US2111348A - Toy figure - Google Patents

Description

N WHEATER' TOY FIGURE Filed Sept- 5' 1936 Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNl'l'E STATS PATENT OFFRE TOY FIGURE Application September 3, 1936, Serial No. 99,225

In Great Britain September 13, 1935 2 Claims.

This invention relates to toy figures, and has for its object to provide a nommeohanical figure of simple construction which, when drawn along, will automatically assume a walking motion.

I am aware that many attempts have been made to construct walking toys wherein the body sways from side to side, but all such toys, when not in motion, lean either to one side or the other in a most unnatural position, and in some cases the free leg is stuck out in front. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved toy having a new combination and arrangement of parts and featurea'some of which are already known per se, so as to produce a more natural effect whilst walking and also when at rest.

According to the present invention, I provide a toy consisting of a figure adapted to simulate walking when drawn along, comprising a body, gravitypperated legs pivoted to the body, and a foot rigid with each leg, said foot having a convex rolling surface formed by a forward and inner curved surface normal to the plane of symmetry of the body and partly out away at an angle to form a supplemental intersecting rearward and outer curved surface, the said legs being adapted to swing freely between xed stops and assuming a normal position slightly forward of the central position when the body is held in the natural erect position with the legs free to swing.

When such a toy figure is stood on a level surface, its body stands in the natural erect position with the plane of symmetry vertically disposed and the weight supported evenly on the inner surfaces of the feet.

In such a toy figure, the shape of the feet causes the weight to be transferred from side to side when a forward motion is given to the toy by means of a member attached to the body portion of the toy.

The figure may represent a dog, bear or other quadruped, a duck or other bird, a doll or other biped or any other natural, humorous or fanciful object.

The accompanying drawing illustrates two toy figures according to my invention. In the drawlng,

Figure l is a perspective elevation of a toy dog;

Figure 2 is a front end elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is an underside plan; and

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation through the pivot of one pair of legs.

Figure 5 is a perspective elevation of a toy duck.

Referring to the said drawing, in the example illustrated in Figs. l to 4, the body portion d of the figure is cut from a flat piece of wood and shaped to represent a dogs head and body, the flat side faces of said portion being vertical. Two p-airs of legs b are provided, each pair being pivoted on the projecting ends of an axle c passed 5 horizontally through the body near the under face thereof, the two axles being parallel. Loose washers d are interposed between the side faces of the body portion and the inside faces of the legs to ensure that the latter swing freely on the axle. The axles c are held against rotation in the body by being formed with central keys as shown in Fig. 4.` The ends of each Vaxle are bored out and a headed stud or the like e is driven into each end so as to be frictionally fixed therein, the heads of said studs preventing unintentional removalof the legs b.

Each leg b` is pivoted adjacent to its forward face and terminates in a forwardly-projecting foot J of substantially rectangular shape in plan having a convex under surface. Each foot f projects on the inside of its leg to form a ledge or shoulder g which lies partially beneath the body a and co-acts with the under face thereof thus forming fixed stops to limit the to-and-fro swing of the leg. The curved under surface h of said inwardly-projecting porti-on and the toe of the foot is cut to form a part of a cylinder co-axial with the pivot c of the leg. The remaining portion y of the curved under surface of the foot is cut to form part of a cylinder having an axis which lies in the same vertical plane as said pivot but is inclined thereto in a downward direction towards the inside of the foot. Thus, the under surface of each foot comprises two intersecting curved surfaces of which the forward and inner surfaces h of each pair of feet are portions of cylinders supporting the body a, in a` vertical position on which it can be rocked to and fro in a vertical plane if the body is reciprocated lengthwise. Any lateral pull on the body however causes it to cant in the direction of said pull onto the rearward and outer surface 7' of the feet on the side towards which it is pulled.

With a toy made in accordance with this invention, if the toy is held up in the natural erect position with the legs free to swing, they will automatically take up positions slightly forward of the central position between the xed stops.

In this position, which the feet normally assume and which will therefore hereinafter be referred to as the normal position of the feet, the toes are upwardly directed and the rear portion of the feet lie vertically below the pivots ci. The foot, however, is not swung forward to such an extent that the rear edge is lowermost. If the toy is now lowered onto a level surface it will stand in the natural erect position with the plane f symmetry vertically disposed. In the case of the dog illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, the weight will be evenly supported on the inner surfaces of all the feet. In the case of the duck shown in Fig, 5, part of the weight is evenly supported on the inner surface of the feet, the rest of the weight being taken on the button m.

If the toy is drawn along the ground by a cord attached at k, as the body moves forward its feet lag and the forward and inner surfaces and the rearward and outer surfaces alternately serve as rolling fulcrums or rockers so that the legs 0n each side alternately are raised sui'hcient to clear the ground and allow them to swing automatically forward, the figure assuming a waddling or side-to-side swaying movement as it is drawn along.

When the forward movement ceases the toy returns or tends to return from any position to the natural erect position with the plane of symmetry vertically disposed and the weight, or part thereof, evenly supported on the inner surfaces of the feet. The feet will also tend to resume their aforesaid normal position, so that, irrespective of their position when the forward movement ceases, the toy will tend to resume an upright standing position, producing a more natural and lifelike effect than has hitherto been obtained.

By varying the position Where the outer curved surface i intersects the inner curved surface h, i. e., by varying the inclination of the axis of the cylinder of which the surface y forms a part, the stride of the legs can be varied.

While I have described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 a four-legged toy of wood, the number of pairs of legs may be varied, and the toy may be made of any other suitable material. For example, a two-legged toy representing a duck is illustrated in Fig. 5 in which like letters of reference are used for like parts. m is a flat button which supports the rear part of the toy.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. A toy consisting of a iigure adapted to simulate walking when drawn along, comprising a body, legs pivoted to the body and swinging freely in limited relation thereto, and a foot rigid with each leg, said foot having a convex rolling undersurface comprising two regularly curved surfaces of which a curved surface adjacent to the toe of the foot is normal to the plane of symmetry of the body and extends substantially throughout the length of the foot along the edge of such undersurface adjacent to the central, vertical longitudinal plane of said body whereby to support the toy in an upright normal position with said plane of symmetry vertical, and the curved surface adjacent to the heel and the outer edge of the foot is inwardly and downwardly inclined to said plane.

2. A toy according to claim 1 in which the curved undersurface adjacent to the toe of the foot is a portion of a cylinder co-axial with the pivot of the leg and the curved undersurface adjacent to the heel of the foot is a portion of a cylinder having an axis lying in the same vertical plane as said pivot but inclined thereto in a downward direction towards the inside of the foot.

NELSON WHEA'IER.

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