US2014464A - Construction toy - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 17, 1935. c. BI ER BACI-i" ,0 4. 4

cous'rnugmon TOY Filed July-l4, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ENVELOPE INVENTOR 7 ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1935. Q Q B|ERBACH 2,014, 464

CONSTRUCTION TOY Filed Jul y'l4, 1934 s sheet -sheet 2 INVENTOR Um"! Bierback, BY

ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1935. QIVBIERBACIH 2,014,464

CONSTRUCTION TOY Filed July'14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONSTRUCTION TOY Carl Bierbach, Newark, N. J., assignor to Steel Builder Company, Inc., Newark, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July 14, 1934, Serial No. 735,137

6 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to instructive toys and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel construction toy adapted to be sold as toy sets, each such set containing a number of construction elements of various kinds which may be assembled in various combinations V course, be observed that the toy sets may be more economically made the fewer the number of different parts which must be supplied with each one, that is, the more models that can be made from parts of the same character the cheaper the price of the set. It is then a considerable advantage to have various parts interchangeable and adapted for use in various relations and positions, for even if a greater number or more duplication of such parts is required, it will still be more economical than to supply the same number of different elements.

The principal object of this invention is to provide construction elements susceptible of a -variety of uses, whereby the number of different parts in a toy of this type is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of this invention lies in the provision of a number of construction elements or parts which may be secured together in various relations to form different toy structures or units thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a toy building element or strip which is adapted to be joined transversely orlongitudinally to other similar building elements to thereby form composite structures of various widths and lengths.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more'particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of the same. 4

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toy set embodying the principles of the present invention, the set being mounted in a container having its cover removed;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of a hollow cylindrical object made up of connection. pieces or elements;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 3a shows a connection piece in section; 5

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of a typical toy made up from construction elements shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings;

Fig. 5 is a plan view partly broken away of the structure of Fig. 4; 10

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away of a portion of the toy shown 5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a view looking up at the bottom of the structure shown'in Fig. 4

Fig. 9 is a perspective fragmentary view illustrating a manner of assembling certain of the 20 construction elements;

Fig. 10 is a sectional,view taken along line Ill-40 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the strip construction elements and Fig. 111:. shows 5 a section thereof;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the manner of attaching a straddle-piece to a strip construction element.

Figs. 13 and 14 are perspective views of opposite 30 sides of a structure illustrating two strip construction elements interconnected by a straddle piece.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a bracket member; and 35 Fig. 16 shows two strip construction elements interconnected by similan third strip construction element.

-S imilar characters of reference are employed in said views to indicate corresponding parts. 40 Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings the reference numeral I designates a container or carton having a partition 2 of cardboard or other suitable material therein to which partition is attached the several construction elements form- 45 ing a simple toy set embodying the principles of the present invention. Certain of the construction elements of the set are attached to the partition 2 as by means of elastic threads or cords 3 while other of the elements or parts are mount- 50 ed in conforming slits or cuts provided in the partition 2.

These construction elements are illustrated as including longitudinal strip elements 4, 4' and 4". The elements 4' and 4 though similar to the elements 4 are longer than the elements 4. A panel 5 and pressed metal wheels 6 having hubs I provided with set screws 3 are also included. Additional construction elements include the connection pieces 9, a small panel I 0, a U-shaped member ll, straddle pieces l5, brackets l2, rods or pins-i3 of various lengths and a crank pin l4.

The connection pieces 9 may be of various lengths as especially shown in Figs. 1 to 3. These connection pieces each comprise a flat longitudinally extending back or main portion having tabs it provided at its ends, the said tabs l6 being adapted to be folded or turned at right angles to the back portion, as illustrated in Figs.-1

to 3, wherein the tab I6 at one end of each connection piece is so turned. The connection piece back portion is provided at its side edges with folded over flanges H, the two said flanges extending parallel to the back portion though spaced somewhat therefrom to provide a receiving recess I8, said flanges l1 lying in a common plane, there being a central longitudinally extending space or opening between the opposed edges of flanges l1 communicating with recess l3 for accommodating cooperating construction elements as will appear from an inspection of Fig. 3. Thus, for example, these connection pieces may be assembled by sliding adjacent pieces longitudinally with respect to one another so that the flange ll of one enters the recess H! of another to form a cylindrical member of any desired diameter, the latter dimension depending upon the number of connection pieces used.

The longitudinal strip element 4 comprises a longitudinally extending web l9 (see Figs. 1 and 11) that is provided near its ends with longitudinal slots 20 and is provided intermediate these slots 20 with a plurality of apertures 2|. Thus, the elements 4 have three of these apertures 2|, the elements 4' have five of such apertures and the elements 4"' have seven of such apertures, the difierence in the number of apertures being due to the greater lengths of members 4' and 4". The ends of the web l9 are provided with tabs 22 which are turned into overlying relation with respect to the web IS, the angle between the tabs 22 and the web being preferably 45". If desired, certain of the elements 4, 4' or 4" may be supplied with the tabs 22 extending directly from the ends of the web l3 and lying in the plane of the web as shown at 4a in Fig. 1. Flanges 23 extending at right angles to web i9, are formed integrally with the side edges of this web and have folded or doubled over portions 24 that extend parallel to the respective flanges and are spaced slightly therefrom thereby providing a space 25 for receiving cooperating elements as especially shown in Figs. 6 and 10. The doubled over portions 24 serve to greatly strengthen the flanges 23 thereby correspondingly strengthening the strip elements 4. 1) has its flanges 23 cut away in the region of the mid-length of this member as indicated at 30.

The pressed metal wheels 3 (see Fig. 6) are illustrated as made up of two oppositely pressed disks 26 which are fixed upon a reduced beaded portion 23 of the hub I. The wheels 6 are adapted to be mountedon any of the shafts or rods l3 and I4 by merely sliding these rods through the apertures of hubs I. By then tightening set screws 8, the wheels may be located in any positions desired on the rods l3.

The U-shaped member H is very similar to the The strip element 4a (see Fig.

merely bending the web IQ of this strip element transversely at two points i. e. at the ends of the cut out portions 30 of flanges 23. This U- shaped member I l is especially useful in forming the free ends of booms, cranes, derricks and etc.

The straddle pieces l5 (see Figs. 1, 4 and 9) each comprise a flat substantially rectangular main portion having central longitudinally disposed slots 32 and circular apertures 33 therein. 'Iwvo circular apertures 33 are located near 10 each end of the piece II and one such aperture midway of the length of this piece, while two slots 32 are employed, the same being intermediate the central and outer apertures 33. The main portion ofthe piece I5 is provided at its side edges 15 with upstanding flanges 34 the said flanges have cut out portions 35 near their ends and somewhat larger out out portions 36 midway of their lengths. If desired, certain of the straddle pieces [5 may be provided with a bearing or hub 31 20 that is similar to the hub 1 of the wheels 6, the aperture of the hearing or hub 1 being positioned so as to coincide with the central aperture 33 (see Fig. 12)

The straddle pieces l5 may be put to various 25 uses as illustrated in Figs. 9, 10, 13 and 14. In Figs. 9 and 10, by use of fastening elements or screw bolts 33, a straddle piece [5 is used to retain a plurality of transversely abutting and interengaging strip elements 4 in assembled rela- 30 tion. In Figs. 13 and 14 the piece or element I5 is used to secure two longitudinally abutting strip pieces 4 together by use of fasteners 33. In Fig.

16 one strip piece 4 is used for a similar purpose, thereby illustrating the interchangeability of 36 parts. Figs. 4 and 12 illustrate how the flanges 34 fit snugly into the channel like recesses of strip members 4, thereby facilitating the rigid holding of the connected strip pieces by the straddle pieces. 40

The brackets I2 (see Fig. 15) are very similar to the straddle pieces l5 and may be formed from the same blanks as these straddle pieces. The brackets l2 are bent along a transverse line midway of their lengths into a right angled shape and 45 the mid-length circular aperture 33 of straddle members i5 are omitted in the brackets l2. The brackets l2 may be used for many purposes, two such uses being illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. In these figures the brackets l2 are 50 used in conjunction with a strip element 4 to stillen the body of the cart shown and as a coupling for use in pulling the cart.

It will be noted that in Figs. 4, 5 and 7 the connection pieces 9 are used to form the corners of 55 the body of the cart, these connection pieces being pushed downwardly so that tabs 22 of ele ments 4 and 4 enter and are flrmly retained within recesses ll of the connection pieces, thereby rigidly holding the parts in assembled relation. The lower tabs I3 01' the connection pieces are then turned inwardly, thereby locking the connection pieces in place and preventing their endwise displacement. when it is desired to disassemble the cart, the lower tabs l6 may again be straightened i. e. turned to a vertical position so as to lie in the plane of the main body or back of the connection pieces, whereupon the connection pieces may be slid upwardly and off of the tabs 22. Figs. 4 to 6 illustrate one manner of using the panels 5 and I0 the said panels being held at their peripheral edges in the receiving spaces 25 of the strip elements 4 and 4'.

It will be noted that all of the parts of the toy set, with the exception of rods I3 and I4, are

pressed from sheet metal and that several parts namely 4'a and l I, I2 and I are substantial duplicates, thereby enabling the set to be produced cheaply.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the followingclaims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements, said elements comprising, strip pieces having webs reeniorced with flanges, said webs having tabs at their ends, said tabs extending at angles of less than ninety degrees with respect to said webs, and connection pieces for interconnecting said strip pieces, said connection pieces having flat back portions and folded over flanges provided at the side edges of said back portions, said folded over flanges being spaced from said back portions for the reception of the tabs of said strip pieces therebetween.

2. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements said elements comprising, strip pieces having webs reenforced with flanges, said webs having fastener apertures therein, and straddle pieces for use in building said strip pieces up into structures of multiple strip widths, said straddle pieces having substantially flat apertured main portions provided with flanges at their side edges, said main portion flanges having cut out portions to enable such flanges to fit between the flanges of said strip pieces.

3. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements, said elements comprising, strip pieces having webs reenforced with flanges having doubled over portions, said webs having tabs at their ends extending at angles of less than ninety degrees with said webs, pieces for interconnecting said strip pieces to form built up structures, and brackets for use in completing such built up structures, said brackets comprising an angle shaped main portion 5 having flanges at its edges, said main portion flanges having cut out portions to enable such flanges to fit between the flanges of said strip pieces.

4. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements, one of said elements comprising a strip piece having a web, forwardly projecting flanges provided at the side edges of said web, each ofsaid flanges being formed with a doubled over portion spaced from the main portion of the flange, thereby providing a receiving recess extending throughout the length of the flange and open at the rear of said strip piece.

5. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements, one of said elements comprising a strippiece having a web provided with fastener apertures therein, flanges provided at the side edges of said web, each of said flanges being formed with a doubled over portion exteriorly spaced from the main portion of the flange and lying without the margins of said web, thereby providing a receiving recess extending throughout the length of the flange, and tabs provided on the ends of said web.

6. A toy set composed of a plurality of elements, one of said elements comprising a strip piece having a web, flanges provided at the side edges of said web, each of said flanges being formed with a doubled over portion spaced from the main portion of the flange, thereby providing a receiving recess extending throughout the length of the flange, and tabs provided on the ends of said web, said tabs being turned into overlying relation to said web at an angle of substantially forty-five degrees thereto.

CARL BIERBACH.

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