US1237161A - Toy moving-picture theater. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Aug. '14.,A 1.9.17. 2 sHEEssH'EEr 1.1`

l1-.1111411 affitti siinninnl anni n A. 4l.. BOWEN. TOY MOVING PICTURE THEATER.

, APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25|1gI4.

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AL L. BOWEN.

Tov MOVING PICTURE-THEATER. v APPLICATION FILED -NOV. 25J 1914.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

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ARTHUR L. BOWEN, OFCHI'AGO, ILLINOIS Specification of Letters'TPatent Application led November 25, 1914. Serial No. 873,990.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. BOWEN, acitizen of the United States, and a residentk of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Moving-Picture Theaters, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to toys and has particular reference to toys which, if desired', can be constructed of still paper, cardboard,- or similar material.

The general object of my invention is to provide a cheap, and simple yet substantialA toy, for showing series of pictures in simulation of motion pictures.

A further object of my invention is to provide a' toy which, if desired, can bey constructed almost wholly of heavy paper cardboard or similar material and withl which pictures can be displayed from a reel to an observer looking through the front of the toy and at the same time give him the impression of being within a moving picture theater. Y

My invention consists generally in the unique arrangement, construction, and cooperation of parts whereby the above mentioned objects, as welll as others which will. appear hereinafter, are attainable.4

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanyingl drawings forming a part of this specification, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention; e l

Fig. 2 is afront elevation thereof somewhat enlarged;

Fig. 3Y is a somewhat similar front elevation showing the door opened to permit viewf ing of the pictures;

Fig. 4 i's a longitudinal section Vsubstantially on the line 1C-ll of Fig. 2; A

Fig. 5 is a detailview of the coin-operated door lock;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the reelholding member; o

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the. reeling means; l

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the picture shield definer; and v Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13' are viewsof the different parts of the device in flat condition with the folds indicated in dotted? lines.

As is well known,` a child delights' in imi.- tating' the things which he comes'in con'- taot it is through such constructive imitation that his mind' is so rapidly developed.-

It is my purpose here to provide a device or toy for children which is at once entertainin'gj and instructive and with which thatV novelty which interests the child may be maintained. 'Io this end I have devised a unique toy' wherein the child canl operate4 his' own' moving picture theater, which he can also make the films= or strip of pictures whichA he" displays.

my invention contemplates comi'c pictures which lare printed' iln soz many of' the papers throughout the country. By taking such pictures', which' arey usually printed in series, andi pasting several series together the child can readily provide long.V

strips whichcan be easily wound upon' a reel. Furthermore, by making new ones from time to time from thel currentpapers his interest in the toy' 'can be maintained.

Having thusxdescribed the general objects and purpose` ofV my inven'tiomI shall now describe' in detail the preferred embodiment thereof.

The device shown comprisesfthree mainl parts, tor-wit, the front the body or boX portion, B, andl the' rear' or reel-containing' portion The body portion BV is made,y inA this instance of along sheet of cardboard scored along fourlines b (see Fig. 9) thereby forming four substantially equal flaps' b1 and a'y small flap: v79?. The sheet is folded .on the lines b' to form a hol-low rectangular' prism-shaped member' and held in such position bythe flap'. 62, which is preferably'Y gumme'd for that purpose.` For convenience, I shall term this the body portion. l 'Iw'o of the folds are; provided with exten-ding' portions b3 which yare bent at right angles to the 'structure when folded, vand to which the front A is attached, in means' of the paper fasteners aj. The front A is preferably printed to representV the= typical front usually provided for movingl picture-theaters', but of course may be of' any desired form or imprint or' may beI per'- fectlylblank. I forma door al byv cutting along the lines a? and hinge it by scoring' along' the line a3'. The.v door may thus be' swung out to permit viewing the pictures' at theV rear'of the device. provide a unique coincontr'oljled lock for' the door the operation of which will probably be best understood by references to Figs; 2, 4 and 5.

k@at a' conslot' al inthe door,

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and for' y For example, the use of' thek this instance' byv and j'u'st be Y low this slot I pivot a bar or lever a, one end of which is providedwith a pocket cl2. When the lever is in horizontal position the other end cl3 engages a portion a of the front A thus preventing the door from moving outwardly. By placing a coin through the slot 0:10 it drops into the pocket cl2 and thus throws the lever or latch into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, and permits opening the door. The latch or lever c I attach, so that it will stay, by frictional contact, in any position in which it is placed except when a coin or other weight strikes it. In order to return the latch to locked position, I provide a vertical slot c through which a pin or other small article may be placed in contact with the latch, and remove it from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 to the fullline position, ready again to be operated by placing a coin through the slot. It should be noted that after the latch is returned to locked position the door cannot be opened except by means of the coin or other weight placed through the slot,'as the top of the latch is just below the bottom of the slot am. This feature fulls the desire of the child to have an admission fee paid before the pictures can be viewed.

The reel or picture-forming portion C, in this instance. is formed from a substantially square piece of paper cut and scored as indicated in Fig. 11, so that it may be folded to form a cover-like member. It is held in this condition by means of the tongues c which are placed through the respective slots c1. In two of the vertical walls I provide slots c2 and c3 for the reception of the rolls forming the reel. The reeling means, as is best shown in Fig. 7, comprises two rolls et of similar construction, eachof which is provided with a slot c5 through which the end of the paper c6 or other picture-containing material may be inserted, and in each roll I also provide two circumferential grooves c7. The rolls are of a diameter slightly greater than the width of slots c2 and c3 in the member C, while the diameter of the roll at the groove c7 is substantially the same. Thus the rolls can only be placed into the slots 02 and c3 with the circumferential grooves c7 coperating with the edge of the cardboard defining slots 02 and G3. The cardboard sides of the cover member therefore not only form a bearingl upon which the rolls may be rotated but they also serve to hold the rolls firmly against lengthwise movement. The upper slots c3 are preferably notched as at 08. The upper roll operates in the notched portion and is thereby prevented from moving longitudinally of the slots. In order to expose only a definite portion of the picture strip c, I prefer to provide a shield or mat 01. This is simply a sheet of cardboard or thick paper provided with an opening c of the desired size and two flap portions en The width of the shield 010 is substantially the Width of the coverlile member C and when placed therein the flaps cl2 hold it in position by frictional contact with the sides of the member C. The member C slips on to the body portion B of the device as a cover on to a box and can therefore be easily removed and replaced. When the cover member C is removed the tached to enable easy strip.

The picture strip is somewhat remote from the front opening of the toy and is not under some conditions very well lighted thereby. This is particularly so when the toy is used in the evening with the usual artificial light in the upper part of the room. In order that the pictures may be well lighted under all conditions I have devised a simple and eective means of projecting light upon the picture strip. For this purpose I cut a portion of the upper part of the box along three lines r, r1 and r2 so as to separate it therefrom and then fold the flap F thus formed, inwardly to such angular position that it will project light upon the picture strip. The surface 7 is preferably provided with a white glazed finish so that it will reflect most of the light which strikes it. It will be noted that the flap F does not depend below the upper line of the picture as defined by the shield or mat 010 so that it nowise obstructs the observers view. This reflector throws considerable light upon the pictures and makes them appear quite bright in contrast to the relatively dark interior portion of the remainder of the toy.

a more pronounced light effect is desired I form another reflector S upon the bottom of the toy and preferably somewhat forward of the upper reflector. This is placement of a new formed in a manner similar to the upper reiiector, by cutting the paper along three lines s, s1 and s2, and then bending the portion thus formed inwardly. The inner surface s3 is a refiector surface covered with a white glazed paper or other suitable nish which absorbs but little light. In order to permit the light to reach the-refiector S I form an opening o in the upper part of the box directly thereover. It should also be noted that the flap S in nowise interferes with the observers view. Therefore while two inwardly extending reflectors are provided which act to throw ampleflight upon the picture, they do so without obstructing the view of the observer.

The child while looking into the theater through the door can, at the same time, easily manipulate the rolls in order to bring into view the different pictures contained on the strip and by rotating the rolls rapidly produce a motion picture effect from a series of reel can be easily de-y pictures. After viewing all of the pictures upon a given strip a new strip can be easily and quickly supplied in the manner indicated, and thus an almost endless source of amusement provided. The child owning the toy can, of course, simply act as operator, and show his various reels to others of whom he can require tribute in the form of a coin, if he so desires.

From the detailed description it is thought that the advantages of my invention will be apparent, but because this disclosure will readily suggest to others, skilledin the art, modified structures wherewith the substantial objects of my invention can be attained, I do not wish to be limited to the specific structure herein shown and described, eX- cept as may be necessary by express limitations in the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A toy motion-picture theater, comprising an elongated box-like body portion, a cover-like member removably attached thereto at one end, and a picture reel mounted in the cover member, said body portion having a large opening at the other end through which the pictures can be seen. p

2. A toy of the class described, comprising a. hollow body portion substantially rectangularly shaped, a cover-like member removably attached to one end thereof, a picture reel mounted in the cover member for easy removal therefrom, said body portion being open at the other end to expose the pictures to view.

3. A toy theater comprising an elongated hollow body portion, a picture reel holder slidable upon one end thereof, and having slots to receive and hold two rolls, forming a reel, in spaced relation and said body having an opening at the end opposite to the picture reel through which the pictures may be viewed.

4. A toy theater comprising an elongated hollow body portion, in combination with a picture reel holder formed to fit one end thereof, and having two pairs of slots formed therein, two rolls each having two circumferential grooves therein and cooperating with the edges of the paper adjacent the slots in the reel holder, said body portion having a large opening at the opposite end through which the pictures may be viewed.

5. A toy theater comprising a hollow body portion, picture-reeling means removably mounted in one end thereof, a picture deliner for exposing only the desired portion of the picture reel, said body portion being formed with a large opening at the opposite end to permit the inspection of the picture.

6. A toy of the class described comprising an elongated hollow body portion, picture reeling means mounted in one end thereof and a door closing the other end of the body portion, said door being arranged to open to permit inspection of the pictures upon the reel, and a coin-operated lock for holding the door closed.

7. A toy of the class described, comprising an elongated hollow body portion, picture reeling means on one end thereof, a door at the other end, coin-operated unlatching means for controlling the door, and a slot adjacent the latch so that it can be returned to locked position.

8. A toy of the class described, comprising an elongated hollow body portion, picture reeling means removably mounted at one end thereof, a door at the other end, which, when open, permits inspection of the reel, and a coin-controlled lock for holding the door in closed position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 14th day of November, 1914:, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR L. BOWEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. Q.

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