US2707633A - Hobby horse - Google Patents

Description

y 3, 1955 H. A. WILEY ETAL 33 HOBBY HORSE Filed May 19, 1952 ATTORNEY United States Patent O HOBBY HORSE Harry A. Wiley, Gardner, and Harold F. Shaw, Leominster, Mass, assignors to Thayer, Inc., Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 19, 1952, Serial No. 288,696

1 Claim. (Cl. 272-62) This invention relates to new and improved hobby and rocking horses, including fixed base and rocking base types, and directed particularly to a new and improved spring supported intermediate base suspended from the fixed or rocking base as the case may be, for improved and more realistic action of a horse body figure rigidly mounted on the intermediate, spring-supported base, with no other direct mounting support than resilient members, whereby the horse body figure is not constrained to a fixed rocking or arcuate path as in prior art devices that support the figure of the horse on levers or swinging linkages.

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of the hobby horse above briefly described including a floor supported portable base which may be of the rocking type or fixed type, there being legs or standards rising in pairs fore and aft on the base and including springs on the standards, in combination with an intermediate floating, spring-supported base rigidly mounting a horse body figure of any design desired, said intermediate base comprising a longitudinal central elongated member having a short crosspiece at each end thereof for securement thereto of the legs of the horse figure, and there being a pair of longer crosspieces secured to the central member inwardly of the ends thereof for attachment to the end portions thereof by the springs or the standards, the short end located crosspieces being capable of passing between the respective pairs of standards during resilient rocking and other motion of the horse body figure on the springs.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a device as above described including rocker members on the portable base, said rocker members being curved on arcs of circles having relatively great radii so that the device may be rocked safely and may also have the motions resulting from the spring suspension feature, the latter enhancing the bucking and sidesway motions of the horse to make the same more life-like, when the motions resulting from both rocking and the spring suspension are combined.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hobby horse mounted on a rocking base; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a base that is non-rocking and on which the same horse body figure may be mounted.

As illustrated herein, a very life-like horse body figure is chosen to be mounted on the supporting base, but any conventional figure may be used. The figure has fore legs 12 and rear legs 14 which preferably but not necessarily extend outwardly beyond the figure, so that an elongated base is made possible, for sturdiness and extra safety.

The rocking members 16 of Fig. 1 are made along fiat curves at the central portions 18 thereof to provide for a low position of the horse body and also for assurance against rocking the device over, either forwardly or rearwardly. That is, the curves of members 16 at the central portions thereof are on arcs of circles having relatively great radii and the centers of such circles are above the horse body. However, the ends of members 16 are reversed to form hook-like standards directed back toward each other as at 20. The members 16 are connected by cross pieces 22 or the like to make a rigid frame.

Springs 24 are secured to the in-turned ends of members 16 and resiliently support the horse figure through an intermediate frame comprising a central longitudinal elongated member 26 having short cross pieces 28 at each end thereof arranged at the top surfaces of the central member. Cross pieces 28 receive and support the feet of fore legs 12 at the ends thereof, and these cross pieces are shorter than the distance between the parts 20 of rocking members 16 so that they can swing between the same.

Longer cross pieces 30 are secured inwardly of the short end cross pieces 28, and the cross pieces 30 are substantially the same in length as the distance between rocking members 16 so that by securing the springs 24 to the cross pieces 30 adjacent the ends thereof, the springs 24 extend substantially fore and aft in parallel relation.

The base in Fig. 2 comprises a fixed or non-rocking base having long side frame members 34, end standards 36 that are vertical and tapering upwardly, and which form supports for the springs 24. The intermediate base is thesame as above described. The frame members 34 and standards 36 are connected by cross frame members 38. This form of the invention does not provide for the combined rocking and spring suspension motions but has only the latter. The proportions of the cross pieces 28, 30 to the frame members 16 and 20 are retained in the construction of the fixed base of Fig. 2.

What I claim is:

A hobby horse comprising a horse body figure, a pair of spaced legs at front and rear thereof, a spring supported base for the figure, said base comprising an elongated member located centrally longitudinally of the figure, a short cross piece at each end of the member, the legs being secured to the cross pieces at the ends of the latter, relatively longer cross pieces on the member intermediate the end cross pieces and spaced therefrom, a floor supported base, a pair of spaced standards at each end of the base, said standards being spaced apart in pairs a greater distance than the lengths of the short cross pieces so that the latter may pass between the standards, resilient connections between the standards and the longer cross pieces, the entire figure, rider, and spring supported base being solely resiliently supported, said floor supported base comprising a pair of elongated curved rocker members, and the standards being continuations thereof reversely bent on short radii at the ends of the rocker members to form an ellipsoidal rocker frame, the elongated member extending to and between the standards.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 208,531 Marqua Oct. 1, 1878 1,950,042 Upper Mar. 6, 1934 2,437,015 Baltz Mar. 2, 1948 2,487,249 Krasberg Nov. 8, 1949 2,494,184 Linder Jan. 10, 1950 2,625,395 Spingler Jan. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 254,058 Germany Nov. 22, 1912

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