CA1237453A - Toy robotic arm - Google Patents

Abstract

TITLE: TOY ROBOTIC ARM

ABSTRACT

A toy robotic arm is constructed to include a base having a control mechanism therein which in-cludes a single motor. An operator control member ex-tends from the base and can be manipulated by the opera-tor of the toy. An articulated arm is attached to the base. The articulated arm has a plurality of segments which are movably joined together at points of articu-lation. A grasping member is attached to the end of the arm distal from the base and is capable of inter-acting with objects. Motion from the motor is trans-ferred to both the segments of the arm and the grasp-ing member by transfer members moving through the arm.
The operator of the toy, by manipulation of the opera-tor control member, which interacts with the control mechanism, can cause articulation of individual seg-ments of the arm with respect to one another and move-ment of the grasping member. Motion of the motor is transferred to the transfer members via the control mechanism in response to the operator's commands input via the operator control member. The control mechan-ism and the operator control member are constructed so as to allow independent initiation, maintaining or stopping of any motion of the articulated arm or the grasping member independent of any other motion.

Description

'-'' ;? , ~

~7~3~LS3 TITLE: TOY R~BOTIC ARM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a toy articu-lated mechanical arm which is capable of sophisticated movement in many directions. More specifically, the articulated arm is capable of mimicking many of the movements of the human hand, wrist and arm.
r ~ emote control devices in the past have found certain utility for use in occupations which were quite hazardous. An example of this would be the mani-pulation of radioactive materials via remote control manipulators and the like. Typical of remo~e control manipulators of this class would be those described in U.S. 3,212,651 and 3,817,403. These manipulators were designed to allow for location of the operator in re-mote areas behind sufficient shields such that the op-erator would not be unduly exposed to radiation and the like. Because of the nature of the work involved, the expense was secondary to ~he protection needed fQ~ the operators~f t~e same from the materials which were being handledO

In recent years, automati-on of certain in-dustri~s, such as the automobile manufacturing indus-try, has brought into use o~her remote control devices.
Thus, typically, in automobile manufacturing assembly lines, remote controlled spot welders and the like can be found. As ~ith the above radioactive useful devices, ~hese devices are generally construc~ed in such a man-ner that they are extremely expensive and are only cost justified in tht assembly of many expensive items, such as in an automobile assembly plant.

:~3~S3 In the area of the toy ar~s, certain attempts have been made to incorpora~e remote control devices.
One such device, which incorporates a movable jaw on a boom, is shown in U.S. 4,150,839. This device is ac-tivated by moving a lever which communicates motion via a string to the movable jaw such that the movable jaw moves toward a stationary jaw.

In U.S. 3~593,363, a second type of toy re-mote control device is shown. In this patent, a mov-abl0 jaw can be manipulated from a remote control lo-cation by air pressure which is transferred from a first bellows unit remote from the toy, to a second bellows unit formed as a part of the toy.

The above two toy patents illustrate that, while the idea of remote control manipulation is known, the sophistication of the art in this area is not too extensive. Each of the devices shown in the two pre-ceding patents allow for only limited motion of a mov-able jaw having either one component , as shown in the 4,150,839 patent, or two components as shown in the 3,599,363,pate~t A further toy device is described in U.S.
4, 2087830. This device consis~s of an elongated mem-ber having a hand-like configuration on one end and a squeeze trigger on the other. By squeezing the trigger portion of the toy, the fingers of the hand-like mem-ber are caused to curl in a manner mimic~ing human fin-gers, enabling ~he grasping of objects with the toy.
As with the other toys noted above, the sophistication of the movement of this toy is limited to the grasping motion.

, ;. -~ l ` l 3 ~3~ii3 It isievident that, while in certain fields such as the handling of radioactive materials and pro-duction line assemblies, robotic devices are known which are capable of executing sophisticated movements, in the toy field, such devices are unknown. The rob- ~
otic devices of industry seem to be limited to indus- `
trial applications because of large costs associated with developing and manufacturing these devices. Their use in toys has been precluded by ~he lack of technology enabling economic toys to be produced which are capable of executing such sophisticated movements. The use of multiple motors and the like, as are known in the in- -dustrial devices, has not been applied to toys because of bulk associated with the use of multiple motors, as well as the expense associated with the same.

The hydraulic control devices known in industrial applicationshave also been unable to be applied to toys because of the necessity of having sealed fluid environments and ways of creating pressure and the like. The use of hydraulics in toys seems to be limit~d to toys such as are exempli~ied by U.S. 3, 599,363, disc,ussed above, which utilizes air pressure ~5 created by a bellowsO

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, it is a broad object of this invention to provide a toy which, because of its simplicity, is capable of economic production and economic ava;lability to the consumer, but which, be-cause of its complexity, is able to perform a variety of sophisticated movements closely mimicking those of industrial robo~ic arms. It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy which~ because of i~s 4 237~ t play value; will assure many interesting hours of ex-tended play with the toy.

These ancl other objects, as will be evident from the remainder of this specification, are achieved in a toy which comprises: a base, said base including a control means, said control means including an opera-tor interface means and a single motor; an articulated member operatively attaching to said base, said articu-lated member having at least two segments movably joined o together at a point of articulation; an object interac-tion means operatively attachin~ to said articulated member distal from said base~ said interaction means capable of interaction w;th objects; motion means opera-tively associated with said control means, said articu-lated member and said interac~ion means, said motion means capable of independently transferring motion from said motor to both saia articulated member and said in- ~:
teraction means to independently cause said segments o said articulated member to move with respect to one an-other about said point of articulation and to cause said interaction means to movably interact with objects; said operator ~ntera.ce means capable of initiating, maintain-ing and stopping sai~ motion transferred by said motion means from said motor to one, the other, or simultan-eously both of said articulated member and said interac-tion means.

The motion means can inclwde a first motion transfer means and a second motion transfer means.
Each of these would be operatively associated with the control means and be capable of independently receiving`
motion from the mo~or. The first transfer means would `
be operativley associated with the segments of the articulated member and would be capable of moving 5 ~2;37~53 t , these segments wi~h respect to one another at the point of articulation in response to receipt of motion from the mo~or by that transfer means. The second trans-Eer means would be associated with the interaction means and would be capable of causing movable interaction be-tween the interaction means and objects to be acted upon. As with the first transfer means ? this action of the second transfer means would be upon receipt of mo-tion from the motor by the!second transfer means.

One o-~ the important principles oE this in-vention is its ability to transfer motion by the second transfer means beyond the point of action associated with the~first transfer means. As such, the second transfer means would b~ ca~able of transferring motion across the point of articulation of the segments, irres-pective of the movements of the segments with respect to one another under the influence o the first trans-fer means. Thus, even though the point of articulation between the segments is juxtaposed between the ~ase and the interaction means, the second transfer means is capable of transferri.ng the motion it rec~ives from the motor,~pas~t this point of articulation such that the interaction means can function in response to motion transferred to it from the motor by the second transfer means.

The operator interfa.ce means would be capable of controlling the initiation, maintenance and stopping of receipt of motion from the motor by oneJ some or all of the transfer means present. This can be done with each transfer means acting independently. Thus, for instance, the operator interface means could con~rol the initiation of receipt of motion by one transfer means from the motor while simultaneously stopping the receipt of motion by another of the transfer means from .,' i~,,;! ~, ~ 3 the mo~or. t The control means would further include a direction governing means which, in response to ~he operator interface means, would control the direction of motion of the transfer means in eithel a forward or reverse direction. Furthert one of the transfer means în response to motion received from the motor, could '~
outpllt motion in the forward direction while another of the transfer means could simultaneoulsy outpu~ mo-lo tion in the reverse direction. s In the illustrative embodiment of the in-vention, the interaction means is formed as a mani-pula~or means able to interact with objects in a first and second manner. Chosen for one of the first or sec-ond manners could be a grasping interaction, and cho-sen for the other could be a releasing interaction, whereby the manipulator means is capable of grasping objects and releasing the same In the illustrative embodiment, th~ articu-lated member i~c~udes a plurality of segments connected together in a series. The series includes a first seg- s ment, which is opera~ively assvcia~ed wi~h the base~
and a last segment, on which the interaction means is attached, with the remainder of the segments located in between. An articulation point is formed between every two adjacent segments. A plurality of motion transfer means are present. This plurality o trans-fer means are present in a number equal to the number of said points of articulation plus one extra one for the manipulator means. Each of the plurality of trans-fer means is independently operatively associated with the control means and each individual transfer means is capable of individually receiving motion from ~he ~237~L~3 motor. As noted above, said motion received from the motor can be both forward and reverse motion and the operator interface means would be capable o-f con-trolling the receipt of the motion by each of the individual trans-fer means independently of the other transfer means such that each individual transfer means cal- ~e started, maintained or stopped irrespective of the other trans~er means.

One of the transfer means would be associated lo with the first segment and would be capable of moving that segment with respect to the base. Another of the transfer means would be associated with the manipulator means and capable of causing the manipulator means to interact wi~h objects. The remainder of the transfer means ~ould be associated with ~wo adjacent segments at their point of articulation and would be capable o moving the two se~ments with which each of these re-mainder of articulation means are associated, such that the segments can move with respect to one another at their point of articulation upon receipt of motion from ~he motor by the particular transfer means associated therewith.~ ~s.n~ted above, each of the transfer means would be capable of propagating its motion received from the motor to either the manipulator means or the two segments of the articulated member with which it is associated, irrespective of movement of any other seg-ments of ~he articulated arm which might be located between the respective manipulator means or the two segments with which ~he particular transfer means is associated.

The movement of a first of any two adjacent segments with respect to one another would be in a first plane and the movement of a second o~ two adjacent seg-ments with respect to one another would be in a second ,, . ! '......................................... ) -8- ~23~53 plane, with the first and second planes not being thc same. Additionally, movement of a third set of adjacent segments with respect to one another, or the fi~st seg-metn with respect to the base, would be in a th;rd plane, with the third plane being different from both the first and second planes.

In the preferred embodiment, the control means would be capable of governing ~he spee~ of motion of at least some of the plurality of transfer means in lo both a forward and reverse direction at both a slow and fast speed.

In the illustrative embodiment of the inven-tion, the control means would include a rotating means in operative association with the motor and rotated by the motor. The rotating means would include a rotating shaft in o~erative engagement with the motor and ro-tated by the motor with the shaft having a plurality of rotating members collectively mounted along the shaft.
The number of said rotating members would be equal to the number of transfer means with each of the rotating members in o~e~ative association with one of the trans-fer means. Each of the rotating members would include a drive gear means coaxially mounted on the shaft and further, each of the rotating members would include at least a first output gear means in operative engagement with the drive gear means. The output gear means would be rotated by the drive gear means.

The control means would further include a forward gear train and reverse gear train assaciated with each of the respe~ctive transfer means. The first output gear means of the Totating members would be capable of being placed on operative association with ~he forward :~! t 9 ~2374~3 .

gear train means or the reverse gear train means to propagate forward and reverse motion to the respective transfer means, or disengaging from both gear train means to propagate no motion from the motor to the re-spectiv~ ~r~nsfer means.

Those transfer means which are capable of both the above noted fast and slow speeds would further include their rotating member having a second output lo gear means. The second output gear means would also be capable of being in operative association with the forward and reverse gear trains o~ the res~ective trans-fer means.
.:
The operator interface means would include at least one operator control member with the illustrative embodiment including two. The operator control member would be ca~able of moving in at least two directions, and as is shown in the illustrative embodiment, three directions. In the illustrative embodiment, two of these directions are mutually perpendicular to each other with the third direction being rotation about an axis whic~ is ~u~ually perpendicular to the other two directions.

In the illustrative embodiment, the control means additionaily includes a plurality o~ shifting members equalin number to the plurality of rotating members. Each of the shifting members is operatively associated wi~h one of the rotating members and ~he totality of the shifting members are operatively asso- $
ciated with the operator interface means. The operator interface means is capable of independently interacting with each of the shiting members and in response there-to ~he shifting members are capable of intera~ting with their respective rotating members to govern the transfer h -10- ~f~ 3~ ~ ~ 3 of motion from the motor to the respective transfer means. Each of the shifting members would be coordina-ted with one of the directions of movement of one oE
the operator control members~ such that movement of the operator control member in that direction of movement would be communicated to the shifting member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
,, The invention described in this specifica-tion is best understood when taken în conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is an oblique view of an illustrati~e embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view o~ the base por-tion of Fig. 1 with overlying componénts removed for clarity of parts located below them;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the right hand por-tion of Fig. 2, with even further overlying components removed for clarity of parts located beneath them;
Fig. 4 is a side elevational view in partial section about the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;
~ Fig.: S is top plan view of the upper central portion of Fig. 2;
Fig. 6 is a fron~ eleva~ional view about th~
line 6-6 of Fig. 5;
Figo 7 is a side elevational view in section about the line 7-7 of Fig. 5;
Figs. 8 a~ b, c and d are side elevational views in partial section about the line 8-8 of Fig. 6 with certain components shown in different spatial re-lationships with respect to the individual Figs. 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d;
Fig. 9 is a side elevational view in sec~ion of the left hand area of Fig. 1~

237~53 Fig. 10 is a top plan view in partial section showing the components illustrated near the top por~ion $r of Fig. 9;
~:ig. 11 is a elevational view in partial section of the right hand section of Fig. l;
Fig. 12 is an elevational view about the lines 12-12 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is an elevational view in partial section about the line 13-13 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 14 is a plan view injpartial section about the line 14-14 of Fig. 13;
Fig. 15 is a side elevation view in section of one of the components shown in Fig. 11; and Fig. 16 is an end elevational view about the line 16-16 of Fig. 3.

The invention described in this specifica-tion utilizes certain principles and/or concepts as are set forth in the claims appended to this specification.
Those skilled in ~he arts to which ~his invention per-tains will reali~e that $hese principles and/or concepts are capable of be~ng utilized in a variety of different-embodiments.~ Ror this reason, this invention is not to be construed as being limited to the exact illustra-tive embodiment herein, but is to be construed only in light of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
i Referring now to Fig. 1~ in Fig. 1 there is shown the toy 20 of the invention~ The toy 20 is a mechanical arm type toy capable of being operated by an operator, and when so operated, useful for the ~e-mote manipulation o objects. Certain of ~he external components of the toy 20 will first be described, fol--12- ~237fl~S3 lowed by its operation and a detailed description of its internal components.
i The toy 20 has a base 2Z having an arm 24 attached thereto~ On the end o-f the arm 24, distant from ~he base 22, aregripping Eingers, co~lectively iden-tified by the numeral 26 for general purposes, and speci-fically identified by the numerals 26 a and b in describ-ing detailed functions. On the base 22 is a left control 28 and a right control 30. These are in the form of lo joysticks and can be manipulated back and orth to effect one function~ side to side to effect a second function and rotated about their longitudinal axis to effect a third function. With the inclusion of two con-trols 28 and 30 and three functiond per control, a to- , ta~ of six functions can be controlled by the two con- ' trols 28 and 30. To the right side of control 30 is an off/on button 32.

Moving further up the base 22 from the con~
trols 28 and 30, there are a plurality of windows, col-lectively identified by the numeral 34, as well as a single window 3,6,,found to the right of the windows 34.
A reset knob 38, hidden from view in Fig. 1 except for a very small portion thereof, is found to the right of window 36.

The arm 22 is an ar~iculated arm having sev-eral segments which are joined together at several junc tions. A first arm segment 40, hidden from view in Fig. 1 by a bellows member 42, extends upwardly Erom the base 22. A second segment 44 attached to the seg-ment 42, Third segment 46 attaches to second segment 44~ and fourth segment 48 at~aches to ~hi~d segment 46.
Fif~h segment 50 is then attached to fourth s~gment 48 with the gripping fingers 26 projecting outwardly from , I

!

~ ~ 3~ 3 the fifth segment 50.

Segment 40 is rotatably mounted to the base 22. The axis of rotation of segment 40 with respect to the base 22 is shown by phantom line A in Fi~
Segment 44 is rotatably mounted to segment 40 with the axis of rotation of segment 44 with respect to segment 40 shown by phantom line B in Fig. 1. Segment 46 is rotatably mounted to segment 44 with the axis of ro-!~
tation of segment 46 with respect to segment 44 shown by phantom line C in Fig. 1. Segment 48 is rotatably mounted to segment 46 with the axis of rotation of seg-ment 48 with respect to segment 46 shown by phantom line D in Fig. 1. Segment 50 is rotatably mounted to segment 48 with the axis of rotation of segment 50 with respect to segment 48 shown by phantom line E in Fig.
1. Gripping fingers 26 are capable of moving on seg-ment 50 toward and away from each other as is shown by the arrow F in Fig. 1.

A timer mechanism is incorporated in the toy 20 such that when the reset knob 38 is set back to zero, ~ spe~i~ic amount of play ~ime is automati-cally timed prior to automatic shut-off of the toy 20.
Upon resetting the reset knob 38, certain indicia is exposed through the windows 34 and 36. This indicia, as explained in greater detail later on, indicates to the operator of the toy 20 the amoun~ of time remain-t ing prior to automatic shut-off of the toy 20. The operator of the toy 20 can set a shortened period of time for play, as will be indicated by the indicia ex-posed through the windows 34. In this way, competition between operators of the toy 20 can be utilized to create additional play value with the toy 20. The op-erators of the toy 20 can be given 2 se~ period of time -14~ ~37~3 in order to accomplish a set number of tasks and can compete with one another in this way.

In any event, after setting the reset knob 38 back to zero, the off/on switch 32 is turned to the "on" position. This ac~ivates a motor 52 hereinafter described in greater detail, which is located within the interior of the toy 20. The motor 52 drives all of the components of the toy 20.

The arm 24 is articulated about the axes lo A, B, C, D and E, as herebefore described, and the gripping ingers 26 are movable back and forth about the line ~, also herebefore described. Movement about any of these axes is accomplished by appropriate move-ment of the controls 28 and 30.
;

By movement of the control 30 to the left 9 (along a line parallel to the front edge of the base 22) the arm 24 rotates counterclockwise about axis A.
Movement of the control 30 to the right causes clock-wise rotation about the axis A. Additionally, depend-ing upon the extent of movement of the control lever 30 to the right or left, rotation about the axis A
will ei~her be slow or fast. A small displacement from the neutral position, as is seen in Fig. 1, for the control 30 to either the right or left, will resul~ in slow rotaion about the axis A, while a further displace-ment to the extremes of ~he right an~ left motion of the control 30 will result in fas~er rotation about the axis A. The arm 24 can rotate 360 about axis A.

Movement of the control 30 up and down, i.e., toward the windows 34 or away from the windows 34, re-sults in rotation ofthe arm 24 about the axis B. Move-ment of the control 30 towaTd the operator of the game~
!

h - 1 5- 123~3 away from the windows 34, causes downward movement of the arm 24 about the axis B, while movement of the control 30 away from the operator, toward the windows 34 causes upward movement of the arm 24 about the axis B. As with motion about axis ~, the motion of axis B
can be done at both a fast and slow speed.

Movement of the control 28 to the right or left moves the arm 24 about the axis ~. As pictured in Fig. 1, mo~ement of the control 28 to the right will o result in the arm 24 movi~g clockwise about the axis C, whereby movement to the left will cause the arm 24 to move counterclockwise.

~lovement of the control 28 back and forth, i.e., toward windows 34 and away from windows 34, con-trols the movement about the axis D. Movement of the control 28 toward the windows 34 will cause the segment 48 to move downwardly wlth respect to the segment 46 about the axis D, whereas movement of the control 28 toward the operator of the game, away from the windows 34 will cause the segment 48 to move upwardly about the axis ~ with r,espect to the segment 46. As with the previous segments, the movement about axis D can be accomplished at both a fast and slow speed.

Rotation of the segment 50 with respect to the segment 48 about axis F is accomplished by rotating the control 30 about its longitudinai axis, i.e., about the axis going straight up and down through the control.
Rotation of the control 30 clockwise results in clock-wise rotation of the segment 50 with respect to the segment 48 and counterclockwise rotation of this con-trol results in counterclockwise rotation of the seg-ment 50 with respect to the segment 48. Ro~ation of r--~ ' ``. i '' -16- i23~53 !`

the segmen~ 50 with respect to the segment 48 is at a single speed.

Rotation of the control 28 in a manner simi-lar to that described for the control 30 opens and closes the gripping fingers 26. To open the gripping fingers 26 with respect to one another, i.e., to move finger 26a away from finger 26 b, the control 28 is revolved counterclockwise, and to close the gripping fingers 26 a and b with respect to one another~ the o control 28 is ~otated clockwise. As with rotation of control 30, rotation of control 28 is at a single speed.
;

The movement of the arm 24 abou~ the axes A, B, C, D, F. and F is analagous to the movement of a human arm and hand. Movement about axis A is anala- '~
gous to back and forth ~lorizontal movement about a shoulder joint. Movement about axis B is analagous to vertical up and down movement about a shoulder joint.
Movement about axis C is equivalent to horizontal move- ,' ment of an elbow joint. Movement about axis ~ is equatable to up and down movement of a wrist joint, whereas m,oveme~t, about axis F, is equatable to rotation of a wrist joint, and the in and out movement of the gripping finger 26 back and forth about line f is equa~-able to opening and closing of the hand.

Where the particular segments of the arm 24 join) a point of articulation of the segments exists.
Articulation of the arm ~4 can be made at the point of articulation between the two adjacent segments about axis B, axis C, axis ~ and axis F,. The totality of the arm Z4 can articulate with respect to the base 2Z about the axis A and the gripping motion of the gripping fin-gers 26 to grip and release objects i5 about the line ~ '&`~ I

17 ~Z37~;i3 .
It is evident from the above description of the components of the toy 20 that objects can be picked up, moved and released totally "hands off" by the opera-tor of the toy, with the operator of the toy manipula- i ting the controls 28 and 30 to cause the toy 20 to per-form appropriate movements allowing for picking up, moving and then releasing objects. It is evîdent, ~e- ~' cause of the ability of the toy 20 to move about the axes h, ~, C, D and F., that an object can be picked up with the gripping fingers 22, raised up into the air, swung around and moved to the other side of the toy 20, and then set down into a container or the like. Skill in utilizing the toy 20 is achieved upon repetitious use of the same, wherein the operator of ~he toy 20 can become quite skillful and become able to manipula$e objects back and forth between containers and the like, stack objects, as well as acheiYing many inventive and creative goals in utilizing the toy 20.

It is evident from the sophisticated movements of the toy 20 about its axes A, B, C, n, E and F, that ~he toy 20 can be utilized in very practical play, such as contes~s of~skill or the like wherein one operator of ~he ~oy races against time in e~fecting a certain ,~
number of tasks against ~he time another operator of !~
t~y can accomplish the same tasks, or considerable imagination can be let to the opera~or of the toy 20 where the operator of the toy 20 imagines doing all sorts of sophisticated tasks in playing with the toy 20, such as imagining handling dangerous materials and the like in a fantasy play situation. I

The toy 20 is powered by the single mo~or 52 noted above. The mo~or 52 is energized via bat~er-ies, not identified or shown, which fit within battery - ) f `

- 1 8 - ~3~4~3 compartment 54 seen in Fig. 2. Within the interior of the base 22 are two internal housing'plates 56 and 58. ~' Off/on button 32 is formed as a projection on sliding ~;
member 60. Sliding member 60 slides back and forth `, on the housing plate 56. Attaching to upstanding ~osses collectively identified by the numeral 62 formed as a portion of the housing plate 56 are electrical cvntacts 64 and 66. Elec~rical contact 66 fits over electrical contact 64. Sliding mem~er 60 has a depression 68 lo formed therein such t]lat when the off/on button 32 is in the "off" position, electrical contact 64 is allowed to descend downwardly and breaks electrical contact with the electrical contact 66. When the of~/on button 32 is pushed to the "on" position, electrical contact 64 no longer can fit within the depression 68 and it ;s pushed upwardly agains~ the underneath surface of elec-trical contact 66, making contact therewith and com-pleting the circuit through these two contacts.

Electrical lead 70 leads from the battery compartment 54 to one of the terminais of motor 52. ~:
The secon~ ~e~minal of the motor 52 is wired to elec-trical co~ta~t.66. A second set of electrical contacts 72 and 74 are positioned over a revolving drum 76, hereinafter explained in greater detail, which rotates - with respect to rotation of the motor 52 as hereinafter explained. The drum 76 includes a deep depression 78 as well as shallowdepre~si~ns collectively identified by the numeral 80 around its periphery.
,.
The electrical contacts 72 and 74 are suppor-ted on bosses collectively identified by the numeral 82, formed as a part of the housing pla~e 56. As with the previous two electrical contacts 64 and 66, the electri- - ;
cal contacts 72 fits underneath the contact 74 with both - 1 9 ~23~53 of them being stacked above the drum 76. When the elec-trical contac~ 72 comes in contac~ with the deep de-pression 78, it is allowed to move downwardly~ break-ing el~ectrical contact with the contact 74. When the contact 72 is one of the shallow depressions 80, how-ever, electricàl con~act is formed between the contact 72 and 74. An electrical lead 84 connects contact 64 with contact 74 and a second electrical lead 86 con-nects the contact 72 with battery compartment 54. A
o third electrical lead 88 connects the other terminal of the motor 52 to the electrical contact 66. It is thus evident that a circuit exists between the batteries in the battery compartment 54 and the motor 52 by pass-ing through the two sets of electrical contacts 64 and 66 and 72 and 74. If either of the sets of contacts, i.e., contacts 64 and 66 or 72 and 74 do not contact one another, this circuit is broken. It is evident that control of the motor 52 and thus control of the toy 20 requires contact between the timer contacts 72 and 74 as well as the off and on contacts 64 and 66.

A plurality of bearing surfaces are formed in webs, proiec~ions and the like formed as a part of the inside surface of the base 22 as well as ln the two housing plates 56 and 58. For brevity of this t specification, these individual bearing surfaces will not be numbered or identified. It will be evident from viewing the drawings that the particular shafts, gears and the like hereinafter identified, fit into these appropriate bearing surfaces and are held in po-sition by tllese bearing surfaces in a manner allowing them to rotate therein. Additionally, other bearing surfaces are formed by the components which make up the arm 24. Again, for br~evi~y of the specification, these bearing surfaces will not be separately numbered f -20- ~ ~3~53 or identified, it being evident that the appropriate gears, shafts and the like of the arm component also are capable of rota~ing in the appropriate bearing surfaces.

The mo~or 52 carries a pinion 90 on its driYe shaft. Rotation of the motor 52 therefore re-sults in rotation of the pinion 90. As viewed in Fig.
6, the pinion 90 ro~ates counterclockwise upon activa~
tion of the motor 52.

lo A shaft 92 carriesa~plurality o components thereon On the right hand side of shaft ~2 is a crown gear 94 having a pinion 96 formed as a part thereof.
Crown gear 94 and pinion 96 are fixed to the shaft 92 and thus rotation o~ any of these components results in ro-tation of the other.

The crown gear 94 meshes with the pinion 90 mounted on the drive shaft of the motor 52. Counter- ;
clockwise rotation of the pinion 90 therefore results in clockwise rotation of the crown gear 94 as viewed in Fig. 10. .

A spur gear 98 mounted on an axle 100 meshes with pinion 96 and is thus rotated in response to ~o-tation of the motor 52. The spur gear 9B and a worm gear 102 are fixed to the axle 100 and therefore rota-tion of any one of these three components results in rotation of the other. A pinion 104 meshes with worm gear 102. Formed as a part of pinion 96 is worm gear 106. Rotation of pinion ~6 is thus transferred as ro~
tation of worm gear 106. A spur gear 108 meshes with worm gear 106. Spur gear 108 is fixedly attached to axle 110. Axle 110 includes a bushing 112 fixed to i-t.

!

-21- ~3~45~

A spring114 is located next to bushing 112 and a pin-ion 116 is located between the spring 114 and the spur gear 108. The pinion 116 is free to rotate about the axle 110 whereas the spur gear 108 is fixed to and rotates with axle 110. The spring 114 biases the pin-ion 116 toward the spur gear 108. Both the spur gear 108 and the pinion 116 have a set of re-entrant teeth 110 and 120, respectively~ formed thereon. Under the influence of the bias of the spring 114, the re-entrant lo teeth 118 and 120 engage with one another and transfer motion of the spur gear 108 to the pinion 116. If, -~or some reas3n, the pinion 116 is prevented from rotation while the spur gear 108 rotates, the re-entrant teeth 118 and 120 will slide with respect to one another by movement of the pinion 116 toward the bushing 112, compressing the spring 114. This forms a re-e~tran~
clutch ~not separately numbered) between the spur gear 108 and the pinion 116. -For the purposes of brevity oE this specifi-20 cation, other re-entrant clutches, formed on other com-ponents as hereinafter identified, will not be explained in detail, but ;will simply be noted. Their operation and function is as per the operation and function of the spur gear 108 and the pinion 116 in conjunction with the re-entrant teeth 118 and 120, the spring 114 and the bushing 112. The presence of the re-entrant teeth 118 and 120 and spring 114 allow for slip between the spur gear 108 and the pinion 116. This prevents damage to components on either side of the gear train of the spur 30 gear 108 or the pinion 116 if one or the other of the spur gear 108 or the pinion 116 is rotated while the other is held fixed or one reason or another. Further re-entrant clutches will simply be identified as re-en-trant clutches and separate numbering of the springs and s -22~ 7~53 !
bushings associat~dtherewith will not be made. Fig.
15 shows in sectional side view another of these re-entrant clutches, the components of which will be iden-tified below.

Reerring now to Figs 5, 6 and 7> as well as Fig. 2, the timer-scoring mechanism is shown. Reset knob 38 is fixedly carried on shaft 122. As is evident from viewing Fig. 2, shaft 122 extends across almost the total wi~th of the toy 20. Shaft 122 carries an lo elonga~ed drum 124 also fixedly mounted to it. As such9 the reset knob 38 and the drum 124 rota~e together with respect to rotation of ~he shaft 122. The drum 76 pre~
vioulsy noted having the depressions 78 and 80 thereon, is positioned just to the right of drum 124 on shaft 122 and is in fact integrally formed with drum 124 and rotates with it.

Interspaced between drum 76 and reset knob 38 is a drum 126. Drum 126 carries a spur gear 128 formed on its right hand side. Additionally, it has an annu-lar shoulder 130 on the right hand side of spur gear 128 which incl~des two gear teeth, collectively iden- i tified by the numeral 132, formed thereon. Drum 126, its spur gear 1281 as well as its shoulder 130 and gear teeth 132 are mounted about shaft 122 such that they are free to ro~ate independen~ of the rotation of shaft 122.

Reset knob 38 has a spur ~ear 134 lntegrally formed on i~s left hand side. As such, the spur gear 134 rotates in unison with the reset knob 38. Set to the rear o reset knob 38 is a large pinion 136. Pin-ioil 136 is in engagement with spur teeth 134. Addi-tionally, depending upon the rotation of drum 126, th~
~wo gear teeth 132 ca~ engage pinion 136.

~i ~ 7~53 Spur gear 128 on drum 126 meshes with pin-ion 116 which, as described above, is rotated Yia the gear train previously described leading from outpu~
pinion 90 on motor 52. Rotation of the pinion 116 ro-tates the spur gear 128 and the drum 126 attached there-to. For every full rotation of the spur gear 128, tne two gear teeth 132 on shoulder 130 engage the pinion ~, 136 and rotate it a few degrees about its axle 138, on which it is mounted. Since the pinion 136 meshes with o the spur gear 134, the rotation communicated by the teeth 132 cause rotation of the reset knob 38 through a few degrees. Further, since the reset knob 3B is fixed to shaft 122, as are drums 124 and 76j drums 124 and 76 are also rotated in response to the meshing be- $
tween the teeth 132 and the pinion 136.

Referring now to Fi~. 7, located inside of drum 126 and fixedly attached to shaft 122 is a bushing 140, whiçh partially extends into the interior of drum 126. The bushing 140 carries a ratchet finger 142 there-on which projects into the interior of the drum 126.
The drum 126 includes a small detent 144 which pro-jects into ît,s,:i~terior and which is located so as to be engageable by the ratchet finger 142. As can be seen in Fig. 7, if the drum 76 is rotated clockwise with re- r spect to the drum 126, the ratchet finger 142 ~irst en-gages the detent 144 and then flexes, slipping by the detent 144 with no'interaction between the ratchet fin- ', ger 142 and the detent 144 other than the flexure. If~ ~, however, the drum 76 is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the drum 126, the ratçhet finger 142 engages against the detent 144 and locks against the same. Fur~ ~
ther counterclockwise rotation,~of the drum 76 with re- j, spect to the drum 126 communicates this counterclock- '~
wise rotation from the drum 76 to the drum 126. Addi-tionally, în Fig. 7, the interac~ion of the elec~rical -24- ~237~3 contact 72 and 74 with the drum 76 can be seen in side view.

When the toy 20 ls reset back to zero by ro-tation of the reset knob 38, as viewed in Fig. 2, the reset knob 38 is rotated such that the top surface of the knob 38 is moved ~rom right to left. This communi-cates a counterclookwise rotation to the shaft 122 as is seen in Fig. 7. The counterclockwise rotation o the shaft 122 in turn Totates the drums 76 and 124 directlx lo and indirectly rotates the drum 126 via in~eraction of the ratchet finger 142 wi~h the detent 144. This allows the setting of both the indicia on drum 126 and indicia on the drum 124 through their respective viewing win- ~-dows 36 and 34 to a zero point. It also advances the location of electrical contacts 72 and 74 out o the deep depression 76 to the shallow de~ression 80^a lo-cated next to it, as seen in Fig. 7. In combinat;on with the off/on button 32 previously noted, an electri-cal circuit through the motor 52 is completed. As noted previously~ the motor 52 then starts turning. Rotation of the motor 52 is transferred via the gear train from pinion 90~'to the pinion 116 which then rotates the spur gear 128. For every full revolution of the drum 767 a partial revolution is transferred to the spur gear 134 and then to the shaft 122 and ~he components loca~ed thereon, including the drum 124.

Each incremental movement communicated to the drum 124 repositions the electrical contacts 72 and 74 in the next adjacent shallow depression 80. Two different colored indicia are ut;lized on the drum 124 in a saw tooth-l~ke manner as is evidènt from viewing Figs. ~ and 5. As the drum 124 rotates, the one colored indicia replaces the other indicia in one of the win-dows 34, moving in a sequence from right to le~ as -25- 1237~53 viewed in Fig 1. At the starting point, all of the indicia exposed through the windows 34 are of one color.
As the drum 124 rotates, this re~lacement is slowly made until the in~icia exl)osed through the windows 34 ', is of the opposite color, at which time the contacts 72 and 74 come to rest in the deep depression 76, break-ing the circuit to the motor 52 and stopping the toy 20. '~

During transfer of rotation from the motor 52 via the spur gear 128, the gear ~eeth 132, the pinion lo 136 and the spur gear 134 to the shaft 122, the detent 144 on drum 126, as viewed in Fig. 7 is rotated counter-clockwise with respect to the ratchet finger 142 and thus slips by the ratchet finger 142 without communica- 1 ting motion between the drum 126 and the drum 76. It L
is only during reset of the indicia back to zero that motion is directly communicated from the drum 126 to the drum 76 by the interaction of the finger 142 wi~h the detent 144. ~

During resetting of the mechanism as described i;
above, the re-entrant clutch formed by the re-entran~
teeth 118~and ~ slip by one another, since the pin-ion 116 is being rotated by the spur gear 128 while *he spur gear 108 is fixedly held by the gear train be~ween it and ~he motor 52.

As is evident from viewing ~ig. 3, shaft 92 If ex~ends comple~ely across the width of the base 22 of the toy 20. Aside from its functions previously de-scribed in driving the indicator mechanism, shaft 92 further communicates power from the mo~or 52 via the control mechanism to the arm 24 to power the indivi-dual segments 40, 44, 46, 48 and 50, as well as the gripping fingers 26. The power transfer from the mo~or 52 via the shaft 92 to the individual segments of the lZ374~ii3 arm 24 utilizes a set of drums formed as two di~ferent types of identical units. The first of these are drums 146 a, b, c and d, which correspond in function to mo-tion about the axes A, ~, C and ~ as previously de-scribed, and the second of these are a set of drums 148 e and f, which correspond with motion about ~he exis B and movement along the line f, as previously described. The two diEferent type of drums 146 and 148 are similar in certain respects with the drums 146 being slightly more sophisticated than the drums 148. Because all of the drums 146 a, b, c and d are identical, and because ~he drums 148 e and f are identical, only one each of these two groups will be described, Wit]l it being understood that the others of the group are iden-tical in both construction and function and are totally analagous to the described member. For t}le group 146, drum 146b will be used for descriptive purposes, and for ~he group 148, drum 148f will be used for illustra-tive purposes. Additionally, for those parts which are identical between the groups of drums 146 and 148, like numerals will be utili~ed for simplicity of understand- b ing.

Each of the drulns 146 a, b, c, or d, and ~' 148 e and f, are constructed to include a driYe pinion 150 at their very center. Each o~ the drive pinions 150 is fixedly attaclled to the shaft 92, and rotate in reponse to rotation of the shaft 92. Other than the drive pinions 150, each of the drums 146 a, b, c and d, and 148 e and f, are mounted about the shaft ~2 such that they are free to rotate independently of rotation of the shaft 92.
I

Si~ce the drums 148 are simpler than the drums 146 9 they will be described first. Reerring now to Fi$. 4, the drum 148 is illustra~ed. Seen in i '! '-~`!~' ~

center is shaft 92, about which the drum 148f is ro- , tatably mounted, and around shaft 92 is the drive pin- j ion 150f. The drum 148 carries a first output pinion 152, which is intermeshed with the drive pinion 150.
The output pinion 152 rotates about a small axle 154 on which the pinion 152 is mounted. The axle 154 is appropriately suspended in the side wall (not separately identified or numbered) forming a portion of the drum 148.
lo Spaced on the outside surface of the drum 148f are three control detents, neutral control detent 156, forward control detent 158 and reverse control detent 160. As seen in Fig. 4, in that Fig., the neu~
tral control detent 156 is engaged against a position-ing detent ~62 attaching to other structures as hereîn-after explained. For the purposes of this specification f at this point, it will be noted that as viewed in Fig.
3~ the positioning detent 162 is free to move in an arc back and forth across the cylindrical surface of the drum 148f. When it is in a centered position as seen in Fig. 3, it is positioned such that it will interact Witll neut,ral ç~ntrol detent 156 and will position the output pinion 152 in the position as seen in Fig. 4.
If the positioning deten~ 162 is moved downwardly in Fig. 3, it will then be in position to interact with the reverse control detent 160. If it is moved upward-ly as seen in Fig. 3, it will be in posi~ion to inter-act with the forward control detent 158.

As is evident from looking at the phantom representation of the de~ents 160f and 158f, as well as the neutral control detent 156f, aside from their rotational ~isplacemen~ with respect to the axis pass-ing down through the center of the shaft 92; ~he detents 15-, 158 and 160 are pos~tioned axially with resepct to ~?
' ` I `.

~L23'i9'~5~ . ~

one another along the surface of the drum 148f. As such, depen~ing upon the position of the positioning detent 162, one of the three detents 156, 158 or 160 is in position to interact with the positioning detent 162 and in turn this interaction governs the location of the output pinion 152.

In Fig. 4, because of the interaction of the neutral control detent 156 with the positioning detent 162, the output pinion 152 is about the one o'clock po-sition and is not engaged with any other gears. If the reverse control detent 160 has engage~ the positioning detent 162, the output pinion 152 will be in about the eleven o'clock position and will intermesh with the reverse pick-up spur gear 164f. If the ~orward control detent 158 is in engagement with the positioning de- ~-tent 162, the output pinion 152 will be at about the nine o'clock position and will be intermeshed with the forward pick-up spur gear 166f. t, As viewed in Fig. 4, output of the motor 52 will turn the shaft 92 clockwise. This, in turn, will turn the drive pinion 150 also clockwise. Because the output pinion 152 is always enmeshed with the drive pin- 1 ion 150, the clockwise rotation of the drive pinion 150 ~.
communicates clockwise momentum to the out~ut pinion 152, which in turn, through its axle 154, communicates clockwise momentum to the drum 148f. This causes the drum 148f to tend to rotate clockwise about the shaft t 92 such that one of the three control detents 156, 158 !`
or 160 are biased clockwise downward against the posi-~ioning detent 162. Upon la~eral movement of the po-sitioning detent 162 as hereinafter explained, ~he po-sitioning detent 162 will move sideways, such that it is no longer engaged with ~he control deten~ 156, 158 or 160 with which it was previously engaged, allowing ~ ~3 ~-~ .

- 2 9- ~237~53 the clockwise momentum imparted to the drum 148 to cause the drum 148 to revolve clockwise until a new control detent 156, 158 or 160 abutts against the po-sitioning detent 162, to reposition the drum 148 and the output pinion 152 located thereon. The presence of the three control detents 156, 158 and 160 allows for three positions of ~he ou~put pinion 152 with respect ~o the reverse and forward pick-up spur gears 164 and 166.
These positions are a non-engaged position or neutral o position, an engaged forward position wherein the gears 152 mesh with the gears 166, and an engaged reverse po-sition whereîn the gears 152 mesh with the gears 164.

The reverse pick-up spur gear 164 meshes with the forward pick-up spur gear 166. It can be seen that r if the output pinion 152 is in engagement with the for-ward p;ck-up spur gear 166, clockwise rotation of the shaft 92 will cause clockwise rotation of the forward pick-up spur gear 166. Contrary, however, if the out-put pinion 152 is engaged with the reverse pick-up spur gear 164, clockwise rotation o the shaft 92 will re-sult in clockwise rotation of the reverse picX-up spur gear 164 and c~u~terclockwise rotation of the forward pick-up spur gear 166, since the gear 164 is in engage- 5 men~ with the gear 166. As hereinafter explained, fur-ther propagation of motion is via the forward pick-up spur gear 166. As such, positionillg of the output pin-ion 152 either in direct engagement with this gear 166 OI indirect engagement via the gear 16~, allows for both clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of this gear as viewed in Fig. 4, allowing for both a clockwise and counterclockwise rotation to be imparted to any components down stream from ~he forward pick-up spur gear 166.

~3~53 t Referring now to Fig. 8 and the drums 146, it can be seen that drums 146 are slightly more sophis-ticated than the drums 148 in that they include an addi-tional gear and two extra control detents. The drive pinion 150b, as seen in Fig; 8a, is seen engaged with a set of spur gear teeth 168b, formed on slow gear 172b. t The slow gear 172b includes a pinion set of gear teeth 170, which are of a smaller diameter than the spur gear teeth 168. The pinion teeth 170 serve as the output o teeth for the gear 172, while the spur teeth 168 serve as the input gear teeth. As such, the gear 172 is a reducing gear. The pinion gear teeth 170 are positioned such that they can engage with either the reverse pick-up spur gear 164b or the forward pick-up spur gear 166b, as was described for the drum 148.

Also located on drum 146b is a fast output pinion 174. The pinion 174 is in direct engagement with the pinion 150 and can intermesh with either the forward pick-up spur gear 166 or the reverse pick~up spur gear 164. For any given rotational speedl there-fore, of the shaft 92,this speed can be output at a first slow speed by intermeshing the pinion teeth 170 with one of ~he pick-up gears 164 or 166, or at a fast speed by meshing the pinion 174 with one of the pick-up gears 164 or 166.

The gear 172 is mounted on the drum 148 via an axle 173 which allows rotation of ~he gear 172 with respect to ~he drum 148. Likewise, gear 174 is mounted to drum 148 via an axle 175 which also allows rotation of gear 174 with respect to drum 148.

The drums 146 include five control detents.
As viewed in Fig. 8a, moving clockwise from the twelve o'clock posit~on~ these include the fast reverse detent , ! .

176, the fast forward detent 178, the neutral detent 180, the slow reverse detent 182 and the slow reverse detent 184. Depending upon the lateral movement of the positioning detent 162b, one of the five detents 176, 178, 180, lB2 or 184 can become lodged against the positioning detent 162. As viewed in Fig. 3, movement of t~e det~nt 162 in an arc upwardly would first move 3 the detent 180 into a position wherein it could be en-gaged with the slow forward detent 184. Further move-o ment in an upward direction would then allow engagement with the fast forward detent 178. Likewise, downward movement o the positioning detent 162 would first allow i~ to be engaged with the slow reverse detent 182 and then if moved even further in a downward direction, engagement with the fast reverse detent 176.

As with the drum 148f previously described, output with the drum 146b and the other of the like drums 146 a, c, and d, are via the reverse pick-up spur gears 164 and the forward pick-up spur gears 166. Also as with the drum 148f previously described, the drum 145b and its other counterparts are biased to rotate clockwiselas v~ewed in Fig. 8 ~o engage the respective detent 176, 178, 180, 182 and 184 against the top of the positioning detent 162 to position the drum 146b with respect to the forward and reverse pick-up gears 166 and 164, respectively.

In Fig. 8a, drum 146 is in a neu~ral position wherein neither gear 172 or gear 174 are engaged with either pick-up gears 164 or lG6. In tllis neutral posi-tion, no rotational motion of the motor 52 is propagated to gears 164 or 166 by drum 146~ The drum 146 is held in thi~ position by interaction of the neutral detent 180 with the positioning detent 162.

-32- ~23~53 In Fig. 8b, the positioning detent lS2 has been moved upwardly as viewed in Fig. 3 a small incre-men~ such that the drum 148 has been allowed to rotate to the point where the slow forward detellt 184 has en-gaged tlle positioning deten~ 162. This engages gear 172 with gear 166, allowin~ for propagation of rotation-al movement of the mo~or 52 directly to gear 166 at a slow speed. In Fig. 8c, the positioning detent 162 has been moved further away from the center o tlle lo drum 146 such that rotation of the drum 146 about shaft 9~ now catches the fast forward detent 178 against the positioning detent l62 and engages gear 174 with gear 166 to transmit rotational output of the motor 52 to gear 166 at a -faster speed than was achieved as illus-trated in Fig. 8b.

In ~ig 8d, the positioning detent 162 has now moved to the other side of the neutral detent 180 such that it has engage~ the slow reverse detent 182.
This enga~es the ~ear 172 with the reverse pi~k-up spur gear 164 such that the rotational motion of the motor 52 is indirectly transmitted to the gear 166 via gear 164, reve~sin~ the direction o-f rotation of the gear 166 with respect to that seen in Figs. 8 b and c but rotating the gear 166 at the same speed as was achieved in Fig. 8b. Not seen in the Figs. would be a compar-able interaction of the remaining deten~, the fast re-~erse detent 176 with the positioning detent 162 which would engage gear 174 with gear 164 in a like manner, resulting in fast reverse rotation of gear 164.

Each of the forward pic~-up spur gears 166 are independently mounted about axle 186 such that they are free to rotate on axle 186. Each of ~he reverse pick-up spur gears 164 are independently freely mounted about axle lB8 and can rotat0 thereon. The axles 186 1`.

3 3 ~2374S3 ~

and 188 maintain the gears 164 and 166 in their respec-tive alignments with the appropriate drums 146 or 148.
As ~as noted earlier in this specification, webs, bosses and the like project upwardly from the base 22 to form bearing supL)orts for axles and the like, including the axles 186 and 188. Additionally, appropriate projec-tions and cutouts in a web 189 serve to maintain the axial positioning of the gears 164 and 166 on the axles 186 and 188.

lo Referring now to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 16, the structure between the left and right controls 28 and 30 and the positioning ~etent 162 will be ~escribed.
As is evident from viewing Fig. 3, t}lere is a repetition of structure between those components controlled by the left control 28 and those components controlled by the right control 30. The left control 28 controls the positioning of the drums 146 c and d an~ 148 e, wheleas the right control 30 controls ~he positioning of drums 146 a and b and ~rum 148 e. It is thus evident that each of the controls 28 or 30 control two drums of the ,~
146 type and one drum of the 148 type. In view of the repe~ition of ~nits, only one of the sets of controls will be described, it being understood that the compon-- ents as well as the operation of the other sets o con-trols are identical. For that reason, like numerals are utili~ed or like components between the two ~ets.

The two controls 28 an~ 30 are jo~ stick A
type controls. As was noted previously, rotation about f their axes con~rols one function, movement forward and aft controls a second function and movement from side to side controls a ~hird function. The rotational movement is linked to the drums t48 e and f between the two respective controls with the fore and aft move-ment controlling the drums 146 b and 146 c, while the ~1 2374S3 side to side controls the drums 146a and 146d. The ro- l tational movement of the controls 28 and 30 is therefore linked to the drums 148, which do not have a variable speed output, whereas the back and forth or forward and aft motion and the side to side or lateral motion is linked to those drums 146 which have both forward and reverse as well as a speed control.

Each of the controls 28 and 30 includes a ball 190 located thereon. The ball 190 fits into a lo circular depression 192 formed in housing plate 56.
The circular depression 192 includes a bottom opening 194 through which extends a downward extension 196 of the controls 28 and 30, as well as a side opening 1~8 through which extends a horizontal extension 200 of the controls 28 and 30. The downward extensions 196 are utilized to communicate the back and forth and side to side motion to certain shifting members as hereinafter explained and the horizontal extension 200 is utilized to commu-nicate the rotational movement of the control 28 and 30 to certain shifting members as hereinafter explained.

A bell crank 202 is mounted about a boss 204 and rotates with respect to the boss 204. The bell crank 202 carries the positioning detent 162-f on its end. Movement of the bell crank 202 about the boss 204 therefore la~erally moves the positioning detent 162 from the central position to one or the other sides to appropriately engage the detents 156, 158 and 160 on the drum 148f. A sliding member 206 has a first elon- '~
gated cutout 208 allowing it to slide back and forth about boss 204 and a second elongated cutout 210 allow-ing it to slide back and forth with respect to a boss 212. The sliding member 206 has a side arm 214 located thereon which engages an upstanding peg 216 formed as a part of the bell crank 212. In response to back and -35- 3L.237~45;~

forth movement of t}~e sliding member 206, the side arln 214 engages the peg 216 and~ rotates the bell crank 202 about the boss 204.

A downwardly projecting arm 21R fits in be-tween two sides of a "U" shaped spring 220 and serves to position the sliding member 206 in a neutral posi-tion which, in turn, positions the bell crank 202 in a neutral position and the positionillg detent 162f located on its end also in the neutral position to en- j gage t:he neutral control detent 156 of the drum 148f.
A "U" shaped bracket 222 projects upwardly fr~m the sliding member 206 and engages the horizontal exten-sion 200 of the control 28 or 30. Rotation of the con-trols 28 and 30 therefore mo~res the horizontal exten-sion 200 in an arc backward and forward. This is commu- !
nicated via interact;oll wit:h bracket 202 to the sliding member ~06 and eventually to the positioning detent 162 as previously described. The interac~ion of the arm 218 with one or the other of the sides of the "U"
shaped spring 220 will bias th~ sliding member 206 either backward or forward depending upon the direc-tion in which ;it~ is moved upon release of any torsiorlal force on the control 28 or 30. This wlll serve to bîas the positioning detent 162 in a neutral position, such that the drum 148 will also be positioned in it:s neu-tral position, disengaging the output pinion 152 from either o~ the pick-up spur gears 164 or 166.

Shift nlember 224 contains a round opening allowing it to be mounted abo-lt boss 226. This ailows shift member 224 to pivot about boss 226. The shift member 224 includes an elongated opening 228 which re-ceives ~he downward extension 196 of the appropriate control 28 or aO. By moving the appropriate con~rol j.
-36- ~37~53 28 or 30 side to side, the downward extension 196 fits against the sides of the elongated opening 228, causing the shift member 224 to pivot about boss 226, moving the ', positioning detent 162 on its end from the central neu-tral position to one side or tlle other to interact with the deténts 176, 178, 182 or 184. A "U" shaped spring 230 is located beneath the shift member 224 and a down-ward projecting arm 232 formed as a part of the shif~
member 224 engages between the two sides of tile "U"
lo shaped spring and d~pending upon the direction in which the shift member 224 is rotated about the boss 226, one or the other of the sides of the spring 230 will act against the arm 232 to bias the shift member 224 to `.
a central positioll su~h that its positioning detent 162 will interact with the neutral detent 180 on the appropriate drum 146.

The elongated shape of the opening 228 allows fore and aft movement of the downward extension 196 of the appropriate control member 28 or 30 without inter-action with the shift member 224. This allows for fore and aft movement of the extension 196 without interac-tion wit~ the shift member 224, whereas any side to side motion of the downward extension 196 engages the si~es of the elongated opening 228 to pivot the shift member 224 about the boss 226.

The fore and aft shift member 234 fits over the shift member 224. It includes a ~irst elongated opening 236 which goes over the boss 226 and a second elongated opening 238 which fits about boss 240. The elongated openings 236 and 238 allow the shif~ member 234 to move fore and aft while preventing sideways movemen~. The shift member 234 includes a transversely oriented opening 242 throu~h which passes the downward extension 196. The transverse opening 242 allow side 37 123745i3 to side motion of the downward extension 196 to occur without interaction with the shift member 234, but this side to side motîon then interacts with the shift member 224 located beneath the s}-lift member 234. In-teraction however, of the downward extension 196 against the side edges of th~ transverse elongated opening 242 communicates fore and aft motion of the downward ex-tension 196 to the shift member 234, moving it backward and forward.

lo The shift member 234 includes a downward extending arm 244 which fits beneath the sides of a -UI! shaped spring 24~. The fore and aft movement of the shift member 234 moves the arm 244 against one side or the other of the spring 246, and when the appropriate ~.
control 28 or 30 is released, the tension in the spring 246 returns the shift member 234 to a neutral position.
.
A bell crank 248 is mounted about a boss 250 to the side of the shift member 234. The bell crank 248 includes upward projection 252 located on the end of one of its arms which fits into an opening 254 in the shift~me~er 234. Th~ positioning detent 162 is looated on the opposite arm of the bell crank 248. Fore and af~ movement of the shift member 234 is transferred to th~ bell crank 248 via interaction of the pTojection 252 with the opening 254 in the shift member 234. As such, the fore and aft movement of the shift member 234 is communicated as side to side motion in an arcu-ate manner of the positioning detent 162 located on the arm of the b~ll crank 248. As with the other position-ing detents 162, the positioning detent 162 on the end of bell crank 248 can move from theneutral position either to one side or ~he o~her to enga~e the detents 176~ 178, 182 and 184 for fast and slow, reverse and forward movemen~ as previosuly described, or when the -38- 1 Z37L~53 shift member 234 is moved to its neutral posi~ion under t the influence of its spring~246, its detent 162 engages the neutral detent 180 on the appropriate drum 146c or 146b.

Movelnent of the control members 28 or 30 essentially repositions the positioning detents 162 with respect to the drums 146 or 148 with ~hich they are associated to position one of the detents 156; 158 or 160 on the drums 148 or 176, 178, 182 or 184 on the drums 146 illtO a position such that they will be en-gaged with the pvsitioning detents to govern propaga-tion of motion from the motor 52 to the forward out-put spur gears 166. Depending upon the position of the controls 28 or 30, these forward pick-up spur gears 166 will either be not rotating when the controls are in neutral position9 be rotating forward or reverse, depending on movement of the control side to side, foré
and aft or clockwise or counterclockwise, or be mo~ing at a fast or slow speed depending on the degree of fore and aft or side to side moveme~t of the controls 28 and 30. As ~uch, the output of the single motor 52 is transfqFre~ and outputs motion to si~ of the forward ;, spur gears 166. The rotation of, or lack of rotation, as well as the direction and ~peed of these spur gears 166 can be independently cont-rolled through ~wo con-trol mechanisms 28 and 3~ wllile driven by a single mo~or 52.
;

From the forward pick-up spur gears 162, the six indi~idual rotational outputs of nlotion from the motor 52 go down divergent pathways. Motion to the gripping fingers 26 is transferred from forward pick- ;
up ~pur gear 166~ to spur gear 2569 which is integrally formed with pinion 258~ Both rotate ~ogether in unison :: , f -3g-~ 3 about an axle 260. A compound gear seen in Fig. 4, gear 262 , has a set of crown teeth 264 locat~d on its underneath side, which mesh with pinion 258 and are ro-tated by it. Gear 262 also has a set of spur teeth 266 by which motion for mo~ement of the gripping fin-gers 26 is commwlicated to the arm 24 as hereinater explained.

All of the forward pick-up s~ur gears 166 lo and reverse pick-up spur gears 164, are ~ormed with pinions as a part of the gears. For ~he most part, these pinions are not in use, but simply present because of convellience o molding a single gear usable ~or multi functions. With respect to the output of the drum 14Sd, the pinion 268 on the forward ~ick-up spur gear 166d, is utilized. A crown gear 270 meshes with pinion 168 and is rotated with respect to rotation of spur gear 166d. Rotation of the crown gear 270 is transferred via shaft 272 to a pinion 274 on the opposite end of shaft 272 from cro~l gear 270. Pinion 274 meshes with a gear 276 which is identical in shape to the gear 262 previously described, as is evident froln viewing Fig.

4. The gæar 276 includes a set of crown teeth 278 which mesh with the pinion 274 and a set of spur teeth 280 which serve to transfer rotation about axis D as hereinafter explained. As is evident from viewing Fig.
4, gear 176 has a small central axle 282 formed as a part thereof which fits inside of a hollow opening in an upstanding boss 284 formed as a part of the base 22. Q
In a like manner, ~ear 262 is appropriately mounted as are ~wo other gears which will be later identified as being identical to gear 262.

A spur gear 286 meshes with spur gear 166c and is rotated by it. S~ur gear 286 is integrally formed with pinion 288 and both are mounted on an axle ~3~;3 ( 290. Pinion 288 meshes with the crown teeth (not sep-arately numbere~ or identified) of the gear 292 which is similar to gear 262. Gear 292 includes spur teeth 294 located ~hereon which serves as the output gear to the arm 24 for rotation about axis C.
.
A crown gear 296 meshes with the pinion geaT
268e formed on gear 166e. Rotation of the crown gear 296 is communicated to shaft 298 and in turn to pinion 0 30û. Pinion 300 serves as the output to the arm 24 for rotation about axis E.

A crown gear 301 meshes with pinion 2~8a formed as a part of gear 166a. The pinion 300 drives shaft 302, which in turn drives worm gear 304, Worm ~ear 304 drives spur gear 306. Spur gear 306 drives shaft 30~ which rotates pinion 310. Pinion 310 serves as the output to the arm 24 for rotation about axis A.

A spur gear 312 integrally formed with a pinion 314 is mounted about an axle 316. Spur gear 312 meshes with ~ear 166b and is rotated by it. Pin-ion 314 m~sh~s;~wi~th gear 318 which is identical ~o gear 262. Gear 318 serves as the output to the arm 24 via its spur tee~h 320 for ro~ation of ~he arm 24 about axis B.

Looking now at Figs. 3 and 9, interaction of ~he arm 24 with the base 22 will be described. Gen-erally, however, before describing these, a few com-ments with re~ard to the propagation of motion through the arm 24 will simplify unders~anding of the same. At the point of attachment of the arm 24 to the base 22, motion to move the arm 24 about axis A is communica-~ed to the arm. Motion to move ~he arm 24 about other axes must b0 ~ransferred up through the arm. Thus, five - .^"^, I

-41- ~ ~ 3~ ~ S3 motion transfer mechanisms pa~s up through segment 40 to communicate motion abou~ axes B, C, D, E and P, which are on the other side of segment 40 frolll the base 22. At the juncture of segment 44 with segment 409 motion about axis B takes place. Motion about axes C, D, E, and F must be transferred across this point of attachment through segment 44. As one progresses down the arm 24 past each of the axes of motion, motion to an axis further down the arm 24 more distal from the base 22 is propagated across the point of juncture of the particular segments located on either side of the aixs on which rotation is taking place. Gene~ally, through each of the individual segments, this motion is transferred via shafts, and when bridging the gap or t~e point of articulation between two adjacent seg- j ments, the motion is transferred vià the use of appro- ¦
priate gears and the like.

Pinion 310 attaching to shaft 308 is formed to include a re-entrant gear as hereinafter desc~ibed.
The pinion 310 meshes with a lar~er ring gear 322, which is fixed to the base of the first segment 40.
The arm 2~linc~u~es a central shaft 324 which fits into a hollow boss 32S formed on the bottom of the base 22.
The shaft 324 serves as a pivot for the arm 24 abou~
the base 22. The shaft 324 is formed as a part of seg~nent 4Q and serves to centralize rotation of the segment 40 on the base 22. Rotation of the pinion 310 is communicated to the rin~ gear 3~2 to rotate this ring gear and the segment 4U attached thereto. This, in turn, of course rotates ~he arm 24 about the A axis.
If the arm 24 were rotated by hand without utilization `~
of motion imparted thereto by the motor 52, the re-en-trant clutch connected with the pinion 310 would allow for slippage at this point to prevent damage to any o the componen~s associated with ~hese members.

-42- ~237~53 As is evident from vi~wing Fig. 9, a sec~
ond ring gear, ring gear 328 is located such that it is free to turn just inside of ring gear 322. Ring gear 328 is supported on a s}loulder 330 formed as a par~ of housing plate 58. Ring gear 328 includes an outside set of threads 332 which mesh with spur teeth 266 on gear 262, which, as described above are ultimate-ly rotated ~y the al)~ropriate gears located on ~rum 148f. Further, ring gear 328 includes a set of inside lo threads 334 which engage pinion 336 located on shaft 338 which passes up through segment 40. As is evident from viewin~ Fig. 9, ring gear 328 is shaped in part as the walls of a truncated conical element with the outside threads 332 on the base of this conical ele-ment and the inside threads 334 on the top of this conical element. The conical shape of the ring gear ~28 allows it to fit inside of the ring gear 322, which was noted above as being fixed to the segment 40.
Ring gear 322, which moves to rotate the arm 24 about 20 the A axis, is formed as a part of an element that fits `
on the end of segment 40. The shaft 324 was formed as a further part of this element with a central core 340 also ~ein~;ormed as a part of this element. The pinion 336 for ~ransmitting motion for the F axis pro-jects through a small opening (not separately identified or numbered~ in ~his central core 340. Other pinions, as hereinafter explained, also project through this core. Except where openin~s are provided for the pro- `
jection of these pinions ~hrough the core 340, the core is solid and serves as an internal bearing for ring gear 328, as well as for certain other ring gears heTeinafter identified. Toget}ler, the shape o~ the core 340 and the shape of the gear 328 allow for po-sitionin~ of ~he gear 328 within the gear 32~ but allow for independent rotation of the gear 328 wi~h respect to gear 322 ~237~3 A further ring gear 342 having the same shape as ring gear 322, except being smaller, fits within the interior of rin~ gear 322 and rests on shoulder 321.
Ring gear 342 includes an outside set o-f gear teeth 344 which mesh with spur teeth 320 on gear 318 for transmittal of motion for movement of the arm 24 about the D axis. The ring gear 342 includes an inside set of gear teeth 346 which mesh with a pillion 348 mounted on a shaft 350. A worm gear 352 is mounted on shaft 350 on its upper end. Worm gear 352 meshes with a spur gear 354 mounted about a shaft 356.

The spur gear 354 includes a re-entrant clutch mechanism as previously described, which serves to prevent damage to parts due to inadvertant movement of arm 24 while worm gear 352 or any other component between it and motor 52 are maintained stationary. The shaft 356 extends to the back side surface of the seg-ment 40, as viewed in Fig. 9, and has a pinion 358 lo-cated on its other end. Rotation of the spur gear 354 is co~municated by the s:haft 356 to the pinion 35~. j The pinion 358 meshes with a gear sector 360 which is formed as~a pa~t-`of segment 44. Insofar as the pinion 358, by virtue of its shaft 356, is fixedly mounted to the segment 40 and the gear sec~or 360 is formed as a part of the segment 44, rotation of the pinion 358 causes movement of the gearsector 360 and the segment 44 to which it is attached, and the remainder o the arm 24 which lies between the second segment and the gripping fingers 26. Movement of the gear sector 360 and the secon~ segment 44 by the pinion 358 constitutes rotation of ~he arm 24 about axis B.

A fourth ring gear, ring gear 362, fits in-side of ring gear 342 and, as with the other ring gears, is appropriately ~upported on its insid~ by the ~-entral 44 ~37~S3 core 340 and is further supported on a broad shoulder 364 on housing component 58. Ring gear 362 includes an outside set of threads 366 which mesh with the teeth 280 on gear 276 connected to drum 146d. The ring gear 362 further includes inside threads 368 which mesh with pinion 370, attaching to shaft 372. The shaft 372 carries motion for rotation about the C axis.

A nçxt ring gear, ring gear 374? which is somewhat smaller in diameter than the ring gear directly above it, ring gear 362, fits around the central core 340 and l~ests u~on a shoulder 376 formed on housing plate 58. The ring gear 37`~ includes outside threads 378 which engage spur teeth 294 located on gear 292 which are rotated by the drum 146d. Thus, ring gear 374 is rotated in response to rotation governed by drum 146d for movement about the D axis.

RinK gear 374 includes inside threads 380 which mesh with pinion 382 which is mounted on a shaft 384. In Fig. 9 shaft 384 lies directly in front of shaft 372; however, in Fig. 10, the ends of thes~ in-dividual ,$haft~ are to be seen.

The last motion to be communicated up into the arm 24 is motion about axis E. A disk gear 386 rests on bottom shoulder 38B of housing plate 58. The disk gear 386 includes an opening allowing for the shaft 324 to pass through it. I~ includes a set of ';
crown teeth 390 on its bottom which mesh with pinion 3007 which is rotated under the control of drum 148e.

The disk gear 386 includes a set of inter-nal threads 3~2 which mesh with a pinion 394 which is moun~ed upon a shaf~ 3g6 which lies behind shat 338 in Fig. 9, but whose top can be seen in phantom line -45~ 7~53 in Fig. 10. Rotation of disk gear 386 con~rols move-ment of the arm 24 about axis E.

A rod 398 fits into a depression 400 formed in segme~lt 44. A spring 402 fits around the rod 398 and abutts against the upper surface o~ segment 40.
The spring 402 helps bear some of the weight of the arm 24 ~nd ~iases the arm 24 upwardly, making it easier for pinion 358 to interact with gear sector 360 to raise lo and lower the arm 24 about the B axis.

Referring now to Fig. 10, motion for F axis movement is communicated from shafts 338 to pinion 404~ i A crown gear 406 meshes with piiliOII 404. Crown gear 406 is mounted about shaft 408 in segment 44. As seg-ment 44 moves with respec~ to segment 40, tl~e teeth of the crown gear 406 maintain engagement with the pinion 404, however, the shaft 408 is reoriented with respect to its angle with the shaft 338. The pinion 404 and crown gear 40~ acts somewhat as a universal joint~
allowing for transmission of rotation from shaft 33~ f to shaft 408, independent of the orientation of seg-ment 44 with,-r,espect to segment 40 as these two segments move with respect to one another about axis B. This same type of universal type joint is utilized for commu-nication of rotation of shafts384l 396 and 372, also along axis B. Shaft 384, bringing motion for rotation about axis D upward through segment 40, has a pinion 410 located on its end. Pinion 410 meshes with crown gear f 412 which is mounted on shaft 414. The interaction between pinion 410 and crown gear 412 transfer rotation from'shaft 384 to shaft 414 for communication of motion f about the D axis through the point of articulation be-tween segments 40 and 44.

~L~37~53 -4s-A pinion 416 is mounted on shaft 396, bring-ing rotation about the E axis up through segment 40.
The pinion 416 meshes with crown gear 418 which in turn is attached to shaft 420. InteractiQn between pinion 416 and crown gear 418 transmits motion about the E
axis between the segments 40 and 44.

A pinion 422 is attached to shaft 372 which communicates rotation about axis C up through segment lo 40. Pinion 422 meshes with crown gear 424 which is attached to snaft 426 and, in a like manner~ the pinion 422 and crown gear 424 act as a universal joint for communication of rotation from shaft 372 ~o shaft 426 about the C axis.

Since the next axis in line, the C axis, s is, in fact, rotated ninety degrees with respect to the previous axis, the B axis, it now becomes necessary to take the motion communicated by shafts 408, 414? 420 and 426, which lie essentially in a horizontal plane when looking at Fig. 10, on the left hand side, con-vertîng them to shafts which lie in a ~ertical plane~
lying in ~he~ght hand side of Pig. 10. This requires the transmi~tal of motion from these shafts through a plurality of gears to realign the output shafts about axis C. For understanding of the next segment o this specification, reference is made to the central and right hand portion of Fig. 10, and the top central and right hand portion of Fig. 9. ~ig. 10 shows a ~op plan view of the upper portion of Fig. 9 up to and in-cluding the juncture between segments 44 and 46.

A pinion 428 is located on the end of shaft 408. The pinion 428 meshes wi~h a spur gear 430 lo-cated next to it. The spur gear 430 in turn meshes with a pinion 432 which ls mounted on the end of shaft ~ 47 ~ ~37~53 f r 434. Mounted on the other end of shaft 434 is a sec-ond pinion 436 which serves ~o help transfe~ rotation of movement along line F at the point of articulation ';
about axis C.

A pinion 438 attaches to shaf~ 414. The pinion 43~ meshes with spur gear 440 which is attached ~o shaft 442. A pinion 44~ is attached to the other end of shaft 442 and serves as the drive component for lo propagation of rotation for axis D at the point of junc-ture of segments 44 and 46 about axis C.

A pinion 446 attaches to shaft 420 and meshes wi~h pinion 448 which is attached to shaft 4S0. ~haft 450 includes a pinion 452 on its other end, which ser~es as the communication of rotation about axis D at the point of juncture of segments 44 and 46 along axis C.

Rotation about axis C itself is accomplished as follows. A pinion 454 meshes with a spur gear 456 j~
which is formed as a part of a compound gear which includes pinion 458. Pinion 458 and spur gear 456 therefore!~rota,te in unison, since they are, in fact, one of the same compound gear. A spur gear 460l formed é
as a part of a re-entrant clutch mechanism as previously explained, meshes with pinion 458 and thus is ultimately rotated via rotation imparted to shaft 426. The spur ~-gear 460, through its re-entran~ clutch mechanism, i5 ~, attached to shaft 462 which includes ou~put pinion 464 for rotation about the C axis.

At the C axis, an axle 466 runs right down ~hrough the center of the C axis. The axle 466 has four crown gears mounted around it which are free to rotate independen~y ~îth respect to one another on the axle 466. In Fig. 9, the top of these crown geaTs, i 48 ~ 53 crown gear 468, meshes with pinion 444 to receive ro-tation which will be further communicated down for ro- ,~
tation about the D axis. Underneath crown gear 468 is crown gear 470 which meshes with pinion 436 for re-ceiving rotation about the line F. Underneath crown gear 470 is crown gear 472 which meshes with pinion 452 for receiving rotation about the E axis. Under-neath crown gear 472 is crown gear 474 which meshes with pinion 464.

lo Crown gear 474 is free to rotate with re-spect to segment 44; however, it is locked with respect L
to segment 46 via two bosses, collectively identified by the numeral 476, which are formed as a part of seg-ment 46. The two bosses 476 fit into appropria~e open~ `.
ings (not separately identified or numbered) formed in the crown gear 474, preventing rotation of the crown gear 474 with respect to the segment 46.

The crown gear 474, however, is no~ fixed '.
20 with respect to its rotation with respect to segment 44. As pinion 464 rotates, the crown gear 474 is ro-tated witk reS~ect to segment 44 and since cr~wn gear 474 is ~ixed to segment 46, this moves segment 46 with respect to segment 44 about axis C. Two end caps, collectively identi~ied by the numeral 478, fit on the top and the bottom where segment 46 joins segment 44 about axis C. The end caps fit into holes (not sep-arately identified or numbered) formed on the end of segment 44 and abutt against small projections ~also f 30 not separately identified or numbered) formed as a par~
of segment 46, which positions segment 46 with respect to segment 44, and allows for rotation of these two segments with respect to one another about axis C~

` !

`

4 9 ~23~53 Since the crown gears 468, 470 and 472 are free to rotate and are not fixed with respect to either segment 44 or segment 46, they can serve to communicate rotation across axis C. If the respective pinion , pin-ion 444, 436 or 452, which engage these crown gears is rotated in response to rotation communicated via the drums 146d, 148f or 148e, the respective ~rown gears 468, 470 and 472 rotate about axle 466 and in turn ro-tate pinions on the right hand side of Fig. 9, i.e., the third segment 46 side of this Figure.

A pinion 480, attached to a shaft 482, picks up rotation from crown gear 468 and passes this rota-tion up shaf~ 482 through the third se~ment 46. This propagates motion for rotation about the D axis. ~ pin-ion 484 attaching to shaft 486 meshes with crown gear 470 and propagates rotation throu~h the third segment 46 or rotation along the line F. A pinion 488 attach-ing to shaft 490 meshes with crown gear 472 and propa-gates rotation through third segment 4S for rotation ~bout axis E.
, .
~ ~ovi~ng now to Fig. 11, the shafts 482,486 and 4gO are stacked one on top of the other, coming in at the top of the Figure. Fig. 12 shows how these shafts are aligned in their stacked relationship. As with the previous bend between axis B and axis C9 we now have another hend between axis C and Axis D, where-in axis D lies at ninety degrees wi~h respect to axis C.
A pin;on 492 attaches to the end of shaft 490. The pinion 492 meshes with a spur gear 494 which includes a re-entrant type clutch mechanism previously described. Motion from the spur gear 494, after passing through the re-entrant clutch, is communicated to shaft 496, which includes a pinion 498 on its end. Pinion ~37~i3 498 meshes with a crown gear 500 which is freely mounted abou~ an axle 502 lying directly on the D axis.

This brings the mo~ion for movement about ~he E axis up to the D axisO

Shaf~ 486 terminates in a pinion 504. The pinion 504 meshes with a crown gear 506 which is also freely mounted to rotate about axle 502 on the D axis.
lo This communicates motion for movement about the line `' F up to the D axis.

Axle 482 has a pinion 508 mounted on its end. A compound gear which includes spur gear 510 and pinion gear 512 is freely mounted about axle 486 and rotates independent of rotation of axle 486. The ', pinion 508 engages the spur gear 510 which in turn, i, of course, rotates the pinion 512 formed as a part of the same gear. The pinion 512 engages a spur gear 514 f 20 which is part of the re-entrant clutch system as pre- r viously explained. Thè spur gear 514, after passing through the re-entrant clutch, transmits motion to a shaft 516IJ Th~ shaft 516 includes a pinion 518 lo-cated on its end.

The pinion 518 engages a crown gear 520 which is free to rotate with respect to third segment 4~, but is fixed to fourth segment 48 in the same man-ner as was described for rotation about axis C. Ro-30 tation of pinion 518 therefore rotates the crown gear 520, which, because it is attacned to the fourth seg- f ment 48, moves the fourth segment 48 with respect to the third segment 46 a~out the D axis. End caps, col-lectiYely identified by the numeral 522 are appropriate~
ly mounted at the D axis in the same manner as were the end caps 478 previously described.

-51- lZ37~53 Segment 50 includes a cylindrical extension 524 which fits into and is rotatably mounted into fourth ~, segment 48. The cylindrical extension 524 lncludes a set of spur gear teeth 526 located on its end which is inside of ~ourth segment 48. The spur gear teeth 826 mesh with the crown gear 500 and are rotated by rota- !
tion of the crown gear 500. It will be remembered that the crown gear 500 was rotated by the pinion 498, trans-ferring motion for rotation about the F. axis. The crown gear 500 was free to rotate about axle 502 and this ro-tation of the crown gear 500 is transferred to rotation of the spur gear teeth 526 and cylindrical extension 524 ~o which they are attached, and further, to fifth segment 50 to which the cylindrical extenslon 524 is attached, This constitutes rotation about the E axis which is at a ninety degree angle with respect to the D axis. `, A shaft 528 passes through the center of the fifth segment 50 and includes a spur gear 530 on its end. The spur gear 530 engages the crown gear 506 and is rotated by the crown gear as the crown gear 506 is in turn rotate,~ by ~he pinion 504. This propagates ~he !;
rotation about the line F up tothe fifth segment 50.

The spur gear 530 is;a part of another Te-entrant clutch mechanism as previously described. It is illustrated in Fig. l5 in sectional view. The shaft 528 includes a bushing 532 located on its end, with a 2 spring 534 interspaced between the bushing 532 and the spur gear 530. Bushing 536 is fixedly mounted to the shaft 528 and as is evident from Fig. ll, includes a set of re-en~rant gear tceth 538 formed thereon. The spur gear S30 also includes a set of re-entrant gear teeth 540, ~hich match wi~h the re-entrant gear teeth 538. In~ermeshing of the re entran~ ~ear teeth 538 and ~i ` ` ~ r ~7~L~ii3 540 communicate motion from the spur gear 530 to the bushing 536 which in turn then rota~es the shaft 52~ to which it is attached. The spring 534 frictionally holds the re-entrant gear teeth 538 and 54û enmeshed with one another9 except if one of the components, eicher the spur gear 530 or the b!lshing 536 and the shaft 528 to which it is attached is fixed while the other is rota- s ted, in which case the re-entrant gear teeth 538 slip with respect to the re-entrant gear teeth 540, pre-oventing damage to any of the components.

The shaft 528 includes a worm gear 542 located on its end. The worm gear 542 meshes with a rack of gear teeth located on two identical disks 544 and 546.
The gear teeth are collectively identified by ~he numer-al 548 Oll each of the respective disks 544 and 546.
Since one of the disks, 544, is on the one side of the worm gear 542, and the other of the disks, 546, is on the other side of the worm gear 542, rotation of the 20worm gear in one direction will cause one of the disks to rotate clockwise while the other of the disks ro-tates counterclockwise and rotation of the worm gear in the opposit$ direction will reverse the direction of rotation of ~he two disks respectively.

Each of the disks 544 and 546 are pivotally mounted about an axle collectively identified by the numeral 550. Also pivotally mounted about the axles 550 is a right side link 552 and a left side link 554.
Each o the links 552 and 554 include a small tab 556 !;
located thereon. This is best seen in Fig. 14, as is a small boss 558, which is lo~ated on the underneath side of each of the disks 544 and 546. A haiTpin spring, collectively identified by the numeral 560 is located `
around each of the axles 550 beneath the disks 544 and 546 with the bosses 558 located between the arms o the r - s 3 - ~ 2~7~53 hairpin spring.

If one o the disks 544 or 546 are rotated by the worm gear 542, the rotation of the disk in turn rotates the bosses 558. ~his causes the boss0s 558 to contact one of the arms of the hairpin spring 560, stretching it with respect to the other arm. This biases the other arm to push against the tabs 556, ro-tating the respective links 552 or SS4 about the axles 550.

The links S5~ and 554 are attached to grip-ping fingers 26 a and b, respectively via rivets collec-tively identified by the numcral 56~. This allows for !, rotation of the gripping fingers ~6 a and b wi~h respect to the links 552 and 554. T~o other links, 564 and 566 are attached at one o-f their ends to the gripping fin-gers 26a and 26b, respectively, by rivets~ and at their other end fit over bosses collectively identified by the numeral 568 formed as a part of fifth segment 50.

The gripping fingers 26 a and b, in conjunc- ~
tion with~he ~inks 564 and 566 and 552 and 554 form a r set of parallel moving jaws. Rotation of the worm gear 542, interacting via the springs 560 move the links 552 and 554 and this movement in turn is communicated to the gripping fingers 26 a and b, moving them together or away from each other, depending upon the d;rection of rotation of the worm gear 542. Because of the pre-sence of the links 564 and 566, the movement of the gripping fingers 26 a and b with respect to one another is such that the gripping faces, collectively identified by the numeral 570,on each o the fingers 26 a and b remain parallel to one another. The gripping aces 570 can be formed of a rubber or other non-slip m~terial, allowing for more convenient gripping and holding of -5q- ~237~3 objects in the gripping fingers 26 a and b.

From the pre~ious description it can be seen how the various shafts and ~ears communicate rotary motion from the respective forward pick-up spur gears 166 to the respective gears which are fixed`between two components at each of the axes of rotation. This allows the output of a single motor 52 to be transmitted and ~, propagated along the arm 2~ to the individual points of articulation to move the ind;vidual segments of the arm 10 24 with respect to one another about the axes described.
Further, since each of the individual motions about any one of the axes is under the control of its own indivi-dual drum 146 or 148, movement of any of the segments with respect to one another or of the segment 40 with respect to the base 22 can be effecte~ simultaneously.
FurtheTmore, one of the segments can be moving while ~nother of the segments is not, and motion can be ini-tiated with respect to movement about one axis while at the same time motion is being terminated with re-20 spect to movement about a second axis. This can go on simultaneously while motion about other axes is ~, either totally l?cking, or is already in progress. Be-cause each of the controls 28 or 30 can be activated, maint~ined or deactivated in any~ some or all of their directions of movement at the same time, this sophist;-cated control of the arm 24 can be achieved with input from but a single motor 52.

While a toy has been utilized for the illus-30 trative embodiment of this invention, it is of course realized that the way of communicating mot;on from a F
single motor via the transfer means described herein to many points of articulation in an articulated arm is useful in other devices wherein tl~is type of mechanical action could be utili~ed.
~.

Claims (24)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An apparatus which comprises:
a base, said base including a control means, said control means including an operator interface means and a single motor;
an articulated member operatively attaching to said base, said articulated member having a plurality of segments connected together one after the other in a series including a first segment of said series and a last segment of said series and the remainder of said segments located between said first and said last segments of said series;
a plurality of points of articulation movably joining together each two adjacent segments of said series as well as the first of said segments of said series to said base;
an object interaction means operatively attaching to said last of said segments of said series;
a plurality of motion transfer means equal in number to the number of said points of articulation plus said manipulator means;
each of said plurality of transfer means independently operatively associated with said control means and each individual transfer means capable of individually receiving motion from said motor;
said operator interface means controlling the initiation, the maintenance, and the stopping of receipt of motion from said motor by one, some, or all of said transfer means with the control of each of the transfer means independent of the control of any other of the transfer means;
one of said transfer means associated with said first segment and capable of moving said first segment with respect to said base upon receipt of motion from said motor, another of said transfer means associated with said manipulator means and capable of causing said manipulator means to interact with said objects upon receipt of motion from said motor, each of the remainder of said transfer means associated with two adjacent segments at their point of articulation and each of said remainder of said transfer means capable of moving said respective adjacent segments with respect to one another upon reciept of motion from said motor;
each of said transfer means is capable of transferring motion across any point of articulation positioned on said articulated member between the manipulator means or the two segments with which the respective transfer means is associated and the base irrespective of the movement of any other of the segments with respect to one another or the movement of said first segment with respect to said base.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said control means includes a direction gov-erning means, said direction governing means capable of independently governing the direction of motion of all of said plurality of transfer means in both a for-ward and a reverse direction;
said moving of any two adjacent segments including movement of said two adjacent segments in both a first direction and a second direction with respect to one another, said movement in said first direction corresponding to motion in said forward direc-tion of said transfer means associated with the respec-tive two adjacent segments and movement in said second direction corresponding to motion in said reverse direc-tion of said transfer means associated with the respec-tive two adjacent segments;
said moving of said first segment with re-spect to said base including moving of said first seg-ment in a first direction and a second direction, said movement in said first direction corresponding to mo-tion in said forward direction of said transfer means associated with said first segment and said movement in said second direction corresponding to motion in said reverse direction of said transfer means associated with said first segment;

said manipulator means capable of interac-tion with said objects in a first manner and in a sec-ond manner, said interaction in said first manner corresponding to motion in said forward direction of said transfer means associated with said manipulator means and said interaction in said second manner corres-ponding to motion in said reverse direction of said transfer means associated with said manipulator means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:
said movement of two of said adjacent segments with respect to one another in either their said first or said second direction is in a first plane and the movement of two other adjacent segments in either their said first or said second direction is in a second plane and said first and said second plane are not the same.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein:
said articulated member having at least three segments.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein:
said articulated member having at least four segments.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein:
one of said first and said second manner of movement of said manipulator means comprises an object grasping movement and the other of said first and said second manner of movement comprises an object releasing movement.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein:
said movement of a first of said two adjacent segments with respect to one another in either their said first or said second direction is in a first plane, said movement a second of said two adjacent segments with respect to one another in either their first or second direction is in a second plane and said movement of either a third of said two adjacent segments or said first segment with respect to said base is in a third plane and said first, said second and said third planes are not the same.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:
said control means is capable of independ-ently governing the speed of motion of at least one of said plurality of said transfer means in both said for-ward and said reverse direction at a slow speed and a fast speed.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein:
said control means is capable of independ-ently governing the speed of motion of at least two of said plurality of transfer means in both said for-ward direction and said reverse direction at a slow speed and a fast speed.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said control means includes a rotating means in operative association with said motor and rotated by said motor;
each of said motion transfer means is in operative association with said rotating means and capable of being rotated by said rotating means.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein:
said control means includes a direction governing means, said direction governing means capable of independently governing the direction of motion of all of said plurality of transfer means in both a for-ward and a reverse direction;
said moving of any two adjacent segments including movement of said two adjacent segments in both a first direction and a second direction with re-spect to one another, said movement in said first di-rection corresponding to motion in said forward direc-tion of said transfer means associated with the respec-tive two adjacent segments and movement in said second direction corresponding to motion in said reverse direc-tion of said transfer means associated with the respec-tive two adjacent segments;
said moving of said first segment with re-spect to said base including moving of said first seg-ment in a first direction and a second direction, said moverment in said first direction corresponding to motion in said forward direction of said transfer means asso-ciated with said first segment and said movement in said second direction corresponding to motion in said reverse direction of said transfer means associated with said first segment;
said manipulator means capable of interac-tion with said objects in a first manner and in a sec-ond manner, said interaction in said first manner corresponding to motion in said forward direction of said transfer means associated with said manipulator means and said interaction in said second manner cor-responding to motion in said reverse direction of said transfer means associated with said manipulator means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein:
said rotating means includes a rotating shaft in operative engagement with said motor and ro-tated by said motor, said shaft having a plurality of rotating members coaxially mounted along said shaft, the number of said rotating members equal in number to the number of said transfer means, each of said rotating members operatively associated with one of said trans-fer means, each of said rotating members including a drive gear means coaxially mounted on said shaft, each of said rotating members further including at least a first output gear means in operative engagement with said drive gear means and rotated by said drive gear means;
said direction governing means including a plurality of forward gear train means and a plurality of reverse gear train means equal in number to the number of said plurality of transfer means, each of said transfer means operatively associated with one of said forward and one of said reverse gear train means;
each of said first output means capable of being located in operative association with said for-ward gear train means and said reverse gear train means associated with its respective transfer means.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further including:
a portion of said rotating members having a second output gear means in operative engagement with said drive gear means and rotated by said drive gear means;
each of said second output gear means cap-able of being located in operative association with said forward gear train means and said reverse gear train means associated with its respective transfer means;

said second output gear means driving said forward or said reverse gear train means at a different speed with respect to the speed at which said forward and said reverse gear train means are driven by said first output means.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein:
said rotating means includes a rotating shaft in operative engagement with said motor and ro-tated by said motor, said shaft having a plurality of rotating members coaxially mounted along said shaft, the number of said rotating members equal in number to the number of said transfer means, each of said rotating members operatively associated with one of said trans-fer means, each of said rotating members including a drive gear means coaxially mounted on said shaft, each of said rotating members further including at least a first output gear means in operative engagement with said drive gear means and rotated by said drive gear means;
said direction governing means including a plurality of forward gear train means and a plurality of reverse gear train means equal in number to the number of said plurality of transfer means, each of said trans-fer means operatively associated with one of said for-ward and one of said reverse gear train means;
each of said first output means capable of being located in operative association with said for-ward gear train means and said reverse gear train means associated with its respective transfer means;
said control means further including a plu-rality of shifting members equal in number to said plu-rality of rotating members, each of said shifting members in operative association with one of said rotating mem-bers and the totality of said shifting members in opera-tive association with said operator interface means;

said operator interface means capable of in-dependently interacting with each of said shifting members and each shifting member so interacted with capable of interacting with its respective rotating member to govern transfer of motion from said motor to the respective transfer means associated with said respective rotating member.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein:
said operator interface means includes at least one operator control member, said operator control member located on said base and capable of moving in at least two direction with respect to said base;
said operator control member is capable of moving in one, the other, or simultaneously both of said directions.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein:
said operator control member is capable of moving between a neutral position, a forward position and a reverse position with respect to said both of said directions of movement of said operator control member.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein:
each of said shifting members is in opera-tive association with said operator control member with respect to movement of said operator control member in one of its directions and each of said shifting members is movable by said control member as said control member moves in that one direction.

18 The apparatus of claim 17 further including:
a portion of said rotating members having a second output gear means in operative engagement with said drive gear means and rotated by said drive gear means;
each of said second output gear means cap-able of being located in operative association with said forward gear train means and said reverse gear train means associated with its respective transfer means;
said second output gear means driving said forward or said reverse gear train means at a different speed with respect to the speed at which said forward and said reverse gear train means are driven by said first output means.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 further including:
said operator control member capable of mov-ing in three directions with respect to said base and said operator control member capable of moving between a neutral position, a forward position and a reverse position with respect to all of said directions of said movement of said operator control member.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 including:
two operator control members each of which is capable of moving in three directions with respect to said base;
a portion of said shifting members in opera-tive association with one of said operator control members and the remaining portion of said shifting members in operative association with the other of said control members.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 including:
five of said segments;
six of said transfer means, said rotating members and said shifting members;

three of said shifting members associated with one of said operator control members and the other three of said shifting members associated with the other of said operator control members.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein:
four of said rotating members including said second output gear means.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein:
two of said directions of movement of said shifting members are perpendicular to each other and the third direction of movement is a rotational move-ment about an axis which is perpendicular to the other two directions of movement.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein:
two of said directions of movement of said shifting members are perpendicular to each other and the third direction of movement is a rotational move-ment about an axis which is perpendicular to the other two directions of movement.