US2512166A - Toy power shovel - Google Patents

Description

June 20, 1950 F. D. MERRILL TOY POWER SHOVEL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, I946 INVENTOR. E D. MERRILL June 20, 1950 F. D. MERRILL TOY POWER SHOVEL FiledJune 10, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m .W\ In... K

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F. D. MERRILL TOY POWER SHOVEL June 20, 1950 Filed June 10, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

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TOY POWER SHOVEL Filed June 10, 1946 4 heets-Sheet 4 o a: I

31;, 5 Q g Q m a \g t o w I Q R q 0 J o c In. Ilillll s $9 I a? m E 5 n h I g I II V k INVENTOR. ED- MERRILL Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED STATES OFFICE TOY POWER SHOVEL Frank D. Merrill, Russell, Kans.

Application June 10, 1946, Serial No. 675,583

2 Claims.

My invention herein disclosed relates to a toy power-shovel whose general appearance and movements are intended to simulate a conventional power-shovel 'machine, but not from a practical standpoint of actual service such as shoveling, dredging, excavating, or the like.

A further object of my invention is to place within a casing an electrically operated motor with automatic means to reverse its action, the ability of which is to simulate motions typical to those of a power shovel machine during its practical service of scooping, raising and lowering the shovel through the medium of a boom rigidly carried by the casing that is adapted to turn to and fro on a horizontal plane to load and dump the shovel.

A still further object of my invention is to provide, as traction means for the toy, an imitation of a caterpillar tractor; but having wheels rotating inflexible belts to avoid marring a wellfinished floor as the toy is being moved thereover from place to place by a cord,.or the like, preparatory to plugging in its motor electric cord for further amusement.

These and other objects will hereinafter be more fully explained, referenc being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters will apply to like parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the toy powershovel.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the toy, parts removed for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the toy, parts removed to illustrate the motive power arrangement.

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the toy, parts removed to illustrate the rock of the motor.

As a more concise description of the drawings, it willbe seen in Fig. 1, that a casing l is superimposed upon a, portable carrier, said carrier comprising a pair of plates 2, spacedapart and rounded at their ends, at which points, spindles 3 aresecured to their respective ends of the plates and on which wheels 4 are journalled, said wheels having an internally grooved belt 5 extending from wheel to wheel with respect to the front and rear wheels, said belts preferably being made from flexible material to simulate the chain of a caterpillar tractor. Said plates '2 are secured in spaced relation by a pair of rods 6, spaced apart, centrally disposed to the plates, and extending therethrough as carrying means for a channel member 1, centrally disposed to the first said plates, the legs of said channel memberextending downward and being bored to receive the rods 5 extending therethrough'said channel member being centrally disposed between said plates 2 and secured by sleeves 8 functioning as spacers, the ends of which abut the legs of said channel member and plates, respectively, while sleeve 8' functions as means to avoid inward deflection of the legs of said channel. It will be seen that a portion of the channel member legs ex,- tend rearward as at 9 and are secured together by a rod ID, the ends of which abut their respective inner sides of the legs to function as an anchor for a pair of cables H and H secured thereto and extending upward for the purpose later described. The web of said channel member 1 has a gear 12 lying thereon and rigidly secured thereto, and having in mesh therewith a pinion 13, the shaft Id of said pinion being vertically extending upward and being journalled in a suitable bearing l5 that is carried by the super-im posed structure, and having means, later described, to rotate the pinion, by which means the casing or superstructure is turned on the frame as mounted on the portable carrier.

Positioned on gear I2 is a ball bearing comprised of a pair of plates It, the plates being bored in spaced relation therearound and in which balls I! are retained, the bores of the plates being funnelled from their abutting sides to form a cavity in which the greater diameter of the balls will seat and be retained thereby. The bearing being arranged as above described will avoid the necessity of races as the plates and gear are axially bored and likewise the web of the channel member on which they seat, and having engaging upward therethrough a king pin ill, the head of which is beneath the web of said channel member, while the upper end of the king pin extends through the floor 19 of a gear frame structure that turns thereon and being secured by lock nuts 2|]. Said gear frame structure is centrally disposed in the casing with respect to the width and rigidly secured theretoby bolts 2| as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that the gear frame structure has an upwardly extending frame 22 on each side to function as end bearings for shafts extending therethrough as later described.

Positioned on the floor of the gearing frame structure is an electric motor 23, rockably carried in working relation to the frames and being centrally aligned therebetween and toward the rear end of the floor. The electric motor is rockably mounted on the floor through the medium of a clamp structure comprising arcuate jaws 24 and ears 25 oppositely extending from the jaws and being clamped together by bolts 26, the lower ears of said clamp extending downward and around a pin 21, said pin being journalled in a pair of cars 28 extending from the floor and secured by a cotter key 29, whereby the turning axis of the motor is rocked longitudinally of a shaft 30 to engage with a pair of discs 31 and Si that are secured to the shaft 30 adjacent its ends as turning means therefor by a friction roller 32 secured to the motor shaft 33, and being so arranged, the motor will alternately engage the discs as reversing means for their rotation, while the motor turns in one continuous direction. It will be seen in Fig. 4, that the maximum rocking movement of the motor is restricted by the discs, and in co-aotion therewith are springs 34 secured to their respective sides of the casing and being substantially on a horizontal plane with the turning axis of the motor to function as a cushion against which the motor will strike but yield sufficiently for the engagement of the discs and friction roller. Furthermore carried by the upper ears of the clamp structure is a floating element consisting of a stud 35 of suitable length and having a separate weight '36 secured to each end, the weights being in spaced relation so that the stud will slide freely through the apertur at the longitudinal center of the ears, the sliding movement being stopped by the weights, at which instance, the rocking movement of the motor is intensified while on its movement from a vertical plane to its sides alternately, whereby contact between the friction roller anddiscs is increased to avoid sliding engagement.

It will be seen in Fig. 3 that the motor is rocked to the right side of the toy, in which position its roller is frictionally engaging with the right hand disc 31' to turn shaft 30 that is journalled in the frame 22 at its upper extremity. Secured to the shaft 3|] is a pinion 3'1, said pinion being in mesh with gear 38 that is secured to shaft 39, said shaft extending from side to side of the frame 22 and being journalled therein, said shaft 39 having secured thereon a bevel gear 49 as power transmitting means to another bevel gear M mounted on its shaft l4, said shaft 14 on its lower end-having secured thereto the pinion is that is in mesh with gear l2 that is stationarily secured to the web of the channel member i, heretofore described, as turning means for the super-imposed structure.

The shaft 39 has a pinion 42 secured hereon that is in mesh with gear 43 as turning means for a cable. drum 44, said drum being mounted on a shaft 45 that is journalled between the sides of the gear frames 22'. Said drum has wound thereon a cable 46 that extends forward to a pulley 41 that is journalled on the forward end of a boom 48, the boom being connected with the floor of said gear frame structure from where it extends upwardlyslanting and anchored by a cable 49 secured adjacent its outer extremity of said boom and to the top of the casing.

It will be seen that the boom. consists of a pair of beams spaced apart to provide an opening for the stick 50 of a shovel to slidably engage therebetween and being supported by a roller 52 carried by the beams and on which the stick will engage as the shovel is raised and lowered by the cable 46, the free end of which is secured to the forward end of the boom and extends downward through a pulley 53 that is centrally journalled on the shovel as raising and lowering means therefor as the drum is turned during reciprocal rotation of the casing as turned on the king pin by the train of gears just described.

To simulate a practical shovel and some of its actions, it will be seen that the shovel has a rockably connected bottom 54 that pivotably connects to the lower end of the stick through the medium of an arm 55 that is secured to the back of the bottom 54- and rockably therewith. To open the bottom 54 there is provided a lever 56 rockably connected to the stick as at 51, the lower end of which is rockably connected to the bottom 54 by a link 58, the upper end of the lever being adapted to strike the underside of the boom as the shovel structure is raised by the cable, at which time, the lever is rocked forward as indicated by its arrow, drawing the bottom therewith in the direction of its arrow. The above described action is to indicate dumping of the shovel. Retraction of the shovel is accomplished through the medium of a spring 59, one end of which is secured to the pivot point where the lever rocks on the stick, while the other end is secured to the said arm of the bottom 54 at its lower end, whereby when the shovel is lowered the spring instantly closes the bottom, all of which practically simulates unloading of the shovel and replacement of its bottom of a practical machine. It will be seen that Fig. 1 of they drawing illustrates the shovel pen dantly carried intermediate of its upper and lower maximum movements, while in the rocked position of the motor as shown in Fig. 4, the shovel is being raised, and when the motor is engaged with the disc 30 the shovel is lowered; consequently the alternate rock of the casing above the portable carrier, will cause the shovel to be lowered and raised, to its maximum movement, all of which is due to the gear arrangement and the rocking movement of the motor to reverse the gears.

To rock the motor, it will be seen that cables H and II have their upper corresponding ends oppositely secured to the motor as at A and B while their other ends are oppositely secured to the ends of rod It as heretofore described; consequently as shown in Fig. 4, the rear end of the casing is being rocked anti-clockwise, in which case, slack in cable H is taken up, and when tensioned, a further movement of the casing occurs, and the motor will be rocked in the other direction by said cable I I, so that the motor roller will engage the other disc to reverse the action of the train of gears and viceversa as the casing is rocked to and fro by pinion l3 in its engagement with gear l2, the latter being stationarily secured, while the pinion is subject to reversing movements as above described.

It will be understood that during disengagement of the motor on'its path from disc to disc, the casing continues .to move in its established direction under force of momentum to carry the rocking point of the motor across its vertical axis, so that by gravity action, it will continue toapproach the discs, selectively, to alternately reverse the gear train movement repeatedly.

Such modifications may be made as lie within the scope of the appended claims.

Having fully described my invention-what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A toy power-shovel comprising a carrier and a casing mounted on the carrier and king pin means securing said casing on said carrier to permit said casing to .turn thereon oscillatably, spaced upright frames secured in said casing, a horizontally positioned rotatable shaft jou'rnalled in said frames, a pair of spaced discs secured on said shaft, interengaged gear means mounted on said shaft and said carrier as turning means for the casing, a motor having a unidirectional rotating horizontal shaft and a roller carried on the motor shaft and driven thereby, a clamp loosely rockably mounted in said casing and the motor secured thereto above the pivot point to form an overbalanced pivoted system with the roller positioned between the pair of discs, and held by the weight of the system against one of them, the roller engaging the discs alternately as the motor is rocked from side to side, thereby alternately reversing the direction of rotation of said shaft, and a pair of cables having one set of ends secured to laterally opposed portions of the motor housing, the other corresponding ends being attached to their respective sides of the carrier, whereby the casing is driven about its king pin relative to the carrier by the motor,

thereby tautening the respective cable, which rocks the motor and roller out of engagement with one disc and into engagement with the other disc to reverse the mechanism.

2. A toy power-shovel as recited in claim 1, a spring carried by the casing on each side of the motor against which the motor will slightly engage as shock absorbing means in the motors extreme rocking movements.

FRANK D. MERRILL.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 560,129 I-Iarrold et al May 12, 1896 1,955,457 Gaver Apr. 1'1, 1934 Sauer Nov. 12, 1935

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