US121936A

US121936A - Improvement in toy monuments

Info

Publication number: US121936A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1871-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 1888-12-19

Description

6X. ffl/'J'er Mfzumenf.

No. 121,936. Patented Dec.19,1s71.

J'z'yz" A11 N UOLN .DIED 7 Apr-I4 [86.53.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. FISHER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY MONUMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 121,936, dated December 19, 1871 antedated December 3, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it kfnown that I, GEORGE W. FISHER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and Sta-te of New York, have invented acertain Toy Monument, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a toy for the amusement and instruction of children, consisting of blocks laid up in the form of a monument and provided with letters, inscriptions, or Words, as desired.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one forln of luy invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are plan views of the courses, showing different forms of section and modes ofconnectingthe blocks inthe courses.

The monument is built up of several horizontal courses, each composed of two or more sections or blocks, a, which are constructed to lock together by means of dovetails c, Figs. 3 and 4, or inclined tongues and grooves, c', Fig. 5. The vertical rod or bar b, Fig. 2, is secured to the pedestal d and passes through the center of the courses, each block a being so formed that when put together into a course the latter shall slip easily down upon the rod b to its place. The cap e and urn or other ornamental mounting f iit closely upon the upper extremity of the bar, and when pressed down upon contact with the top of the monument bind the courses firmly together. The central block gis preferably made solid, with a central opening to admit the tie-rods b, and appropriate inscriptions may be placed upon its outer faces. The sides of the blocks a may also be provided with letters, words, or figures, which, as the blocks are revolved about the 4bar b, present different combination in words or sentences, in vertical or diagonal lines, as indicated in Fig. 1. The upper or lower or both faces of each course of blocks have large letters upon them, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, portions of which in most cases extend upon all the sections of the course; and these letters are arranged upon the courses in such order that when the structure is built up they shall form a certain word, reading them consecutively from either top or bottom, as monument.7

The puzzle consists in selecting from a mixed pile of blocks those belonging to each course, putting them together by means of the dovetails or tongues, and building up the monument from the courses so formed, each in its order according to the inclination of the sides, the letters upon the face of the courses spelling a word, and those upon the sides (when used) forming any desired combination, according to the axial position of the courses.

The cross-section of the monument may be square, circular, octagonal, or other desirable form, and its sides may be vertical or inclined, according to the taste of the purchaser or manufacturer.

These toys may be very cheaply constructed by forming the shaft of the monument in one piece, boring the central hole, and sawing off the courses, each course being afterward cut into sections with a whip or scroll saw. When inclined tongues are used, as shown in Fig. 5, the sections a may be formed in long strips, each section being provided with a tongue and groove and afterward put together and sawed into courses as before.

Another plan of connecting the sections of the courses is shown in Fig. 6, in which doubled strips of metal c', the folded edges of which are secured in grooves formed longitudinally in the central rod b, branch out into the form of a Y in each section of the course. This construction is very cheap and simple, but prevents the adjustment of the courses circumierentially.

`What I claim as my invention is- 1. Atoy monument,con sistin g of several courses of blocks divided vertically, and suitably connected together within the periphery or outline of the made-up sections, for the purpose set forth.

2. A toy monument having its several sections sustained in a vertical position by means of a base, d, and rod b, with or Without the pediment e f, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

GEO. W. FISHER.