US2634544A

US2634544A - Toy theater

Info

Publication number: US2634544A
Application number: US194154A
Authority: US
Inventors: Belden Eileen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-11-04
Filing date: 1950-11-04
Publication date: 1953-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 1970-04-14

Description

E. BELDEN TOY THEATER April 14, 1953 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed NOV. 4, 1950 g ikeu Ze/aen/ &4, Q. W

ATTORNEY E. BELDEN TOY THEATER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 4, 1950 vzlnlrlrlllAr/r INVENTOR filzea Zi /dew ATTORN Y Patented Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY THEATER Eileen Belden, Lynbrook," Y I: U Application November 4, wastrel 1%.1941'54- The present invention relates to a use ent and educational devices for, entertaining chil ren, and, more particularly, relates to a tov simulating a stagesetting or the screen of a television set.

The present invention is primarily con erned with a, toy of the foregoing character wherein illustrations are successivelydisplayed and appropriatenarration, music and/or sound effects accompany each illustration- Since such a toy is intended forsmall children, it is highly important that the toy be readily operated without the exercise of any high degree of skill. While this offhand would, suggest that such a toy should embody automatic apparatus wherein the operating elements are contained in a unitary structure and are under the control of a single switch, such apparatus would be quite costly and would hardly be a toy that could be manufactured to sell at a price which parents in general could readily afford. It is thus highly important that a toy of this character be relatively inexpensive to make it available to many children.

Since small phonographs for playing records of rhymes or stories intended to amuse small children and at the same time serving to teach the children to sing, recite or speak nowadays can be procured at a small cost, such phonographs are so popular that most every family in which there are small children has one in the household.

Accordingly an object of the present invention is to provide a toy of the character indicated herein which is suitable for use in conjunction with such a phonograph.

Another object is to provide such a toy which is simple and economical in construction and is readily assembled and operated by small children.

A further object is to provide such a toy which can be conveniently arranged to form a neat and compact package suitable for shipment and storage.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing a toy of the foregoing character which generally comprises a box formed in two sections, one section being formed with an opening and simulating a stage setting or television screen and the other section carrying mechanism for advancing illustrations to be displayed across the opening, and a driving means for operatively connecting the mechanism with a phonograph.

7 Claims. (CI. 46-13) A preferred embodiment of the invention'has been chosenfor purposes of illustration andlde scription as is shown in the accom anying draw ing, forming a part ofthe specification, wherein;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of'a toy in accordance with the invention illustrating the same as assembled to provide a unitary package adapted for shipment and storage, portions being broken away to illustrate details thereof.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view partly in section illustrating the toy as assembledfor use with a phonograph.

Fig. 3 is a reduced sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-'3.on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 on Fig. 2 illustrating a detail of the driving connection. i H

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, there is shown a package which embodies the toy in accordance with the present invention, as arranged for shipment and storage. This package essentially comprises a generally fiat rectangular box having a top section l0 and a bottom section II fitted into the top section. Preferablyfthesesections are constructed of some relatively inexpensive material such as cardboard or the like. The top section It] comprises a top wall or cover portion I 2, which serves as the 'front panel when the toy is assembled for use (Figs. 2 and 3), a side wall 14 serving as a base for supporting the box section with the panel in'upright position, a side wall l5 opposite the wall 14, and end wallslfi connecting the walls [4 and I5. i

The wall l2, v serving as the front panel, formed with 'a generally rectangular opening I! surrounded by a decorative frame l9 to enhance the front panel. If desired, circular formations 20 may be provided beneath the opening I! to simulate the control knobs ofa television set.

The bottom section comprisesa stepped bottom wall having'two portions 2| and 22, the por tion 2| extending outwardly beyond the portion 22 for the purpose to be made apparent herein after; and four side W311SZ4,125, 26 and 21 serving to support the bottom section in an inverted position (Fig. 3) with the portions 2| and-22 substantially horizontally disposed... I a I When the top and bottom box sections are as sembled as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the wall 26 engages the rear face of the wall I2, portions of the

walls

24 and 25 adjacent the wall 26 fit between the walls 16, and the free edgeof the wallZB and portions of the freejedges of the

walls

24 and 25 rest onthe wall ,wherebythebbttbm sec tionserves to retain the top section in" upright position, as shown. The wall portion 22 is thereby partially disposed within the upper box section well below the opening l1; and the box sections are arranged to provide an attractive and sturdy construction; simulating a stage setting or television set, adapted for use with the mechanism for displaying illustrations or the like to be viewed through the opening H.

In accordance with the invention, it is contemplated to advance illustrations across the opening H to display the same therethrough. These illustrations are provided on a sheet or web 30 having foldably connected sections 3|, the lower edges of which are supported on the wall portion 22.

The mechanism for advancing the'sheet 30 preferably comprises a drive roller 32. and an idler roller 34 arranged to respectively engage the back and front surfaces of the sheet 30.

As illustrated herein, the idler roller 34 is provided with a shaft 35 which is rotatably mounted on an arm. 36 (Fig. 2) between the ends thereof and which shaft extends through a slot 31 formed in the wall portion 22. One end of the arm 36 is pivotally connected to the wall portion 22 at 39, and the other end of the arm has connected thereto a resilient element 40, such as a small .spring or rubber band, serving to urge the roller 34 towards the roller 32 and retain the sheet 30 in driving engagement therebetween.

The roller 32 is provided with a friction surface 4l, formed of rubber or the like, and is rotatably supported on the wall portion 22 by one end of a shaft 42 extending through an aperture jin'this'wall portion. The other end of the shaft 42 is rotatably supported in an aperture formed in a bracket member 44 constructed of cardboard or the like and connected by tabs 45 in slots formed in the wall portion 22. A friction wheel 46. is supported by the bracket member 44 and is connected with the shaft 42 to effect rotation thereof. This wheel is provided with a horizontal flange which supports a rubber ring 41.

In. order to effect rotation of the wheel 46, the shaft 42, and the roller 32 in a simple and practical manner, as for example by utilizing a record player or phonograph 50 of the rotating record supporting platform type, as shown, a drive connection is provided which comprises an elongated shaft having one end. rotatably supported by the bracket member 44 and carrying a wheel 52 in driving engagement with the ring 41, a sleeve 54 rotatably supported in an aperture formed in the wall 2;! and in driving connection with the other end of the shaft 5|, and shaft 55 having one end .ll'l' driving connection with the sleeve and adapted to" be driven-by the phonograph, as about to be "described. s

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4, the sleeve 54 has a cylindrical outer surface and a polygonal 'bore, and the shafts 5| and 55 have polygonal end sections 56 and 51 removably fitted into the bore and are thereby coupled for rotation.

The shaft 55 is adapted to be driven by a friction wheel 59 at the end opposite the end coupled to the shaft 5|, and the wheel in turn is driven by the upper surface of a record rotated by the platform of the phonograph. Thewheel 59 is retained in driving engagement with the record by an inverted U-shaped bracket 60 having on one leg thereof a lug 6| formed with an aperture through which the record centering spindle extends; and having in theother leg thereof an aperturethroughwhich the shaft 55 extends. As

4 shown, the wheel 59 is disposed between the legs of the bracket 60.

If desired, interchangeable removably mounted scenery may be provided for the wings of the simulated stage setting to further enhance its appearance. Such scenery may be provided on sheets 62 connected to the end walls I6 by tabs 64 on the sheets 62 extending through slots 65 in the walls l6.

Also, in order to retain the web 30 in'upright position while being advanced across the wall portion 22, the wall [5 may be provided with a foldably connected section 66 formed with a flange 6! extending in back of the web (Fig. 3). This flange cooperates with the free edges of the walls, l6. to, provide a guideway for the upper edge of the web.

With the apparatus assembled as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a phonograph record is selected for which a web 30 has been provided with the toy having appropriate illustrations thereon. The leading end of the web is inserted between the rollers 32 and 34 and the phonograph is started. For example, if a story is narrated, sections of the web are successively displayed which illustrate the action taking place in the story.

In order to ship and store the apparatus, the Webs 30 supplied, the wing scenery sheets 52, the coupling-54, the shaft 55, and the bracket 60. are placed in the lower box section I l and the upper box section I6 is positioned to retain these .elements therein. Byproviding the bottom of the box section H with stepped portions the rollers 32 and 34 do not protrude beyond the effective bottom portions 2|. If desired, the box as shown in Fig. 1, may be wrapped in transparent material, such as cellophane or the like, to fully enclose the same and provide for convenient handling thereof during shipment or while on. display.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a toy for displaying illustrations in conjunction with the playing of a phonograph. The toy comprises apparatus which is simple and economical in construction, is readily assembled and taken apart, and is sufiiciently rugged to withstand such rough usage to which it may normally be subjected. The toy affords considerable amusement to small children and because of its relatively low cost, it is available to many children.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. Toy apparatus of the class described comprising a structure simulating a stage setting having an opening and a platform portion in back of said opening, feed rollers on said platform portion for advancing a sheet to be viewed through said opening, drive means for said feed rollers, said drive means including shaft means; a friction wheel on said shaft means for engaging a record on a platform type record player, and a bracket for rotatably mounting said shaft means having an extension formed with an aperture for receiving a spindle of the record player.

2. Toy apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said shaft means include a shaft, a second shaft, each of said shafts having a polygonal end, a coupling sleeve having a polygonal bore for removably connecting the polygonal ends of said shafts, and a friction wheel on said second shaft for engaging a phonograph record.

3. Toy apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of generally rectangular box sections, one of said box sections being formed with an opening and being adapted to be placed in upright position to arrange said opening in a vertical plane, said other box section being adapted to be inverted and placed partially within said first box section to maintain the latter in upright position and to provide a platform portion in back of said opening, said platform portion being formed with stepped sections in which the lowermost section is inserted within said first box section, a pair of feed rollers on said lowermost section for advancing a sheet to be viewed through said opening, and drive means for one of said feed rollers mounted inside of said second box section.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said drive means include shaft means mounted for rotation in a wall of said second box section and extending therethrough, and a friction wheel on said shaft means exteriorly of said second box section for engaging a phonograph record.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said drive means include shaft means mounted for rotation in a wall of said secong box section and extending therethrough, and a friction wheel on said shaft means exteriorly of said second box section for engaging a phonograph record, said shaft means being formed in two shaft sections with polygonal ends and a coupling member being mounted for rotation in said box section wall having a polygonal bore for removably interconnecting the polygonal ends of said shaft sections.

6. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said first box section has guide means at the top wall thereof for assisting the support of said sheet advanced by said feed rollers.

7. Toy apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of generally rectangular box sections, one of said box sections being formed with an opening and being adapted to be placed in upright position to arrange said opening in a vertical plane, said other box section being adapted to be inverted and placed partially Within said first box section to maintain the latter in upright position and to provide a platform portion in back of said opening, a pair of feed rollers on said second box section for advancing a sheet to be viewed through said opening, one of said feed rollers having a friction surface and the other of said feed rollers being an idler, means for movably supporting said idler, resilient means for urging said idler toward said friction surface of the other roller, drive means for said feed roller mounted inside of said second box section, said drive means including a bracket member within said second box section, a shaft rotatable with said first feed roller and a wheel on said shaft supported by said bracket member, and a second shaft rotatably supported by said bracket member carrying a wheel in driving engagement with said first wheel.

EILEEN BELDEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,107,757 Catrevas Aug. 18,. 1914 1,265,897 Fawcett May 14, 1918 1,332,253 Holloway Mar. 2, 1920 1,484,965 Ritter Feb. 26, 1924 1,995,463 Young Mar. 26, 1935 2,228,610 Reid Jan. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 587,085 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1947