US2484414A

US2484414A - Musical eating bowl

Info

Publication number: US2484414A
Application number: US2790A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mahan Jeanne Picard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-01-16
Filing date: 1948-01-16
Publication date: 1949-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1966-10-11

Description

Oct. 11, 1949.

J-P.MAHAN MUSICAL EATING BOWL Filed Jan. 16, 1948 Inventor l6 Jeanne Picard Mahan MWW EM Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNIT ED smras PAT ENT OFF l-CE .MUs'I cA'LI; EATINGIBOWL Jeanne Picard Mahan, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application January 16, 1948; Serial No. 2,790

10 Glaims.

"'I'liis' invention relates to new and usefuliimprovements' in eating bowls and the primary ob "ofthe'presentinventionis'to'provideaneatbowl that is sodesigned as'to sound a musicar alarm as thefoo'd in the bowl is consumed to a predetermined point, thus delighting and amusing the person; and helpfully aiding and' encouraging the-training of the'personto'eat from thebowl;

.Another object oft'he present inventionisto provide a' musicaleating bowl includinga music box and novel and improved means" for actuating them'us'ic'boxas food in thebowl is'consumedi Ano'therobject ofthe present inventionis'to provide" a -musioal eating bowl includin'ga re- 1 bodyi-ng novel and-improvedmeans for: adjusting the-actuating means so that the same will be' r'esponsive to a predetermined quantity of fOQdPG-r moved from the bowl;

A further obi ect' of -the present invention. isito provide a mus-icaheatingbowLthe par-ts ofxwhi'ch I are quickly and readily assembled or disassembled facilitating the convenient inspection .'of parts, the cleaning or replacement of par-ts, .or the storage or shipmentv of the same.-

.Astill furtheraim of the present inventionis to provide a. musical eating bowl that isssimpleand practical.inconstr-uction, strong and reliable in use, small and compact in structure, neat and-attractive in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise welladapted for the purposesfor which the same isintended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as morefully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had-to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the present invention, and showing the eating dish removed therefrom;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of s'ection'lin'e'Z-J of Figure 1; and showing the eating dishin section applied thereto;

Figure .3 is a. sectional'view taken subs'tantialh 2V onthe plane of broken section line 3--3 ofFigurel;

Figure is a perspective v-iew'of the musical box braking arm actuating means used iii-con.- junctionwi-th the present invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view-ofthe'present invention in assembled form; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of thepivotaland rockable connecting means used in conjunction with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings -in' detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of thepre serit invention, the numeral Iii represents'a sleevelike body or casing open at both it s'upper end I-2 and its lower end l4.- 7 I Fixedlysecured tothe inner periphery of the body laadjacent'the lower e'n'd'thereof, is a plurality of circumferentially' spaced support strips [6, the upper edges of whichare' coplanar and are spacedparallelto'the lower end l4 and'upper end'lZ-of the body It, to frictionally-support a preferably annular supporting plate or base plate I8. Struck upwardly from the supporting plate' I8, is a substantially rectangular guide plate 20 having a central opening 22 therein fora purpose that will'later'be more fully described. Also, preferably struck upwardly from the supporting plate I8, is a bearing orstop p1ate2'4, theu'pper edge 26 of which is spaced'relative to the braking arm 28 of a conventional, preferably rectangular music box. 20, preferably of the wind type, that'is suitably fixed on theinner'or upper face of the supporting plate l8;

Thenumeral 32' represents generally, the lever member used in conjunction with the present invention foractuating the braking arm 28; This lever member 32 comprises a substantially'cha'nnel-shaped' element 34, the web portion 36' of which is integrally formed with an elongated outer lever'or' arm ilfi'having' a downwardly flaredreducede'n'd 40", and athrea'ded'portion 42 adjacent the end All. Integrall-y formed with and pro jecting'io'utwardly from the web portion 36. in an opposite directionfror'n arm'tt, is a contact lever or arm 43, thelon'gitudin'al axis of whichisipreferablyspaced parallel tothelongitudinal axis ofa'rin 38, so that one corner of the music'boii 311 may be positioned relatively close to the arm- "43 and clia'nioel-sha'ped' element 34', with the;free end of the contact arm 43 disposed beneath the brak ing arm. 28 and normally, frictionally engaging the upper edge 26 of the stopplate 24.-

Depending from the centralportion of a preferably annular pressure'plateor movable supporting plate 44 having excess openings 46, is a pair of spaced parallel attaching ears 48 that are connected by one leg 50 of a substantially U-shaped link 52. The opposite leg 54 f the link 52 frictionally engages suitable apertures provided in the upper ends of a further pair of spaced parallel attaching cars 56 that are fixed to and extend upwardly from the support plate [8, so that the pressure plate may pivot or slide upwardly and downwardly relative to the support plate l8.

Extending transversely through opposed apertures 58 provided in the leg portion of the channel-shaped element 34, is a pivot pin 66 that is pivotally connected to the depending attaching cars 48. A further pivot pin 62 extends transversely between a further pair of opposed apertures 64 provided in the leg portions of the channel-shaped element 34 and its ends are pivotally secured to the fixed upstanding cars 56 carried by the support plate I8.

Frictionally positioned on the upper face of the pressure plate 44, is a suitable eating dish 66 having an annular flanged portion 68 that is adapted to irictionally engage the upper end l2 of the body H], to limit the downward movement of the dish 66 relative to the body l0.

It should be noted, that there is adjustably mounted on the portion 42 of arm 38, a counterbalancing nut 68 for a purpose which will later be more fully apparent.

In practical use of the present invention, food is placed in the dish 66, so that the combined weight of the dish and the food therein will cause the pressure plate 44 to be extended downwardly, thus pivoting the arm 38 upwardly and the arm 43 will frictionally engage the upper edge 26 of the support plate 24. In this position, the braking arm 28 for the music box 36 will be extended downwardly in its normal position and sound will not be emitted from the music box.

As a certain amount of the food is removed from the dish 66, the counter-weight 68 will overbalance the weight of the dish 66 and the remaining food in the dish 66, so that the arm 38 will pivot downwardly in the guide opening 22, and the arm 43 will pivot upwardly to frictionally engage the braking arm 28, to force the same upwardly thus actuating the music box and a musical sound will be emitted therefrom.

Obviously, by adjusting the counter-weight 86,

the device may be regulated for actuation by varying amounts or quantity of food that is removed from the dish, so that as an infant becomes larger it will be necessary for more food to be removed from the dish before the music box is actuated.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as newis:

l. A musical eating bowl comprising a hollowbody open at its upper end, a pressure plate mounted for upward and downward movement in said body, a. music box mounted in said body including an outwardly extending braking arm normally in a lowered position, means for actuating the braking arm to a raised position for activating the music box, means operatively connecting said actuating means to said pressure plate, and means for normally holding the pressure plate in a lowered position and said actuatin means disengaged with the braking arm.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes a pivotal lever.

3. A musical eating bowl comprising a hollowbody open at its upper end, a pressure plate mounted for upward and downward movement in said body, a music box mounted in said body including an outwardly extending braking arm normally in a lowered position, an elongated pivotal lever for actuating the braking arm to a raised position for activating the music box, means for guiding and limiting the pivotal movement of said lever, means received on the lever for adjusting the center of gravity of said lever,

means operatively connecting said actuating means to said pressure plate, and means for normall holding the pressure plate in a lowered position and said lever disengaged with the braking arm.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for adjusting the center of gravity of said lever includes an adjustable counter-balancing member carried by said lever.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for normally holding the pressure plate in a lower position includes a dish filled with edibles, said lever over-balancing said pressure plate and the dish supported on said pressure plate upon removal of predetermined quantity of edibles from the dish.

6. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means operatively connecting said actuating means to said pressure plate includes a pair of bearing plates fixed to and depending from said pressure plate, a further pair of fixed bearing plates mounted in said body, and means pivotally securing said lever to said first-mentioned pair of bearing plates and pivotally and rockably securing said lever to said further pair of bearing plates.

'7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said means includes a removable U-shaped member.

8. Means for actuating the braking arm of a music box comprising a housing adapted to receive a music box, a rockable lever mounted in said housing and including a pair of end portions, one end portion of said lever adapted to engage the braking arm of a music box, a counterweight adjustable on the remaining end portion of said lever and normally urging the other end of said lever upwardly against the braking arm of a music box, and a pressure member acting on said lever and retaining the same out of engagement with the braking arm of a music box.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said rockable lever includes a threaded portion receivably engaging the counterweight.

10. Means for actuating the braking arm of a music box comprising a housing adapted to receive a music box, a rockable lever mounted in said housing and including a pair of end portions, one end portion of said lever adapted to engage the braking arm of a music box, a counterweight adjustable on the remaining end portion of said lever and normally urging the other end of said lever upwardly against the braking arm of a music box, a pressure plate, a pair of ears depending from said pressure plate, a U-shaped pivot link having one leg engaged with said ears, a further pair of ears mounted in said housing and engaging the free leg of said pivot link, and means securing said first-mentioned ears to said lever.

JEANNE PICARD MAHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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