US1526419A - Novelty apparatus - Google Patents

Description

1,526,419 s. A. GRUBBS NOVELTY APPARATUS Eiled Ju1y 13. 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 COLE BUICK FORD ill lull! I DODGE Alli" PACKARD INVENTOR.

Ste/622%. firazbs ATTORNEY.

s. "A. GRUBBS NOVELTY APPARATUS Fileg July 13, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Ste/era 56.7. 67 21558 Fgb, 17, 1925.

's. A. GRUBBS NOVELTY APPARATUS Filed Jfily 13, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5' INWENTOR.

Jim e22 J9. 627$};

M A TTORNE Y.

S. A. GRUBBS NOVELTY APPARATUS Filed July 13, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wwwtoa: Sterem .2? Gras.

Feb. 17. 1925; 1,526,419

S. A GRUBBS NOVELTY APPARATUS Filegi July 13, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN7 0R.

Ste/622 ,W. Era $63 v Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES STEVEN A. GRUBBS, F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

NOVELTY APPARATUS.

Application filed July 13, 1921. Serial No. 484,520.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that STEVEN A. GRUBBS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Novelty Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention'relates to an improved novelty apparatus designed for use in recrea-tional centers for the purpose of providing amusement and the opportunity to exercise individual skill and supremacy in the actuation of the apparatus.

In carrying out the invention use is made of a novelty apparatus which consists of a suitably formed casing constructed to provide a circular raceway or track, around which suitable counters are adapted to revolve, the said counters being carried by means of axially rotatable supports provided Within the casing which are driven from a suitable form of motor, and to provide in conjunction with the casing and manually operated brake structure which upon actuation will engage with said supports to govern rotation on the part of the latter and the consequent control of the counters carried thereby with respect to the raceway, the arrangement of parts being such that when the brake structure is initially operated, the said motor will be energized to effect the rotation of the counter supports, permitting said counters to revolve rapidly about the raceway, and whereby upon subsequent manipulation of the brake structure, the rotation of said supports may be arrested so that by the exercise of skill the said counters may be brought to a stop at desired positions upon the raceway, an arrangement which permits the operator who brings a counter nearest the predetermined goal to successfully conclude the contest.

A further object of the invention resides in forming the raceway to include a plurality of concentrically located annular tracks, each of said tracks being provided with an individual set of counters, to provide a plurality of rotatable supports within the an casingfor effecting the retention and rotation'of the counters from a common motor,

and to provide interior and exterior braking arms for the purpose of controlling the rotation of the axial support-s.

Other objects of the invention reside in an apparatus of this character which will be capable of furnishing considerable amusement and enjoyment to the operators thereof, to be simple yet efiicient in construction so as to overcome the necessity of continuous repairs or other mechanical disorders, and to include a construction whereby the counter supports may continue to rotate by their own momentum after the driving motor has had its operation arrested. The invention is further adapted to be employed as an advertising novelty and to include an improved counting or scoring arrangement in conjunction with the rotatable counters.

WVith these and other objects in view, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention accordingly consists in the novel features of construction. combinations of elements and arrangements of parts, hereinafter to be fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts;

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the in'1- proved apparatus comprising the present invention,

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view disclosing fragmentarily the raceway construction and the cooperative scoring apparatus,

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the apparatus on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the apparatus,

Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the counters,

Figure 6 is a front view thereof,

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the apparatus,

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view disclosing the position of the braking structure when initially operated to energize the oper' ating motor,

closing the. mounting for ity of said arms ing therebetween a connectmg web 12, By

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view of the bracket utilized in supporting the longitudinal rods of the braking structure,

Figure 10 is a detail vertical section disclosing. the position of the braking structure when actuated to force the inner'pivoted arm thereof into engagement with one of the rotatable counter supports.-

Figure 11 is a fragmentary front elevation disclosing the supports for the pivoted U shaped member utilized in the braking structure and designed for effecting the operation of the pivoted armsof said struc- Figure 12 v w view disclosinggthe positions of the brak ng structure when thev outwardly extending cludes an inner section 4, an intermediate section 5: and anouter section 6, the said 7 sections being relativelyfspaeedLtoprovide annular grooves 7 and 8 which serve to constitute arace r trackway;

the central portion thereof with a bearing 9, from which-project rearwardly; extendin'g diverging arms to terminate in teet -11,- whiclrare. adapted to be securedstationaril-y, and securely to the outer portionsof'the casing 2, therigid being enhanced by provid this construction it: will'be apparent that the inner sectionoftheplateor coverot the apparatus may be rigidly mountedinan operative position. The outer sectiontlrere- 01' Y has its circumferential portion suitably secured to the caslng 2, and the lntermediate portion is adaptedtdbe maintained nr a supported and operatlve position by providing' the apparatus witlra plurality of arches a 13, i

which are adapted to extend overthe grooves 7 and-.8- and have their lower ends secured to the inner and outer sections iand 6 respectively. These arches carry depend ing-rodsl l, which'have their lower ends equipped with suitable fastening. devices '15 for the purpose of-securing the section 'be tweenthe inner and outer sections. t

The presence of the grooves 7 "and Sin the cover of is a detail vertical sectional said bearing fo'nn of hsks, the hubs ln this instance the said, casing.

To effect the" supportof the various sections otthe top; plate,the inner section is provided be'neatl-r 10, the-latter being u-pwa'rdly andoutwardly curved and formed the apparatus provides race-- ways of annular formation with which rotatable counters 16 are adapted to cooperate; In the present instance the counters 16 are of a form to resemble motor driven vehicles,

but-this form is op'tiona'l, and it will be ap invention includes means for effecting the rotatables'u'pp'ort"of the counters and to enable the movements of the latter to be under the control of the'operato'rs of the apparatus, inorder that'the positions of the counters with respect to the raceway may be governed to permit 01": features" of scoring to be hereinafter described. To this end, the base17" of'thecasing'is provided centrally with'abearin'gf 18, which is situated in vertical aligiji'm'ent 'with the bearing 9, the being relatively disposed to receiye the upper and lower ends of a vertic-ally situated shaft 19. This shaft is adapted to loosely carry a" pair of spaced horizontally disposed rotatable counter support's20, which in this instance-are in the l or which being adapted 'to loosely surround the shaft 19in order"thatfthesaid supports may rotate independently-ofthe'shaft. The outer circu'n'iferential edges of the supports 20 and 21' are located il'mnediately beneath the grooves7'and 8 the support 20- being situated so as to' register with the groove 7,

when the support 21 will register with the outer groove-8'. As shown, the'counters 16 are" provided with depending threaded rods 22 adapted to'h'a've their 'lowerends engaged in the respectivesupports'and are held in engagement therewith, which carry securing nuts 2 3 asclearly shown in'Figure 3 of the drawing. By; means of thisconstruction the said counters may be'ri'gidly' secured to the supports 20fand' 21 soas to rotate in u ison therewith, the grooves 7 and 8 allowing for the presence "of the rods 22.

Toefi'ect rotation of the supporting disks 20f'and 21, use is made in this instance oi an electric motor'24c, whose armature shaft'carrise a belt pulley 25, around which an endless shaft of the motor may be properly stepped down tUconiOrm with the required speed necessary to be imparted to the shaft 19.

v This belt leads to anenopening-in the Web l2 and is normally'disposed spacedrelatiozr from the upper surface'of"theasupporting disk 20, a leaf spring 56 r"the"like being situated to cooperate with the inner end of the lever 52 for the phrposemtmaintaining the end 51 of said leverin engagementwivith the bar 50 and the shoe end 55 01": said lever out otengagement with respect to the disk 20. Manit'est'ly; hoivererpupon the oscillation of the handles connected with the rods 4-2, the

said lever 52 will be oscillated against the tension-of the spring: 56, so that the shoe end thereot will be'b-rought into frictional. enfii ga'gementwith the uppersurface ot the disk QOythus tending to bring the latter to a stop together with the counters carried thereby. Bythis'construction the counters carried by v the upper supporting disk may be brought 26 to a stop in a controlled manner byan operator at variousfsecuring positions upon the racewa The outer counters or those carried *bythedisk 21 have their positions govern'e'd by: means of the handles connected \vith'the rods 43. These rods are situated, as aforesaid, to oscillate the bar 47. This bar engages with the lower endot a shoe 5? pi rotaillycarriedby the rod 48, the upper V end of the said shoe being normally disposed in 'spaced relation from the under surface of thedisk 21. Il'0wever,"b reciprocatingthe rods43, the said shoe 5? may be raised so as to 'friction'all'y engage with the 'disk :21,

thus bringing the latter to a stop in a manner similar to that set forth for operating;

the support 20.

From the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing's it Will be apparent that the present inve'ntionprovidesa sin'lpleapparatus capable of affording pleasure and entertain ment for the operators thereof and one wherein the element of personal skill will becomeapparentbythe manipulation of the operating device of the apparatus. The game requires watclrhilness on the part of tli'eope'rators in denoting the positions which their respective countersassume when. traveling albbut theraceway, and then dexterity and skill must be exercised in oscillating tho brakii'ig handles 34: so thatthe counters may be brought'to' a stop at the best scoring positions possible. As shown' inFigure 2 the I arches 1311nay be connected by means at arct'iate strips 58, which are alsocapable of bearing suitable scoring indicia and coop era'te with the arches 13 to permit of a more exact scoring arrangement The wall 39 n'i'ayjbc' provided with an electric lampj :39,

69 which is capable of being energized to prop erly illuminate the apparatus. The shaft 19 maybe provided with suitable bores to perni""of proper lubrication for the revolving disks" 20' and'2l It will be apparent that thmtiihber-bf supports and sets of counters maybe varied in order that the apparatus may aeconnnodateaiiy desired number of players. Itwill be apparent that the con struction, by reason of its sin'iplicity, will be capable of imparting extendedscrvice without requiring undue repairs or adjustments and that the mechanism as a whole will be rendered accessible and convenient to reach should action soire'ijuire. In view ofthe foregoing-it is believed that the operation, construction and advantages ot'thc invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and therefore a more extended cX- pilanation has been accordingly omitted.

lVhat is claimed 'is: p

1. In an'apparatus ofthe character described, a casing including a raceway, a rotatable support mounted within said casing, counters fixed to said support and capable of'rotating'abmit said raceway, means for impartingmotion to said support, and means for governingthe rotation of said support including: ajpivotally mounted lcvcr havingthe free end thereof normallj spaced from said supportya bar piyotall j mounted in the casing and engagedfwith said lever and an oscillatory handle capable upon manual operation of oscillating said bar and thus the lever to force the latter into trictional braking engagen'ient with said support.

2. In a novelty apparatus, a casing; including a pluialitjflof raceways, a plru'ali'tv of supports mounted for rotation within said casing, counters carriedby said supports and capable ot' rotating: about said racen'ays, means for imparting motion to said supports, a scoring structure cooperative with said raceway and counters, inner and outenbraking devices and means operating to force the braking devices into frictional contact with said supports to arrest rotation on the part of the latter to control the movements of said counters.

3. In a novelty apparatus, a casing including a raceway, a disk mounted for rotation within-said casing, upwardly projecting' counters rigidl x carried by said disk and capable of traversing said raceway, means for imparting rotation to said disk, and means for governing the rotation of said disk, including a pivotally mounted lever, the outer end o'f said lever being formed in the shape of an arch capable of permitting said counters to pass thereunder. the extreme outer end of saidlcver being terminated in spaced relation from said disk, and manually operated means for oscillating said lever to 'force the latter into frictional engagen'ient withsaid disk.

4. In a novelty apparatus, a casing, a support mounted for rotation within said casing, spaced counterscarried by said support and capable of rotating abouta trackway, provided in conjunction with said cas- The shaft 19 in this instance also carries a fixed ratchet wheel 31,Which is disposed to be engaged withpivoted spring pressed pawls 32 carried by the supporting disks 20 and 21. The arrangement of the pawls is such that when the shaft 19 is rotated uniform motion will be imparted to the supporting disks. However, upon the cessation of the application of power to the shaft 19, the disks 20 and 21 will be permitted to rotate under their own momentum until the same are brought to a stop by manually controlled devices to be hereinafter set forth. For controlling the rotation of the disks 20 and 21, I employ an improved starting and braking structure, designated broadly by the numeral 33. This structure includes a plurality of manually operated oscillatory handles 34, which are mounted upon horizontal pivots 35 carried by the casing, the lower ends of said handles projecting into the interior of the casing and having connected therewith small springs 36 which opcrate to maintain the handles in a normal position. Situated immediately to the front of the handles 34, which latter are located in vertical alignment in the front part of the casing, is a pivotally mounted circuit closer 37, the latter being situated between the lower ends of the handles 34, and a pair of stationary contacts 38. The contacts 38 are suitably connected with and form a part of the electric circuit in which the motor 24 is situatec It is obvious that when anyone of the handles 34 is grasped and oscillated in a specified direction, the closer 37 will be oscillated so'as to physically engage with the contacts 38, thus completing the motor circuit. The circuit is closed for a suitable period, sufficient to effect more or less rapid rotation on the part of the supporting disks 20 and 21. When this occurs. the handles 34 are released and respond to the tension of their springs 36 so as to permit the closer 37 to return to a normal position breaking the motor circuit. The motor is thus deenergized and consequently rotation on the part of the shaft 19 is arrested, however, the disks 20 and 21 may continue to rotate by reason of the pawl and ratchet construction 31 and 32 The scoring of counting, or other indications which are used to denote the winner of the game, is effected by providing the cover plate 3 with the arches 13, which arches may bear suitable numbers or other equivalent indicia. Also, the upper part of the casing is provided with an upright wall 39 having openings 40 provided in the lower part thereof in registration with the grooves 6 and 7 and with the arches 13, the said plates serving to conceal the rear of the machine when the latter is viewed from the front. The counters 16 carry upwardly projecting resilient strips 41 which are adapted to pass under the arches. upon the operation of the motor 24, the counters 16 will be revolved by reason of a mechanism described, and then, through the instrumentality of the braking structure 33, the movement of the counters is cap-able of being controlled so that the same may be stopped in a regulated manner near or in registration with the scoring arches 13. These arches bear numbers of varying numher, and consequently it is the object of the players of the game to bring their respective counters to a stop nearest the archway hearing the number of the greatest value. It will be plain that by the provision of the wall 39, and by reason of the rapid rotation of the counters, it will be a fairly difficult matter to stop any particular vehicle near the arch of the highest value, since the latter is situated in such manner that the operator must act quickly and skillfully to bring the counter to a stop so that the pointer strip 41 thereof will register with the arch, the player who stops his counter nearest the arch of highest value being declared the winner of the contest.

To effect the stopping of the counters in scoring positions, the brake structure 33 includes a plurality of sets of longitudinally extending rods 42 and 43, the former of which being adapted to control the'co unters traveling in the groove 7, and the latter to control the counters traveling in the groove 8. The outer ends of the rods 42 and 43 are pivotally connected as at 44 with the lower depending ends of the handles 34, while the other ends of said rods pass through openings 45 provided in a longitudinally extending rigid bracket 46, mounted upon the base of the casing. The inner ends of the rods 42 engage with a pivoted U-shaped bar 47, which is mounted for swinging movement upon a horizoi'itally extending rod 48 carried in rigid bearings 49, the construction being such that upon the oscillation of the handles 34 with which the rods 42 are connected, motion will be imparted to the bar 47. Similarly, the rods 43 engage at their inner ends with a U-shaped bar 50 also pivotally carried by the rod 48, the said bar 50 being adapted for oscillation upon movement on the part of the handles 34- with which the rods 43 are connected. The bar 47 is disposed for engagement with the lower curved end 51 of a pivoted braking lever 52, which latter is pivotally carried as at 53 upon a bearing projecting from one of the inner walls of the casing. The lever 52 then extends upwardly and outwardly through a slot provided in the cover plate 3, and is bent, as shown at 54, to constitute an arch through which the revolving countcrs are permitted to pass. The effective end of this arch terminates in a downwardly directed shoe 55, which passes through an It will be evident that ing, a scoring structure including a plurality of spaced counting arches, a motor for rotating said support, and a braking lever for governing the operation of said support, including an exteriorly located portion in the form of an arch capable of permitting said counters to pass thereunder,

and manually operated means operable to force said device into frictional engagement With said support, whereby said counters Ina3 be stopped at positions contiguous to said arches.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

STEVEN A. GRUBBS.

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