US2563019A

US2563019A - Ball toy

Info

Publication number: US2563019A
Application number: US151464A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hubert E Gelb; Young Chauncey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-03-23
Filing date: 1950-03-23
Publication date: 1951-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-07

Description

Aug. 7, 1951 H. E. GELB ETAL BALL TOY Filed March 25, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS 2, M A a.

M 1 WM H. E. GELB ET AL Aug. 7, 1951 BALL TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March '25, 1950 INVENTOR. MM

Patented Aug. 7, 1951 BALL TOY Hubert E. Gelb and Chauncey Young, Medina, Ohio Application March 23, 1950, Serial No. 151,464

9 Claims. (01. 46208) The purpose of our present invention is to produce an interesting and amusing mechanical my in the form of a ball having self-contained operating mechanism for causing rolling movement of the ball in an automatic manner.

In carrying out our invention it is contemplated to provide a ball unit of generally spherical form having mounted in the body thereof out of view a spring motor arranged and connected to operate a propeller or pusher member having a portion adapted to be projected slightly from the periphery of the ball to engage with-the surface upon which the ball is designed to roll, for effecting intermittent propulsion movements of the ball toy by automatic operation.

The self-contained mechanism in the ball unit includes certain novel control features comprising primarily a release or detent rod an end of which is projectable from the periphery of the ball so that in the rolling movement of the latter the said detent rod may be intermittently actuated to release the spring motor for enabling the latter to operate the propelling or pushing member to cause the latter to impart to the ball the intermittent pushing or propelling movement of the latter by which it is caused to roll upon the surface on which it may be disposed, such as a floor, table, or the like.

Our invention involves certain other detail features of novel construction and arrangement in making up the internal operating mechanism hereinbefore referred to and which will appear more fully as described hereinafter, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the annexed drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a ball toy embodying the general features of the present invention, the section being taken along the line I-l of Figure 4.

' Figure 2 is a detail fragmentary view showing more particularly the detent wheel of the motor mechanism, its cooperating detent pawl, and the connection of the pawl to the detent rod at the inner end of the latter.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional-view taken about on the line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, and illustrating more clearly the relative disposition of certain of the operating parts, including primarily the pusher rod and the detent rod features.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the toy taken about on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail fragmentary sectional view taken about on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic View illustrating the internal mechanism of the ball in a perspective manner to more clearly show the general arrangement of the winding stem of the spring motor, the spring motor part and the pusher and detent rod devices with their connecting parts.-

In the accompanying drawings similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout and the embodiment of the invention as illus-.. trated is one of many embodiments that may be employed as respects the detail form of the spring motor mechanism availed of for the purposes of our invention.

Now, referring to the drawings annexed hereto, it is notable that our ball unit comprises the ball or spherical body I which may be made of either pliable material such as rubber or the like or it may be made of relatively rigid material of a plastic nature if desired, this not being material to the invention.

The ball I may be molded, preferably, in separate sections which may be joined together by any suitable technique of the plastic and rubber art, after the motor unit and the parts operated thereby, and controlling the operation thereof, have been emplaced in the said ball I in proper position for the operation of the device as a mechanical toy. With the foregoing in mind, therefore, it is contemplated that the motor unit and its associated operating and controlling parts may be made up in an assembly comprising frame sides 2 and other frame parts in the nature of connecting bars between the sides, after the manner of an ordinary clock-works motor, such assembly being adapted to be positioned in a stationary manner by reason of the engagement of the top plate 3 and the bottom plate 4 thereof in recesses formed in supporting arms 5 forming integral extensions from the inner periphery of the ball and preferably molded therewith when the sections of the latter are originally made.

' Any suitable way of supporting the assembly of the mechanical parts of the toy in relation to the ball I may be availed of, that illustrated being one of the conventional methods that may be employed in the carrying out of the invention,

The mechanical works in the hollow portion of the ball I, the frame members of which have been generally indicated as 2, 3 and 4, largely comprises a spring motor including the helical spring 6, one end of which is fixed to one of the frame sides 2 and the other end of which is attached to a shaft l passing through the central portion of the said spring 6 and mounted upon the sides 2 of said frame. The spring is adapted to be wound up in the conventional manner by means of a winding stem 8 which is disposed radially of the axis of the ball I and is equipped on its outer end with a winding finger piece 9 that lies in a recess l0, formed by a depression in the spherical external surface portion of the ball I.

This arrangement of the finger piece or winding handle a is desired and necessary so that this member may not project from the peripheral.

portion of the ball and interfere with its rolling movement in any manner, but at. the; same time be quite accessible to the user of the toy for quickly winding up the spring 6 after thetoy has been used for a definite period of time. The winding stem 8 carries at its inner end a. gear II which although shown as a spur gear could be a bevel or other equivalent type of gear, fixed thereto and which gear meshes with a. similar type gear !2 on the shaft 7 with which the spring 6 is connected, the gear E2 being fixed to said shaft. The gear l2 meshes with a pinion I4, said pinion, in turn, meshing with a gear l5 fixed to a control and operating. shaft 16 which is mounted in the sides 2 of the assembly frame previously referred to.

On the control shaft It is fixedly mounted an, actuating cam ll disposed so as to engage and operate the pushing plunger or rod 98 disposed radially of the axis of the cam, which is the shaft [6. The plunger is is mounted to slide in bearings provided by openings in the lower plate, 4 of the frame assembly of the mechanism, which frame will be designated A in thedrawings, and in a cross-plate i9 spaced some distance from the saidplate 4-. The plunger [8 is provided with a shoulder or abutment 20 and a spring 2! is interposed betweensaid abutment 2E and the lower plate 4% of the assembly frame structure A, as seen in Figure 1, and normally tends to hold the inner end of the plunger I8 in contact with the operating edge portion of the cam ll. The outer end of the plunger I3 is adapted to be projecteda short distance through an opening in the peripheral portion of the ball l, the same being thelower wall portion, as seen in Figure l and also in Figure l. In action the plunger I3 is. capable of reciprocal movement, sliding, on the assembly frame A- and movable to carry its outer end outwardly through the periphery of the ball i and withdraw said end until it is'flush with the said periphery, as. seen in Figure 1.

On the control shaft !5 there is also. carried a detent member 22 which is fixed to. the shaft 18 and which is of disc-like form, being provided on its periphery with a detentlug 23. Pivoted on the-frame A and carried directly by one side 2 of said frame, is a detent pawl 24 one end of which is provided with the project-ion for engaging the fiat wall of the projection 23 of the detent wheel or member 22. The pivotal support of the pawl 24 is designated 25 and the end of the pawl 24 opposite that carrying the projection 25 is pivotally connected at 2's withthe control or release rod 28 mounted for radial sliding movement on the frame A in a manner similar to the mounting of the'plunger l8, and substantially parallel with the latter. A helical spring encircles the release rod 28 nearv its outer end portion and is interposed between the lower plate 4 of the frameA, as seen. in Figure l, and

a shoulder or abutment portion 39 provided on said rod 28. Normally when the pawl 24 is engaged at its projection 25 with the control wheel '22, and held in such engagement by the action of the spring 29 on the rod 23, the outer end of the rod 28 projects slightly from the peripheral portion of the ball I, thus being conditioned to be pressed inwardly when the ball rolls and the said outer end is caused to engage with the surface on which the ball moves.

The foregoing generally describes the construction of our mechanical ball toy in respect tolthe general mechanism located therein for the operation of said toy. It is noted that the weight of the parts 53, 253, 2!, 29, ll, 22 and 2a is such that the center of gravity of the ball I is located approximately at a point about midway of the ends of the release rod 28. On this account, if the ball I is caused to roll on a surface it will tend to cease rolling or come to a stop in a position such that the peripheralportion of the ball adjacent to the outer end of the release rod is lowermost, thus to require the ball always to arrive at a position when coming to about a stopping point such that the outer end of the release rod 28 will engage the surface on which the ball is rolling. Under such a condition therefore, the outer end of the release rod 28 will be pushed inwardly as the ball is about to come to a stop and this inward pushing action of the release rod 23 will disengage the pawl from the control wheel 22 by which wheel the spring motor is maintained inoperative. until the wheel 22 is released.

When the wheel 22 is released the spring 5, which is the motor element, causes operation of. the train of gearing comprising the parts ll, l2, l3, M and i5 and thus drives. the control shaft IS for a period of about 1 revolution ofv the. control wheel 2 and until the projection 23 of the wheel isagain engaged and detained by means of the projection 25 of the pawl 2 3.

The rotation of the Wheel 22 upon release thereof, causes the shaft it. to correspondingly rotate and effect rotation of the cam H. which operates on the inner end of the pushing plunger 18. The rotation of the cam ll will. push the plunger I8 outwardly or radially of the body of the ball I so that the outer end of the plunger will engage the surface on which the ball is rolling, particularly at about the time when the ball l is seemingly coming to rest due to the gravitation force of the weight of the lower parts of the mechanism, as seen in Figure. 1 and in Figure 2. The moment the pushing plunger I8 is pushed outwardly by the cam I! under the operation of the spring motor 5, said plunger will, by engaging the floor or table surface or other surface on which the ball is rolling, impart Sooner or ing to rest the release rod 28 will again be actuated to release the control wheel 22' and permit the motor spring and gearing operated thereby to go into action to shift the pushing plunger liiradially outward and cause a pushing operation by said plunger to initiate further accelerated rolling ofv the ball i.

It will be seen from the foregoin that once the sprin motor 6 is Wound up and the ball I is given a slight rolling movement over a surface, such rolling movement willbe automatically continued until the spring 6 unwinds. and

loses its motivating power. The initial rolling will cease to a large extent as the ball I seeks to arrive at a stopping position and just before such action happens the release rod 28 will re lease the shaft it to turn and cause operation of the cam I! for projecting the outer end of the pushing plunger against the surface on which the ball is rolling and thus re-energize the rolling action of the ball automatically. The above operation will continue intermittently, as indicated before, until the spring 6 unwinds and loses its energizing action as a motor. Then the spring 6 may be rewound manually by use of the handle 9 and winding stem 8 and the ball will be conditioned for further continuous automatic rolling operation as above described.

If desired, there may be provided at the inner periphery of the ball I adjacent to the outer end of the release rod 28, a weight 3| for insuring the low center of gravity of the ball at a point adjacent to the periphery thereof .near the projecting end of the release rod. The weight 3| may or may not be used, depending upon the desire and requirements of the maker of the ball toys of our invention.

Various other details of the construction of the mechanical works of the toy ball may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention so long as the principles of operation and construction as hereinbefore set forth are utilized.

Havin thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a mechanical ball toy, in combination, a spherical hollow body; a motor mounted therein, a detent member in the body for stopping the operation of the motor, a release member within the body coacting with the detent member and having a part projecting from the outer surface of the body to engage a surface on which the body may roll, said engagement pushing said release member to release the detent member to initiate operation of the motor, and a pusher member in the body operated by the mo tor and having a part projectable from the outer surface of the body to engage said surface on which the body may roll, to impart rolling action to the body.

2. A ball toy as claimed in claim 1, in which a frame is mounted in the body, and the release member and pusher member are slidably mounted on said frame.

3. A ball top as claimed in claim 1, in which a frame is mounted in the body, and the release member and pusher member are slidably mounted. on said frame, the motor bein mounted also on said frame, and the body being internally provided with parts coacting to maintain the frame and supported parts stationarily mounted in the body.

4. A toy as claimed in claim 1, in which th motor is a spring, combined with a train of gearing connected to the motor and drivingly connected to the detent member and the pusher member.

5. A toy as claimed in claim 1, in which the stated mechanical parts in the body are arranged so that the center of gravity of the body is located at a point adjacent to the place on the body where the projecting part of the release member is located.

6. A toy as claimed in claim 1, combined with means in the body for bringing that peripheral portion of the body, from which the release rod projects, to a position near the surface on which the body rolls during rolling movement of the body.

'7. A toy as claimed in claim 1, in which the motor is a spring, combined with a train of gearing connected to the motor and drivingly connected to the detent member and the pusher member, a winding stem connected to the motor spring, and a winding handle for said stem at the peripheral portion of the body, said body having a recess in its outer surface in which the handle is located in a manner not to project beyond the general outer peripheral contour of the body.

8. In a mechanical ball toy, in combination, a spherical hollow body, a motor mounted therein, a detent member in the body for stopping the operation of the motor, a pusher member in the body operated by the motor and having a part projecting from the outer surface of the body to engage a surface on which the body may roll, to impart rolling action to the body, and control mechan sm on the body for intermittently releasing said detent to intermittently initiate operation of the pusher member by the motor.

9. A toy as claimed in claim 8, in which the motor is of the windable spring type, and means accessible from a point exterior to the body to wind up the motor at will.

HUBERT E. GELB. CHAUNCEY YOUNG.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,603,487 Moyer Oct. 19, 1926 1,642,449 Lee Sept. 13, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 450,785 Germany Oct. 10, 1927