US2525482A

US2525482A - Rolling toy

Info

Publication number: US2525482A
Application number: US103401A
Authority: US
Inventors: Valentine J Grither
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-07-07
Filing date: 1949-07-07
Publication date: 1950-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1967-10-10

Description

V. J. GRETHER Oct. 10, 1950 ROLLING TOY Filed July 7, 1949 INVENTOR VALENTINE J. GRITHER ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I ROLLING TOY Valentine J Grither, St. Louis, Mo. Application July 7,1949, Serial No. 103,401

' 4 Claims. ((146- 220) The invention relates to a toy which is'adap'ted t be rolled along the floor for the amusement of a child. The principal object of the invention is to catch and hold the attention of avery young child by reason of the movement of certain portions of the toy as it progresses. Among other features, my toy has the advantage of being very light in weight and at the same time of sturdy construction, and also it is of such simple design that it does not necessitateoperation by some other, person, but the child himself can roll it for his own amusement. Another advantage is that the toy may be made of material that can be cleansed with soap and water, for instance, plastic or the like.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my toy ready for operation.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1, showing particularly the means for ingress and egress of the balls constituting a part of the structure.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional View taken on line 3'3, Fig. 2.

The invention comprises a pair of hubs I, connected by a plurality of flat, elongated members, or slats, 2 spaced apart at regular intervals. Each of the hubs I has a circumferential projection 3 which extends a slight distance beyond the hub, so that when the toy progresses along the floor it rolls on the projections 3. the hubs I also has a centrally apertured extension 4 which extends outwardly at each end of the toy and is provided with a groove 5, so that if desired a handle of any convenient type may be secured within the groove, but since the handle is not a part of the invention it is not shown in the drawing and will not be described.

The hubs l have central, circular apertures 6 and 1, respectively, extending transversely therethrough, the wall of each of these apertures being cut on a diagonal line so that the aperture is of greater diameter at one side of the hub than at the other side thereof. As will be seen in Fig. 2, the aperture 6 has its greater diameter at the inner side of its hub, while the aperture 1 has its smaller diameter at the inner side of its hub. Flat ribs 8, spaced apart from each other, are secured to the walls of the apertures 6 and 1, respectively, so that they lie flat against said walls and extend from side to side of the hubs f.

Different colored balls 9 of compressible, washable material are positioned within the toy where they are retained by the slots 2. The balls are of such diameter that they will not slip out through the spaces between the slats, as will be Each of seen in Fig. 2, and the balls9 are also of such dimensions that when the toy is in rolling position with the projections 3 on the floor, the balls will be clear of the floor.

The diameter of the balls 9 is approximately the same as the larger diameter of each of the apertures 6 and I. Each ball 9 is introduced into the toy by inserting it from the outside into the larger end of the aperture 1, and by virtue of the balls compressibility it may then be pushed inwardly through the smaller end of said aperture into the toy where, as said before, it will beretained by the slats 2. Obviously, the difierent colored balls are plainly visible through the spaces between said slats, and as they are very loosely mounted within the toy they will tumble about freely for the childs amusement when said toy rolls along.

When the balls are to be removed for cleansing, or replacement, this is done by pushing them out through the aperture 6, which the balls may enter at its larger end, and again by virtue of their compressibility said balls may be pushed out through the smaller end of said aperture. It is apparent from Fig. 2 of the drawing that the balls 9 will easily pass through the central aperture of the extension 4 on each of the hubs l. The spaces between the ribs 8 facilitate the foreing of the compressible balls through the apertures 6 and l.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality of spaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and a plurality of compressible balls positioned between said end members and enclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members being provided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being so positioned that the largest diameter of one and the smallest diameter of the other are at the inner sides of the respective end members, said balls being of approximately the same diameter as the largest diameter of said apertures, each of said end members having an outwardly extending, circumferential projection to permit rolling of said toy upon said projections.

2. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality of spaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and a plurality of compressible balls positioned between said end members and enclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members being provided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being so positioned that bers, a plurality of spaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and'a plurality of compressible balls positioned between said end members and enclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members being pro-i vided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being so positioned that said end members and enclosed by said elongated elements, each of said end members being provided with an aperture of gradually diminishing diameter, said apertures being so positioned that the largest diameter of one and the smallest diameter of the other are at the inner sides of the respective end members, said balls being of approximately the same diameter as the largest diameter of said apertures and a plurality of ribs secured to' the walls of said apertures, said ribs being equidistantly spaced around said apertures, each of said end members having an outwardly extending, circumferential projection to perm-it rolling of said toy upon said projections,

the largest diameter of one and the smallest di-"" ameter of the other are at the inner sides of the respective end members, said balls being'of approximately the same diameter as the largestdiameter of said apertures, and a plurality of jribs secured to the walls of said apertures, said ribs being equidistantly spaced around said apertures, each of said end members having an outwardly extending, circumferential projection to permit rolling of said toy upon said projections, and each of said end members being provided with a lateral extension adapted to receive a handle. 1

4. A toy comprising a pair of circular end members, a plurality of spaced apart, elongated elements connecting said end members, and a plurality of compressible balls positioned between and each of said end members being provided with a lateral extension adapted to receive a handle, the spaces between said elongated members being of such width as to permit portions of said balls to protrude therethrough, and the diameter of the projected portions of said end members beingsuch as to permit said protruding portions of said balls to clear the surface upon which said toy is being rolled.

VALENTINE J. GrRl'IFHElFtv REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 D. 155,688 Davis Oct. 25, 1949 1,275,567 Koch Aug. 13, 1918 2,352,676 Gainsley July 4,1944