US2026188A - Toy catapult - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 31, 1935. L R, PARR.SH 2,026,188

TOY CATAPULT Filed Aug. 24, 1954 if I?! Y, By man.

Patented Dec. 31, 1935 l', u

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE TOY CATAPULT Luther Randolph Parrish, Ocala, Fla., assignor to The Sling-o Corporation, Ocala, Fla.

Application August 24, 1934, Serial No. 741,304

4 Claims. (Cl. 124-2) This invention relates to an improved toy to an out-of-the-way position to provide for comcatapult of the type most frequently referred to pactness and convenience, a well as safety in in the open market as a sling, or a sling shot, as handling and carriage. the case may be. Features and advantages in addition to those By way of introduction, it is to be pointed out already mentioned will be self evident from the 5 that the invention hereinafter specifically desucceeding description and the accompanying ilscribed constitutes a revision of a similar device lustrative drawing. disclosed in Patent 1,960,645, granted to me under In the drawing:- date of May 29, 1934. By way of contrast, the Fig. 1 is aside elevational View showing the iminvention herein covered embodies certain strucproved toy catapult or sling shot and illustrating 10 tural refinements and improvements calculated in full lines, the magazine hanging down for use to overcome noticeable objections discovered in and showing in phantomor dotted lines the magathe prior patented structure. y zine swung up to an out-of-the-way position.

In the aforementioned patent, novelty was Fig. 2 is an end `elevation of Fig. l, that is, obpredicated upon the use and construction of a serving it in a direction from right to left. l5

special magazine constituting a holder for small Fig. 3 is a detail view of the longitudinally taball-like missiles, frequently referred to as buck pered or conical magazine per se. i

shot. The lower end of the magazine there illus- Fig. 4 is a vertical or longitudinal sectional view trated is constructed to facilitate discharge of taken approximately on the plane of the line the balls one by one in a manner to permit them 4 4 of Fig. 2. ,20

to be conveniently grasped in the pocket portion Figs. 5 and 6 are horizontal sectional views takof the sling and to be thereafter projected into en on the planes of the lines 5-5 and 6 6 reflight in the usual way. In the improved strucspectively of Fig. 3. ture, the same idea is portrayed but contemplates Referring now to the drawing by distinguishing the use of a somewhat smaller tapered magazine reference numerals, it will be observed that the 25 from which the missiles are fed by gravity, the shot holder or dispensing magazine is in the form discharge end of said magazine being formed of a conical sheet metal container 'I of appropriate with a series of complemental spring fingers susproportion. This is longitudinally slit as at 8 ceptible of being spread apart to permit the balls along one side so as to provide for radial exsil to be grasped and picked out one at a time for pansion and contraction. It'is open at its top, 30 use. but a lid or cover is used here for closing purposes A further comparison of the improvement with and the cover is denoted by the numeral 9 and has the patent will disclose that in the present dea rim I to t telescopically down over the advice, I utilize a light weight Wire framework conjacent end portion of the receptacle. Incidenstituting a fork and adaptation means for the tally the slot 8 provides the requisite inherent resilient sling, it also serving as a hanger for the resiliency to yieldably hold the cover in place. pivoted magazine or missile dispensing holder. The cover is removable to permit the buck shot A further object and advantage has to do with or ball-like missiles II to be inserted and rethe adOpGOn and 115 0f a Single piece lighttained in place. At its apex portion, the maga- 40 weight wire frame structure which is bent bezine is provided with slots I2 which define a tween its ends to form a saddle and provided with series of resilient lingers I3 allowing the balls to return bends COOPerating With the ends 0f the drop down and be discharged one by one. The saddle in providing keepers for the end portions lingers are spread apart and the user grasps one of the rubber band, the free end portions of the of the balls at diametrically opposite points. In 45 wire being so bent and related to one another as other words, by placing the index linger and t0 Serve aS a Pair 0f hanger almS fOr the aSSO- thumb against the diametrically opposed slots I3,

elated ball Containing magazine. a ball may be grasped and pulled out from be- In addition, an advantageous and improved tween the retention fingers I3. structure is built around the wire frame unit on Il next call attention to the special adapter 50 which the conical ball containing magazine is frame and hanger. This is differentiated by the pivotally hung, said unit being provided Iintermenumeral I4 and iS DI'nCpally made from wire. diate its ends with a reinforcing and connecting The wire is bent between its ends to denne a fork, strap which is so made as to serve as a retaining which fork may be said to include a saddle porelement for the magazine when it is turned back tion I5 and a pair of fork arms I6. The fork I6 arms are dened by bending the ends i1 of the metal downwardly as shown in Fig. 2 and this allows the doubled ends i8 of the rubber bands I9 of the sling to be fastened in the crotch portions of said arms le. Incidentally, the rubber bands are attached to the usual leather pocket or holder of the type generally used for years in sling shots. The intermediate portions of the arms El are attached together by a metal strap 2i which is bent to form a sort of a seat to accommodate the apex end of the turnable or swingable magazine l (see dotted line arrangement, Fig. l). The extremities 22 of the free end portions 23 are turned in to form trunnions located in bearing holes in diametrically opposed portions of the dispensing hopper or magazine. The resiliency of the free end portions 23 are such as to press firmly against diametrically opposite sides of the lid e when the magazine is down in the perpendicular loading position shown in Fig. 2. In a sensethese features servev to hold the maga- 'z'inedown which makes it convenient to swing the holder orpocket 2t! down to the dotted line `position shown inFig. 1, to rcatch hold of one of the shots and to then swing the sling back to firing position. When the magazine is not in use, it is simply swung up against the keeper or strap 2l.

Itis thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a 'clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawing. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the eld of invention claimed may be resortedto in actual practice, if desired.

I claim:

V,1. As a new article of manufacture, a com- /ponent part of a toy catapult of the class described comprising a single piece of wire fashioned to form a holding frame and. embodying a length fof'wire of predetermined'longitudinal dimension bent at a point between its ends to define a substantially U-shaped part constituting a fork, the end portions of said wire being formed'into return bends and extending in spaced relation down alongside the end portions of said fork and beyond the central portion of the fork to form ari-elongated frame, the extremities of the wire being Abent inwardly toward each other at right angles Ato function as hanger trunnions, and a metal strap joining the intermediate portions of the frame members together in Xed spaced relationship, said strap being curved to serve as a retention seat in the manner described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a component part of a toy catapult of the class described comprising a conical magazine, the apex aozaiss portion thereof being truncated and formed with diametrically opposed notches defining a plurality of individual ball retention and releasing fingers, said magazine being longitudinally slit from end to end and that end opposite to the 5 fingers being open and a removable cover carried by the open end, the longitudinal slit serving to render the body portion of the magazine radially expansible and contractible so that when the rim of the cap is snapped over the upper end portion l0 thereof, the inherent expansible properties of the magazine serve to frictionally hold the cap in place.

3. A toy catapult of the class described comprising a longitudinally elongated wire frame 15 formed at one end to provide a substantially U- shaped saddle constituting a fork, said frame including substantially spaced parallel arms provided at their free end with inturned extremities .directed toward each other and located in 20 opposed relation to function as pivot pintles, a fiat metal'strap connected at its end to the intermediate'portion-of said arm, said strapbeing of curved formation to serve as a retention seat, and a conical rs hot containing and dispensing 25 magazine having its apex portion constructed to facilitate selective discharge of the shot, the inner end of said magazine being Aopen and of radially expansible and contractible form and provided with a removable friction retained cover, the cover '30 equipped end of the magazine being located betweenthe free ends of the arms of the frame and provided with apertures to 4accommodate the 'aforesaid pintles,the diameter of said cap being such as to 'facilitate Vmaintaining the magazine in 35 a depending shot dispensing position when in use,

and said'magazine being of a length so that when swungbetween the arms of the frame, the apex,

portion thereof will `nest itself in the aforementioned seat forming strap. x 40 4. In a structure of the class described, a hanger, yhandling and holding frame comprising a U- shaped fork disposed at one end, inturned spaced -apart pivoting and'hanger-trunnions at the opposite endythe'body portion of said frame including 45 substantially spaced parallel longitudinal members, a connecting strap secured transversely across the intermediate portions of said members, said strap being of longitudinally curved formation to serve as a combined seat and stop element, a ball containing and .dispensing magazine pivotally attached adjacent one end to said trunnions and swingable from a depending operating positionto an out-of-the-way position, said mag- 55 azineV in said out-of-the-way position swinging between the longitudinal members of the frame so that one end portion swings into .said-connecting strap.

LUTHER RANDOLPH PARRISI-I. 60

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