US1762461A - Elastic-propelled sound-emitting toy vehicle - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1930. M. ALLAND 1,752,461

LASTIC PROPELLED SOUND EMITTING '.OY VEHICLE Filed April 5, 1929 Patented .lune 10, 1930 1U N E o stared n `MAURICE ALLANID, OF ATLANTIC CITY, JNEW JERSEY nLAsTro-rnornnnnn soUNn-nivrrmrme TOY VEHICLE` application inea` April 5,

The object of this invention is to provide improvements in toy vehicles, `and, particularly in thattype which isautomatically propolled along `a `surface upon being `released 5 after winding certain elasticmeans by manually `propelling it in reverse direction upon said surface. i

a i Another object has beento construct a toy of. this character in which the movement of the toy when released createsa sound which is similar to and represents the familiar soundy given oiby an automobile whentho muffler is cut out, as well as reproducing the familiar sound of a pneumatic horn, common ly referred to as honk, honk. i

A 'A further ob 'ect`is to so construct the toy that thepropulsion of it `when released is caused bythe unwinding of a rubber band, or similar element, which at one end is readi ly attached to or` disconnected from a relatively fixed portion of thearticle, whileits `opposite end portion is secured to a hook carried by or forming apart ofthe driving axle, and from which said band or the like is readi- 52-5 ly disengageable when desired, but which Vhook tofall intents `and purposesforms a n0rmally permanent connection between ,the band andthe axle. Y y f i -Still another object is to provide the driving axle with one or morecollars to prevent the :elastic `or the like from 4entering andentangling with thebearings of said axle, `a collar comprising 4a toothed gear `or ratchet which -is engagedlfby a resilient member see5 cured at itsopposite end to the body ofthe vehicle, so thatvibrations set up in said meme ber through-rotation of said `toothed ,collar arecommunicated to said body andthereby amplified so as to createan easily audible vibratory: sound.

With these and other objects in mind the `present invention comprises further details of construction and operation which are fully brought out inthe following description when read in conjunction `with the accompanying drawings in which Fig.`1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a toy vehicle comprising one embodimentlof the invention and Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, a vehicle is ilu 1,929. serial No. 352,722.

lustrated as `representing; any well-known' type of automobile, but may-instead represent any other form of vehicle desired. Being a toy, it is preferably made in the form of a shell, substantially as shown in Figs. l and 2, said shell comprising a top wall 1 which has a forward `wall 2 andoppositely positioned side wallsB. a Rotatably mounted upon the `outer side of each of the side walls `and the forward portion thereof is a wheel 4, sur 6 rounded? bya tire 5, in order to prevent these forward wheels from skidding laterally `as thevehicleis propelled rapidly forward over a g given surface. y y

Extending forwardly from the lower portion ofthe forward wall 2 is a lug 6, representing' the `well-known connection provided for attachment of a crank, which in `a genuine automobile serves the purpose of manually startingthe engine when such is nec 70 essary. "This lug` may comprise the head of a screw or pin, the opposite end of which extends inwardly throughthe front wall and provides ,a hook 7 adapted to normally and detachably `receive one looped end portion of a rubber band or other suitable form of elastic 8, the opposite end of which elastic detachablyengages a hook 9, which is formed in any suitable manner as by under-cutting one side `ofthe central portion ofthe combined rear `axle and driving-shaft 10, andthus provides a hook which extends parallel with, and `preferablyrof no greaterthiclrness than, the diameter of said shaft.

Said driving shaft extends rotatably si throughthe side walls 3 of the vehicle and uponits outer ends supports driving wheels 11, provided with tires 12 for frictionally engaging a given surface and insuring the tractive effort ofthe driving wheels with respect` to said surface.

It has been found through extensive experi ments that as the driving wheels are rotated `in a reversedirectionin any suitable manner, as for instance by `manually gripping the vehicle and moving it rearwardly withtbe driving `wheel tires in Contact with a given surface, .the elastic 8, if `other than flat and broad, inwinding upon' the shaft l0 tends to Wind toward one end or the other of said 10c shaft, and may enter the journal supports of the same were it not for one or more collars carried by said shaft.

In the present embodiment of the invention such collars may be secured to the shaft between the hook 9 and the vehicle walls 3, one of said collars (not shown) being a mere flange or washer (when actually provided) while the other of said collars 13 is notched to provide the equivalent of a ratchet or gear, having peripheral teeth which are yieldingly engaged by the free end portion of a resilient member 14, the opposite transversely enlarged end portion 15 of which is normally secured rigidly to the upper wall 1 or any suitableV portion lof the vehicle body by means of a rivet, bolt, screw, or any other desired form of connection 16. v j In addition to providing for one given sound by theengagementv of the spring 14 with the teeth 13, a pneumatic whistle 17 of any suitable construction is provided, said whistle being sounded by the sudden compression of an elastic, normally distended rubber bulb 18, against which intermittently presses a relatively broad linger 19, which at its Vopposite end is pivotally connected at 20 to any suitable lportion of the relatively xed vehicle body, such as the rear portion 21. A radial projection 22 carried by the collar 13 intermittently engages the finger 19 asthe shaft 10 rotates and thereby causes the bulb 18 to suddenly expel air and sound the whistle 17.

In the operation of the device, as previously referred to, the vehicle body is manually gripped and placed Aupon and with the driving wheel tires12'in contact with a given surface, whereupon the vehicle is moved in a direction which is the opposite to that which it is intended to take when released and subsequently moving. under its own power. As thevehicle is thus moved manually, the elastic 8 winds upon the driving shaft 10 as far .as may be desired, or as far as may be safe within the limit of elasticity of suchelastic,

after which the vehicle body can be released and the tension of such elastic will operate to reversely rotate said driving shaft and propel the vehicle along thel surface upon which it rests. T

kAs thevehicle is propelled rapidly forwardly underthe power of the contracting elastic 8 the rapid frictional engagement of the resilient member 14 with the notched or toothed collar 13 creates an intermittent sound, which is conveyed to the upper wall 1 of the vehicle body, which acts as a sound board. By `modifying the shape, sizeand resiliency of the member 14, the number and shape of the notches on .the collar 13, the method of attachment of the member 14 to the body wall 1,and by varying the material ofthe vehicle walls themselves, a wide range Vof audible sounds may be produced, including among others the well-known sound created by an automobile when running with the mufiler cut out. lTVhile this self-propelled movement of the vehicle is taking place, the shaft also rotates the projection 22, which upon engaging the finger 19 compresses the bulb 18 and sounds the whistle 17, thus simulating the toot, toot or honk, honk of Vwell-known types of audible automobile signals.

lt is also to be noted that by extending the hook 9 parallel with the shaft 10, when the elastic 8 has becomefully unwound from said shaft and the momentum of the vehicle starts to wind said elastic reversely, there is no danger of the elastic jumping from said hook as was found to be the case when a hook is employed having a direction other than parallel with said shaft. Furthermore, it has been found that when operating the device upon an inclined surface, it will propel itself in the manner described either upwardly or downwardly of such surface, but whether up or down, when the power of the elastic is spent, said elastic serves in effect as a brake,

and prevents the device from moving downwardly under the force of gravity, until manually so movedv or raised freely from said surface.

Having thus describedi my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A toy vehicle, comprising a body having a lug and providing spaced journals, a driving axle extending through said journals andcut to provide a longitudinally extending` hook, which does not increase the effective diameter of the axle, anelastic detachably connected to and extending between said lug and said hook, a toothed collar carried by said axle, and a resilient member at one end engaging said collar and secured at its other end to said body to produce a typical automobile sound as the vehicle is driven by the unwinding of said elastic.

2. A toyvehicle, comprising a body having a lug and providing spaced journals, a driving axle extending through said journals and transversely and longitudinally undercut 4Ato provide a hook which extends parallel with and as an integral part of said axle, an elastic detachably connected to and extending between said lug and said hook, a toothed collar carried by said axle, and a resilient member secured at one end to said body and its free end engaging the teeth of said collar to produce a given sound asV the vehicle is propelled under the power of said elastic rotating said shaft.

3. A toy vehicle, comprising a hollow body, a rotatable axle carried by said body and so cut as to provide a hook extending parallel with itsaxis, an elastic extending between a iixel portion ofy said body and said hook, adapted to be wound upon said axle and in lill unwincling to rotate said axle, a toothed collar carried by said axle, a resilient member secured to said body and engaging said collar to create a sound While said axle revolves, a pneumatic signal, a collapsible bulb therefor, a finger pivotally supported at one end by said body, and a projection carried by said axle and engageable With said linger to intermit tently collapse said bulb and sound said signal While said lirst sound is substantially continuous.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

MAURICE ALLAND.

Images