US2510884A

US2510884A - Fit together spelling block

Info

Publication number: US2510884A
Application number: US640450A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert S Greene
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-01-11
Filing date: 1946-01-11
Publication date: 1950-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 1967-06-06

Description

June 6, 1950 Filed Jan. 11, 1946 INVENTOR ROBERT E. BREE NE ATTORNEY Patenteci June 6, 1950 it] This invention relates-to-new and .nseful improvements-fine;spelling-toy; i "More specifioallyj the present invention proposesthe construction of a. childs toy characterized. by 'havinga "number or parts provided 'with'sirnple atteiehmentsi so that a child-can .asserene the parts and dise's'semble them the parts being onstmeted to lo' eoupled to'feacn other ass; having parts of niimlgiersfletters; and figures so-that the 'ohild w-iil learn-to spell and took:-

serve.

A further object is-to provide atoy as aforesaid whioh may; bepuned-alon'g-{pn wheels; An'other 'obj'eotis'to provide 'a/toy as aforesaid whieh also isfal bank; which} begause of 1 its I inwest to a child; will encourage the ehild to save small coins and will thus teach thrift.

The toy "or the present invention includesfittogether bloeks. ItQis 'alconstrnotive educational toy" which forms a g me for" children. -It will teah' them to s uend tofhav'ffun-whfle doin it; The'tby has? picture of an animal on eelh side and eachof the pair-tshas letter; so that whenfpufitogetherthe" nam -or the animal is spell d. Thus-the oh ilci i-iot o'nlylearnshow to 4 jSpf ll butel's'ole'erns the nain'esof certain animals. The 'p'i'citiire of -the animal is cut into'as many parts verticallyjas there are letters i the anim'els neme'I- For instance, pighas three parts,

lamb; meromparts, and so" nl' i or -fn rther'oompi ehension of the invention,

v and of the objects" and advantages 'thereof refe'renee will 'h'ehad to the following oles'cription andacpompanying drawings; and to the appended.

In the a'ceornpanying' dra wings forming amaterial part of this disclosure;

Fig. 1 is at perspective View of a toy constructed in aocordence with this invention.

Fig. 2 isa, perspectivejview of a, part of the toy. Fig: 3 isja side view of the part of-Fig. 2; taken apart.

' 1 ig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a part-con- Th t sh n. mine & acc rdin Willi foleiiris in'whi'ch the various novel features of the invention, includes aflpullwagonio having .ta

string l l. and four wheels. l2 ..Two.spa.-ced'.ddwels l 3 upstan'cl along. the. longitudinal :center. line. of

the. wagon. Areotangular blockl It, having" orii'lces- .t5..for the ;dowe1s. 'ES issupported in vertical position .on the. .wagon'. .The toy .is preferably madeiof. wood,.or;.plastics.'

" -.Thel blocki ijis, sit-togetherspelling block and .ismadeof threevertioaliparts, l6, "and 18, part Ii beingihthe. middlefand orifices [5 being. in parts {6 andita. '.:Wheri the three partsareto- :gethei-j. there is a different figure. :of an, animal 'onleaoh. side thereof. .For instance, a Diglis shown on one side in the drawings, and v another animal such as egoatmay' be shown on; the other side. If the name' o'f i the animal hasthree letters ts PI G; then three partsere' useid. If leihb' was shown; lhowever, I there would be four 20 ihaihavingsnafiie with three ett ersmfi t also b e Show; on theotherside, such as a cat or a dog.

parts." fI-hnsif t pi'g is shown on ones'ide' an ani- 'i hei ead of the pig on part 6,; the rear; end or'i'parti8 e'nd th'e middleon part 11. -The'1et- 25 ter P is it the top o'fpart t6, the letter Ionpart heei'part for eeoli: letter in the animals name.

arranged so theit the hree perts can only be put together 'coifrectlyl -Sfich "an arrangement is shown inFig: 3, wherein thtop'dOWel' in' 'pa'rt fl is nearer" the topthan-t'he' bottom dowel i's' heir glowel the} bott-oni' and furthermore" the j in part i 6 farther apart than the q q1s 1em paft e softhatfjit is impossible 'to 93M5 1! I" .struetecl in aooordance with e; modification of 4 thisinvention. I I

, on one side end the iiictihe of the cat on; the other. She nuinbers 1; Zend-S'areiiseclt oid th' chil d in putting theiperts together.

. Fremihe fereeeiee d scripi o ji wi be s that the toy is avery elementary toy for very young children. It constitutes a pull toy when all together. If the child takes it apart, he must learn to assemble the parts of the block and to assemble the block with the wagon. Furthermore, by putting the parts together correctly he learns the value of 1, 2 and 3 and how to spell the animals names. Furthermore he becomes familiar with the animals. For spelling 4 or 5 letter words, 4 or 5 blocks are provided, respectively.

A toy constructed in accordance with a modification of this invention is shown in Figs. 4-6 Only the block is shown, as it can be used on the wagon of Fig. 1. The block has all the parts of the block of Figs. 1-3 and parts corresponding to like parts of the first embodiment are indicated by like references and no further description thereof is deemed necessary. The block of Figs. 4-6 has additional features rendering it more complicated and of additional interest.

The block [4' has each of its parts formed of two portions disposed one on top of the other. Each part is so divided in a similar manner and only one part, namely the part l6 will be described, it being understood that the same description is pertinent to the other parts.

The top portion of part I6 has a depending shoulder 2| extending horizontally across its width and also has two longitudinally extending depending ribs 22 having formed between them a dove-tail groove 23. The top surface of the bottom portion is provided with a transverse shoulder 24 coacting with the shoulder 2|, two upstanding flanges 25 disposed outwardly of the ribs 22, and a dove-tail tongue 25 for sliding in the dove-tail groove 23. Thus the two portions can be firmly assembled, but only from one side. All the dove-tail tongues and grooves are similar so that the child can assemble the wrong portions together, this making it more complex for the child, and forming an advanced toy. It must be remembered, however, that the toy nevertheless can be used as a simple toy by a smaller child who will not divide the parts into their portions.

A further feature of the toy of Figs. 4-6 is that each part of the block I4 forms a bank. Each part has a slot 21 in its top for a coin and this slot extends entirely through the top portion vertically. One slot will be for a penny, another for a dime, and another for a nickel. When more than three parts are used, additional slots for quarters, and half dollars may be added.

The bottom portion of each part has a chamber 28 for receiving coins. This chamber opens through one of the transverse sides of the portion and is covered by a pane of transparent plastic 29. The chamber opens through the top of the portion by way of a circular opening 30 through which the coin drops. Thus, by taking the portions of a part apart, the bank therein can be opened for removal of the coins. By taking the parts apart, the coins can be viewed but cannot be removed.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described by invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is: a

l. A toy comprising a rectangular block hav ing a picture of an animal on each of its two opposite longitudinal sides with the name of each animal thereabove, each of the animals having a name of the same number of letters, said block being divided vertically into as many parts as there are letters in each name with one letter in each part, and dowel connections connecting said parts, the dowels in one part being spaced differently than the dowels in another part and the dowels in each part being spaced a diiferent amount from the lower edge of said block whereby said parts can only be assembled in one manner correctly, each of said parts being divided horizontally into an upper and a lower portion, said upper and lower portions being connected by a dove-tail tongue and groove connection, the two portions of each part having transverse co-acting shoulders crossing said tongue and groove connection at one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slid together from one side only, said tongue and groove connections being similar in all portions so that any of said lower portions can be interchangeably assembled with any of said upper portions, each of said upper portions having a coin slot extending vertically therethrough and each of said lower portions having a chamber for receiving coins.

2. A toy comprising a rectangular block havinga picture of an animal on each of its two opposite longitudinal sides with the name of each animal thereabove, each of the animals havin a name of the same number of letters, said block being divided vertically into as man parts as there are letters in each name with one letter in each part, and dowel connections connecting said partsgthe dowels in one part being spaced differently than the dowels in another part and the dowels" in each part being spaced a different amount from the lower edge of said block whereby said parts can only be assembled in one manner correctly, each of said parts being divided horizontally into an upper and a lower portion, said upper and lower portions being connected by a dove-tail tongue and groove connection, the two portions of each part having transverse coacting shoulders crossing said tongue and groove connection at one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slid together from one side only. said'tongue and groove connections being similar in all portions so that any of said lower portions can be interchangeably assembled with any of said'upper portions, each of said upper portions having a coin slot extending vertically therethrough and each of said lower portions having a chamber for receiving coins, each of said coin slots being of a different size to receive different value coins, each of said lower portions having an opening through its top into its chamber, and having an opening through one transverse side, said transverse side opening being closed by a pane of transparent material.

3. A toy comprising a rectangular block divided vertically into a plurality of parts, each of said parts being imprinted on at least one side thereof with a portion of a picture so that when said parts are properly assembled the picture is properl assembled, dowel connections between the parts, the dowels in one part being spaced differently than the dowels in another part and the dowels in each part being spaced a different amount from the lower edge of said block whereby said parts can only be assembled in one manner to correctlyassemble the picture, each of said parts being divided horizontally into an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper and lower portions being connected by a dove-tail tongue and groove connection, the two portions of each part having transverse co-acting shoulders crossing said tongue and groove connection at one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slid together from one side only, said tongue and groove connections being similar in all portions so that any of said lower portions can be interchangeably assembled with any of said upper portions, each of said upper portions having a coin slot extending vertically therethrough and each of said lower portions having a chamber for receiving coins.

ROBERT S. GREENE.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 312,420 Anderson Feb. 17, 1885 662,059 Dietz Nov. 20, 1900* 1,396,379 Moore Nov. 8, 1921 1,644,495 Shafer Oct. 4, 1927 1,716,823 KoEune June 11, 1929 2,218,394 Elliott Oct. 15, 1940 2,421,577 Pirrung June 3, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 481,297 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1938