection at the top, the air being admitted above or vat the top kof the smoke chamber, where it is `closed Vby a smoke pipe 34.

The smoke .generator ,itself comprises an approximately cylindrical, oil saturable Wick V36 (Figs. 3 and 7) and a resistance wire heater 38 Wound about the wick. The ends of the coil pass sidewardly through the wall of the chamber, one send, in this case the lower end, being grounded to the metal .unit, and the other end, in this case the upper end, passing .through a thin tube of 'insulation :H4 (Figs. 2, 4 and '7), preferably porcelain Vor ceramic insulation. In Figs. 3 and 7 it will .be noted that ythe ends of the wick are flattened, upset or expanded, as indicated at 40. vThis v.helps center the -coil in the chamber, and prevents the lmetal Wall of the chamber from short-circuiting Ythe turns of the coil.

Considering `the illustrated toy yin greater detail, and referring rst to Fig. 1, the toy locomotive there shown comprises a locomotive body including a boiler portion 42 and a cab Aportion 44. These may be formed out of a single piece of sheet metal or a singledie the usual simulations lof 'headlight 46, smoke stack 48 and steam domes 50 and 52. In thepresent case the locomotive is eight-wheeled, and of the 2-4-2 type, that is, there is a pilot truck `with two small Wheels 54, four main drive wheels I4 and I5, and a rear pilot truck beneath the cab with small wheels 5'6. The forward y,pilot truck is suitably articulated, as by means of vthe pivoted arms 58, to help the locomotive negotiate turns in the track. The articulation ofthe rear truck is not shown. `In accordance with conventional practice, the pilot trucks may `be casting. 'I'here are mounted on the locomotive body, while the drivers I4 and I5 remain with the motor unit when the motor unit is separated from the locomotive body. The locomotive body may include additional details, such as the hand rails 60, cow catcher 82, and valve cylinders S4.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and '7, the motor unit may be conventional, and comprises side plates 85 carrying a propulsion motor therebetween, the field laminations being shown at $8, and the field winding being schematically indicated at l0. The armature is mounted on a shaft l2 (Fig. '7) carrying a pinion i4 meshing with an intermediate gear 16. The latter meshes with gear teeth I8 (Fig. 6) formed on both the wheels I4 and I5 just inside the flanges thereof. If the locomotive is of the remote control type, it may be provided with a suitable relay, the coil of which is shown at 80, the said relay serving to reverse the direction of operation of the locomotive. It will be understood that the axles of the wheels, and the shaft of the intermediate gear, as well as the armature, are all carried in the side plates or bearing plates 66.

At the forward end of the motor unit, a vertical plate 82 is rigidly secured to the side plates 66, as by means of bent tongue and slot connections 85 (Fig. 6). This plate 82 carries a horizontal bottom plate 86, and curved end plates 26. For simplicity these are all formed of a singe piece of sheet metal, the bottom plate 8S being bent forwardly, and the end plates being bent upwardly. The latter are preferably bent on a radius to simulate the outside of steam cylinders.

The plate 82 carries near its ends spaced, hori- Zontal guides or ways 88 on which a simulated crosshead 90 is slidable. The ways S8 are stamped from a single piece of heavy gauge sheet metal and are bent inwardly at their forward ends, where they are eyeletted to the plate 82, as is indicated at 92 (Fig. 6). The crossheads 9G are made of sheet metal and are bent around the ways 88.

The simulated connecting rods 24 are carried at their rear ends on suitable crank pins S4 projecting from the rear wheels I4. The forward ends of the connecting rods are pivoted to the crossheads 90. For simplicity they are here pivoted by means of sidewardly bent ends S8 of simulated piston rods 98, the intermediate portion of the piston rod being visible from outside the locomotive between the ways 88, and the forward ends of said piston rods passing through the eyelets 92, and being connected to the piston 22. The piston 22 is itself a piece of sheet metal having an outline best shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This outline is such as to fit the air cylinder formed in the base or crossbar portion of the die cast smoke unit previously referred to. The bottom wall 86 serves to pivotally carry the pilot truck arms 58, the pivotal connections for which are indicated at (Fig. 6). The bottom wall 86 and the end walls 2i) also serve to receive the smoke unit, which is shown separated from the motor unit in Figs. 6 and '7 of the drawing. More specifically, the base portion or crossbar of the inverted T-shaped smoke unit ts above the plate 86 and between the ends 20. The ends of the die cast unit have blind holes |02 which register with threaded holes |84 in the end pieces 20.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing, the holes |02 and |04 register with holes |06 in the depending side pieces or steam vave simulations (is previously'referred to. Screws |08 hold all of these parts in assembled relation; that is, the screws pass through the parts 84 of the locomotive body into and through the threaded holes li of the motor unit, and thence into the blind holes 02 in the ends of the smoke unit. The screws |08 are conventionally employed in this particular toy locomotive to hold the locomotive body and motor unit in assembled relation. In the present case the same screws additionally hold the smoke unit in desired position. While not important to the present invention, it may be mentioned that the rear end of the motor unit is connected to the locomotive body by means of notches'in thev side plates of the motor unit, such as the notches indicated at Ill) in Fig. 7, these notches fitting around a cross ledge in the locomotive body. In consequence the two screws |08, one at each side of the locomotive, are the only screws needed to hold the motor unit and locomotive in assembled relation, and they also hold the smoke unit.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be understood that when the smoke unit is slid rearwardly into the position at the front of the motor unit, the piston 22 is received in the air cylinder I8. The air cylinder is of exceptionally large volume because instead of being merely a cylinder having a diameter equal to the height of the piston 22, it extends all the way across the locomotive from one side to the other for many diameters. With this large area of piston, it becomes unimportant to provide a close fit, and the parts may be made with very large tolerance, which, of course, is important in the manufacture of inexpensive toys. For the same reason a simple, inexpensive, light-Weight sheet metal part may be used as a piston. Moreover, we have found that it is unnecessary to provide valves, for the desired effect of producing puffs of smoke will be obtained even without special valves. The connecting rods on both sides operate in unison instead of in alternation, but this does not detract from the realistic appearance of the locomotive, because the observer sees the locomotive on only one side or the other, and not on both sides at the same time.

It has already been mentioned that the smoke generator itself is a wick surrounded, and in fact compacted, by a coil of resistance wire. This wick may be made of asbestos or other suitable heat resistant material. To fuel the unit it is merely necessary to supply it with a few drops of oil from an ordinary oil can. The oil may be supplied through the smoke pipe 34 and stack L18, and it is not necessary to remove the locomotive body from the motor unit. The electric power supply is partially shown in Fig. 4. There is an insulated wire, not shown, constantly connecting the third rail shoe to relay coil There is an insulation wire I|2 extending forwardly from that wire or/ and the relay 80 to a porcelain or other refractory insulation tube I I4. This leads to the upper end of the'resistance coil.

The same supply wire may be continued lforwardly, as shown at IIE, to the base of a lamp socket, in order to energize a small head lamp IIS. Thus the third rail shoe is connected in shunt to the relay, the heater coil, and the lamp. The socket |20 may be made of sheet metal and is held in position by forwardly extending arms |22 cast integrally with the smoke unit. The outside of the socket is grounded, while the center terminal is ins-*lated and connected to the wire I.I5. The lamp bulb is disposed immediatelyvbehind e, Suitable leas holder marked 4e in Eis, L

The wire leading from the lower end or" the heater coil `is grounded, and this is most simply done by passing it through a small diameter hole |24 (Fig. 7.) in the smoke unit. The metal near the hole may subsequently be hammered or staked inwardly by means of a centering punch or the like, Vin order to insure a goodground connection, and to help physically position .the coil in the center of the smoke chamber.

The smoke .pipe 34 is preferably a separate die casting having .an enlarged base |26 which is dimensioned to t over a circular flange |28 with a tight fit. Fig. 7 clearly shows the smoke pipe 34 separated or lifted upwardly from the flange |28 formed at the top of the diecast smoke unit. The smoke pipe 34 is dimensioned to connect with the simulated stack "58 (Figs. l, 2 and 43), thus guiding the smoke out of the stack. The pipe 34 may, if desired, be flanged, Ias shown at |36, the said flange closing the bottom of the stack 48, as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. However, it is not essential to use such a ilange, and Fig. shows a modification in which the ange has been omitted. In this case the smoke pipe 34 guides the smoke to the stack 48, much as previously described, but the space around pipe 34' is left open. This may be done if it is desired to permit some of the light from the lamp H8 to escape up the stack, in which case it may help illuminate the smoke emitted from the stack. This is of no effect in the daytime, but may increase the visibility of the smoke when operating the locomotive in the dark.

It has already been mentioned that the air cylinder is connected to an upright passage 32. In the present case this passage is disposed outside of and forwardly of the smoke chamber i6. At the top of the unit a notch is cut radially, indicated rat v|32 in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. The effect of this notch is `that when the smoke pipe 34 is pressed down over the smoke unit, the pipe not only closes the top of the smoke chamber, but provides a communication from passage 32 through the notch to the top ofthe smoke chamber, or, from another viewpoint, to the point of connection between the smoke chamber therebeneath and the smoke pipe thereabove. We have found that with this arrangement the pulls of air produced by the action of the piston causes the smoke 'to now out of the stack in intermittent puns. The absence of valves causes some suction effect between puffs, which helps interrupt or better separate the individual puffs of smoke from one another. The omission of valves greatly simplies and reduces the cost of manufacture of the toy.

Some of the benet of using valves may be and preferably is obtained by the provision of a slot at an appropriate location in the unit. Such a slot is best shown at Illll in Fig. 3, it crossing the upright air passage '32. The slot may be made in a number of ways, one being that shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 7, in accordance with which a recess or -groove is machined or molded entirely across the unit at the forward face thereof.

With this arrangement considerable air is drawn inwardly through the slot Illi during the suction stroke of the piston. However, during the forward or pressure stroke of the piston air tends to be blown directly upward through the air passage 32, rather than outwardly through the slot |40. This improves the smoke pulling action. For this purpose the slot should be located above the cylinder across the air passage, rather than at the end of the cylinder. The use of such an air passage or `port is an optional, and notan iiidispensable feature of the invention.

It will be understood that while we have obtained excellent results with the air passage 32 connected above the smoke chamber, it is not essential that this be done, and if desired it may be connected to the .smoke chamber itself at an intermediate point, or even at the bottom, instead of at a point above the smoke chamber.

It is believed that the construction, operation and method of use of our improved smoking locomotive, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while we have shown and described our invention in a preferred form. changes may be made in the structure disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought to be defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A toy smoking locomotive of small dimension comprising motor driven drive wheels, a smoke generating device, and air displacement means of relatively large dimension to eject smoke from the smoke generating device in puffs, said means including a flattened cylinder extending continuously across the locomotive all the `way from one side to the other side at about the position of the simulated steam cylinders, a relatively elongated air piston extending from side to side across the locomotive in said flattened cylinder, simulated connecting rods at the sides of the drive wheels arranged to operate in unison rather than in alternation, the forward ends of said connecting rods being connected in common to the aforesaid elongated piston with one rod at one end andthe other rod at the other end of the piston, said smoke generating device comprising a relatively slender smoke chamber disposed in upright position, an upright oil-saturable smoke-producing wick with an electrically heatable resistance coil wound thereabout disposed in said chamber for generating smoke, an upright smoke pipe leading from the top of the chamber to the smoke stack of the locomotive, and means establishing a flow passage connecting the flattened cylinder to the smoke chamber and to the smoke pipe at the point where they meet in order to cause a discharge of smoke in puifs.

2. A toy smoking locomotive comprising simulated steam cylinders and a smoke generating and pung accessory received in said locomotive ahead of the drive wheels, said accessory comprising a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem of said T being partially hollowed lto form an open smoke chamber blocked olf from the crossbar of the T, a attened air cylinder formed in the crossbar of the T and closed at the front and open at the back, the dimension of said crossbar being such as 4to extend across the locomotive from side to side -at about the position of the simulated `steam cylinders, an elongated piston in said flattened cylinder substantially conforming in shape thereto, an electrically energized smoke generator vcomprisingan approximately cylindrical oil-saturable smokeproducing wick, an electrically heatable resistance wire heater wound about the intermediate portion of said wick, one end of said wire passing sidewardly through the wall of the chamber, and the ends of said wick outside the ends of the resistance coil being upset to help center the coil in the chamber and to prevent the metal wall of the chamber from short-circuiting the turns oi' the coil, an upright smoke pipe leading from the top of the chamber through the top oi the locomotive, and said casting having a iiow passage connectfng the air cylinder to the point of connection between the smoke chamber and the pipe so that it is connected above the smoke generator, in order to cause a discharge of smoke in puffs.

3. A toy smoking locomotive comprising simulated steam cylinders and a conventional boiler, cab, drive wheels, a motor unit for driving said wheels, and a smoke generating and puing accessory received in said locomotive ahead of said drive wheels, said accessory comprising a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem of said T being partially hollowed to form a smoke chamber open at the top and closed at the bottom, an oil-saturable smoke-producing wick with an electrically heatable resistance wire wound about the same disposed in said chamber, a ilattened air cylinder formed in the crossbar of the T and closed at the front and open at the back, the dimension of said cross-bar being such as to extend across the locomotive from `side to side at about the position of the simulated steam cylinders, said casting having a passage leading upward from said air cylinder through the stem of the T alongside the smoke chamber, a smoke pipe disposed over said chamber and over said passage for guiding the air into the chamber and for guiding the smoke to the locomotive stack, an elongated piston in seid cylinder substantially conforming in shape thereto, a connecting rod for connecting a driving wheel to the piston to send intermittent puils of air through the passage to the smoke generator and smoke pipe, said motor unit including side plates, said drive Wheels being outside said plates, and gearing between said motor and drive wheels, said simulated boiler being open at the bottom to receive the motor unit, said boiler having den pending supports at the simulated steam cylinders, said motor unit having sides mating with said supports, screws passing inwardly to hold the motor unit and simulated boiler in assembled relation, and the ends of said crossbar of said T receiving and being supported in position by the aforesaid screws.

4. A toy smoking locomotive comprising simulated steam cylinders and a smoke generating and puing accessary received in said locomotive ahead of the drive wheels, said accessory comprising a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem of said T being partially hollowed to form an open smoke chamber blocked off from the crossbar of the T, a flattened air cylinder formed in the crossbar of the T and closed at the front and open at the back, the dimension of said crossbar being such as to extend across the locomotive from side to side at about the position of the simulated steam cylinders, said casting having a passage leading from said air cylinder to the smoke chamber, and an elongated piston in said flattened cylinder substantially conforming in shape thereto.

v 5. A toy smoking locomotive comprising simulated steam cylinders and a conventional boiler, cab, drive Wheels, and a motor for driving said wheels, and a smoke generating and puffing accessory received in said locomotive ahead of said drive wheels, said accessory comprising a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem of T being partially hollowed to form a smoke chamber open at the top and blocked off from the crossbar of the T at the bottom, an oil-saturable wick with a resistance wire wound about the same disposed in said chamber, a flattened air cylinder formed in the crossbar of the T and closed at the front and open at the back, the dimension of said crossbar being such as to extend across the locomotive from side to side at about the position of the simulated steam cylinders, said casting having a passage from said air cylinder to said smoke chamber, an elongated piston in said cylinder substantially conforming in shape thereto, and a connecting rod connecting a driv-v ing wheel to the piston.

6. A toy smoking locomotive comprising simulated steam cylinders and a conventional boiler, cab, drive Wheels, and a motor for driving said wheels, and a smoke generating and puffing accessory received in said locomotive ahead of said drive wheels, said accessory comprising a die casting in the shape of an inverted T, the stem of said 'l' being partially hollowed to form a smoke chamber open at the top and closed at the bottom, an oil-saturable smoke-producing wick with an electrically heatable resistance Wire wound about the same dispose-d in said chamber, a flattened air cylinder formed in the crossbar of the T and close-d at the iront and open at the back, the dimension of said crossbar being such as to extend across the locomotive from side to side at about the position of theV simulated steam cylinders, said casting having a passage leading upward from said air cylinder through the stem of the T alongside the smoke chamber and terminating near the open end thereof, a smoke pipe capping the top of said stem and disposed over said chamber and passage for guiding the air into the chamber and for guiding the smoke to the locomotive stack, an elongated piston in said cylinder substantially conforming in shape thereto, and a connecting rod connecting a driving Wheel to the piston.

7. A toy smoking locomotive as dened in claim 4, in which there is an auxiliary air entrance slot disposed transversely of and communicating with the air passage.

8. A toy smoking locomotive as defined in claim 5, in 'which there is an auxiliary air entrance slot disposed transversely of and communicating with the air passage.

LESTER F. KELCH. JOHN R. BONNETT.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 324,260 Ives Aug. 11, 1885 931,236 Eincke Aug. 17, 1909 1,737,787 Dombrow Dec. 3, 1929 2,324,359 Callan July 13, 1943 2,461,664 Smith Feb. 15, 1949

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