US2737755A - Link toy - Google Patents

Description

MalCh 13, 1955 .1.J. scHlGAs 2,737,755

LINK TOY Filed Aug. 14, 1952 l IN VEN TOR.

aa, ad jug/afg J7 Giang/5 United States Patent O Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of 'NewYork invention relatesto Ltoys, *and more particularly to a toy for doodling Aor'ddling with inidlenioments. The general 'typeof toyris already kiiwn,`it `cm p rising a series of VVpivoted bars i's'oniewlat 'resembling afence, andi preferably niakirg'pnamclodririg. There are a sulicient nniber v*of Api'v'oted nits,` s`y` twelve, to

lrnake it possible to rearrange`the units into `a"'var`ie`ty of forrnations, and considerable yentertainnieiit isV derived in seeingrhowrnany varied formations may'be' obtained, and in searching for additional new formations.

nur nber of individal bars, `drilled"andfpivoted'together Vattheirendsjby wire'links. Thswalt-ernate sections ofmthe fence might fco'npii'se for suchfbara Iandy the intermediate sections three stich'gbais, the bars being interleaved at, their ends so that the three' bars 'serve "tospace .apart the fonr bars," and viceversa. The 'costv of manu- Vfactnre and assembly/was highfnd theresulting product waswnot as durable `as` wo'nldmbef desired, considering that itis subjected tohoii'rs 'ofi'ninipiilatim 'nd' so'rnetimes abuse. Moreoven there is a itendency'for the pivot action between sections to become,lse,"in` 'which 'case sorne irritation arises because of dificlty in holding desired for mations as they Yare being rnade up.

The primary object'of the present invention is vtogen- `erally improve' toys of `the spec'itied'chacter, Vand to V overcorne the foregoing difiiculties, "while providing a toy of improved appearance and economical nannfacture. In accordance with one feat'reand object of ymy jinvention the toy 'isfrnade' upof links or sections" each having a pluralityV of spaced parallel V'bai-s,A and these ,barsare joined in fixed'l spia`c `ed"relation by'v Vconnections therebetween, the'said `connections preferably being disposed midway of 'theendsIand the entire linkjinclding all of thebars andcnneCtinS, beingmolded in' its entirety as a single integral nnit.

. Inn a particular preferred form of the inventiori'ea'ch and sockets, bothfof which are nlolded integrallyas a part of the links. VThe'sock'ets4 'are'fop'enj and designed to receive the pins withaV snap tit,i this lfit preferably being frictional sothaltthelink's tend to hold anyforr'nation into which they are "put. fMorver, the sockets at one end of a linkare preferably formed by ctting that link at angles` 'in"oppqs`t direction. The end Vof each bar is widely open,"butthefcombined ends 'ofthee ICC - 'f'ull"dstance`betweenthe mid connections and thesockets ln accordance with stilly another feature and 'object `of the inveritionthepins'are formed at a link end having'an even'nniber'f bars. Inthis way eachpin'is supported iait both Je'nd's, and acts as `an additional spacing means between bars. As ra corollary, the vopen-"endedsockets are'for'med vat tht-1t end of a link 'having an `odd'number of "bars, The odd number i'sa1ways"made'one'less than the even number, and the cutaway "ends are Atherefore `concealed`from view'whe'n'lookin'g at theformati'ons'into which'thc' toy maybe put.

"A'still further object "of the invention'istowso design thelinks that they'rnay be folded'or nested closelyfagainst `o`n`e another. Still "anotherobject of the "invention is to "sofrelate the arms of the links asto establish Land tain 'a' frictional relationship attheprivots,- this friction `be`in`g permanently" retainedbyfreascn of the 'bending resilience of the arms of the'p'ivots,"'arid involving'a bendnigboth intheplane,` and transverselyfof theplane, 'ofthe' arrns.

'To accomplish thel foregoing objects,and other'objects lwhich -will hereinafter `appenniny invention resides in the toy elements, 'and' their relation'oneto another as are'hereinafter`morejparticnlarly described in the followiig specification. Thespec'ication'is'accompanied'by a drawing, in'which:

`Fig. 1 fis' a 'diagrammatic viewshowing' one typical formationintowhich 'the toy may be'p'ut;

Figf'Z 'is'a sirnilarvie'w showinganother' formation;

*"lig. 3 is afront" elevationofapreferred'fornrof link;

"Figf4 'is abottom plan View' ofthe link' shown'iri Fig. 3 before being joined to anthe link;

Fig."5' isfafhor'izontalsectiontaken approximately in the. plne" of the" linevS-SbfFig.' 3, showing* the" link r4lefore' being joined to another link;

Fig `6 `:isa `view similar 'to :Fig."4, aftery the 'link has 'been' :joined to 'adjacent'li'nks' and Lshowing how the links "iriay be folded or nested'to'gether;

"Eig 7 is a'transverse'section' taken' approximatelyin the'jla'neofthe linev 7-5-7 ofFig 3;

Fig2f9 aV plan view"thereof;

"Figvv l1 'is' a fragmentary pl'anview of the link shown'in Eig.' 10.

i Referring "to 'the drawing, and "more," particularlyr to Eig. l, the complete toy here'illustrated comprisestw'elve sections or links L. i Theseare pivoted fend to'end -in such fash'ioriithat'they' mayv be folded" relative to one another 'in'either direction. TThus 'the sections may be arranged tofo'rm asquare with'four points, as shown in`Fig. l; 'or a three-pointed star, as shown inFig. 2,01' any of numer- "o'us "far' more" intricate formations. "Each linkA comprises ajseries Iof simulated' bars'sup'erposcd'in a common plane, 'and afpreferred form of a' single link is shownin Figs. 3 through 7 'of the drawing.

Referring to Fig; 3, 'the `link L has aplnrality of bars 2i14f16', lent), 22'and 24,all lyingin'substantially'tlie 'samefplane and joined'inxed'spaced relationby connections 213' therebetween. lThese bars receive' the barsof adjacent links in" interleaved relation, andthe four bar end offan' adjacent link lis shown' in dotted `lines at`thc `Ieft of Fig.' 3, while' the threeV bar end'of an adjacent linkfis shown in dotted 'lin'es at the right of Fig. 3. Each link is moldedin its entirety out of asuitable' molding plastic as asingle -integral -'unit, that isg'f-the Vbt11's"12=thro\`1 gh 24 are `all made as a single molded piece withfixedcon- *Triectiontherebe'tween intermediate theV ends.

In the present form.` .off the .2inventi'orn` thefcormections fare" coincident with an 'overlap-foff-th :bars 'The overlapping or connecting portions are preferably cut away or tapered, as is clearly shown at 28 and 30 in Fig. 4 of the drawing. In effect the connecting portions at the center are somewhat diamond-shaped, as shown in Fig. 5, but there is no actual section like that shown in Fig. 5, the result shown in Fig. 5 being obtained by stepping the section upward, as shown by the change in elevation of the line 5--5 in Fig. 3. This cutting away of the overlapping portions permits the links to fold as closely together as though there were no overlapping portions, for the three bar portions tit between the four bar portions of the adjacent links, and vice versa.

The link L has pins 32, and mating sockets 34 and 36. These pins and sockets are molded integrally as a part of the links. Moreover, the sockets are open and so designed as to receive the pins of an adjacent link with a snap fit, thus minimizing the time and labor needed for assembly of the toy. More specifically, and referring to Fig. 4, the socket 34 at the end of the arm 16 is cut away and quite open, the end 38 being at an angle of ab out forty-live degrees, while the part 40 may extend transversely of the link in order to facilitate the molding operation. Referring now to Fig. 5, the socket 36 is cut away in opposite direction, the part 42 being at an angle of about forty-tive degrees, but of opposite slope to the part 38 in Fig. 4. There is a transverse surface at 44.

It will be understood that by thus making the ends of the successive bars open at angles in opposite directions the combined ends of three or more bars are sutciently closed to hold the superposed pins of an adjacent link. To assemble the links it is merely necessary to push them together, and the resulting snap engagement is afforded by the bending resilience of the bars 12, 14 and 16, the bars 12 and 16 bending in one direction, while the bar 14 bends in opposite direction.

Moreover, to insure longer maintained frictional fit the links may be initially molded with a slight angular displacement of the bars. Specifically, while all of the bars lie essentially in the same plane, it will be seen from examination of Fig. 4 that the bar 16 is initially molded at a slight angle relative to the plane of the bars 18-24. This angle is indicated at A in Fig. 4, and in a specific case was 21/2 degrees. The bar 14 is molded at a slight opposite angle, indicated at B in Fig. 5, with respect to the plane of the link. Here again the angle may be quite small, say 7.1/2 degrees, and is eliminated when the links are snapped together, for the arms 12, 14 and 16 are brought into substantial alignment by the three superposed and properly aligned pins of the mating adjacent link. This bias or pre-loading of the bars insures a secure engagement and holding grip of the sockets on the pins, and a maintained friction at the pivots.

As will be seen from inspection of Fig. 3, the pins 32 are preferably provided at the end of the link having an even number of bars, so that each pin is supported at both ends. ln this way the pins act also as additional spacer means to maintain the spacing and parallelism of the bars 18-24 The sockets are formed at that end of the link having an odd number of bars, which number is one less than the even number. An incidental result of this is that the cutaway or socket ends are concealed between ends which are not cut away.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention the bars are additionally biased or pre-loaded in another direction to maintain the desired frictional pivoting action between links. Specifically, the distance C shown in Fig. 3 is made greater when molded than the distance D, so that the top and bottom bars 12 and 16 are bent toward one another slightly when the links are assembled. This difference in dimension is quite small, and in one specific case where the dimension D was 0.930, the dimension C was 0.950.

It is not essential to form each link with half-length bars, and with a different number of bars at each end. A variant form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 8

through ll of the drawing. In this case the toy is made up of alternate male links, and intermediate female links. A male link ils shown in Figs. l() and 1l, and it comprises four superpcsed parallel bars 50 held apart in spaced relation by connections 52 therebetween, and additionally properly spaced by end pins 54. It will be understood that the bars 50, the connections 52, and the pins 54 are all molded integrally in a single molding operation.

A typical female link is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This comprises three superposed parallel bars 56, 53 and 60, held in xed spaced relation by connections 62 therebetween. Sockets are formed at the ends of the bars, and these may be substantially the same as previously described, that is, successive bars may be cut away at oppositely directed anglse. Thus in Fig. 9 the end of the bar 56 is cut away at angle 66, and the end of the bar 58 is cut away at the angle 64. In this way three or more bars will form a closed socket. Similar open sockets are combined to form a closed socket formed at the other end of the link.

It will be understood that male and female links are snapped together in alternation, there being six of each in the specific toy here shown, but a greater or lesser total number could be provided. It will also be understood that refinements such as bias or pre-loading of the arms 56, 58 and 60 in opposite directions, as indicated by the angles A and B in Figs. 4 and 5, and in the plane of the link, as indicated by the dimensions C and D in Fig. 3, may also be used in connection with the female link shown in Fig. 8. It will further be understood that while the connections 62 between the bars of the female link shown in Fig. 8 are essential for integral molding of an entire link at a time, the connections 52 in the male link of Fig. l() are not similarly indispensable, because the pins 54 themselves act as spacers. However, it is preferred to use connections 52 in the male link because of the additional strength of the finished part, and the greater ease of molding because of the freer flow of material between the parts of the mold cavity.

Finally it will be understood that additional refine ments such as a generally diamond-shaped cross-section for the connections 52 and 62 may be provided, much as shown at 28, 30 in Fig. 5 of the drawing, thus permitting the bars of the successive links to interleave or nest closely together when links are folded against one another, as is desirable when producing certain formations. A slight bevelling for this purpose is shown in broken lines in Fig. 9 at 62, but the bevel may be carried further, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

lt will be understood that the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3 may be made without the pre-load angle indicated at A and B, and the pre-load bias indicated at C and D, these being desirable but not essential refinements.

It is believed that the construction, method of assembly, and method of use of my improved toy, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while l have shown and described the invention in several preferred forms, changes may be made in the structures disclosed without departing from the scope of the invention as sought to be dened in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having a plurality of relatively long spaced bars lying in substantially the same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by a transverse connection therebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a single integral unit, the spacing between the bars increasing somewhat from the transverse connection toward one end of the link,` in order to introduce friction which is maintained in axial direction by the bending resilience of the bars.

2. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having a plurality of relatively long spaced approximately parallel bars lying in substantially the same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by a transverse connection therebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a single integral unit, the sockets at one end of a link being formed by cutting away the ends of successive bars at angles in opposite directions so that the snap engagement of the socket is afforded by the bending resilience of the bars between the connections and the sockets, and each bar being initially formed at a slight angle to the plane of the link, the angle of each bar displacing it in that direction in which the socket at the end of the bar is cut away, thereby increasing the radial friction which is maintained at the sockets by the bending resilience of the bars when said bars are brought into the plane of the link by snap engagement with the pins of an adjacent link.

3. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having a plurality of spaced approximately parallel bars lying in substantially the same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by connections therebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a single integral unit, the sockets at one end of a link being formed by cutting away the ends of successive bars at angles in opposite directions so that the snap engagement of the socket is atiorded by the bending resilience of the bars between the connections and the sockets, and each bar being initially formed at a slight angle to the plane of the link, the angle of each bar displacing it in that direction in which the socket at the end of the bar is cut away, thereby increasing the radial friction which is maintained at the sockets by the bendng resilience of the bars when said bars are brought into the plane of the link by snap engagement with the pins of an adjacent link, the spacing between the bars in the plane of the link increasing somewhat from the connections toward one end of the link, in order to introduce further friction which is maintained in axial direction by the bending resilience of the bars.

4. A toy as defined in claim 3, in which each link has an even number of bars at one end and one less number of bars at the other end, with the bars overlapping at the middle of the link to form connections between the bars of a single link, and in which the even number of bars lie in a common plane and integral pins are formed at their ends, while the angularly cut sockets are formed at the end with the odd number of bars, and in which the angle of the bars is an angle relative to the plane of the even number bars.

5. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having a plurality of spaced approximately parallel bars lying in substantially the same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by connections therebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a single integral unit, the sockets at one endof a link being formed by cutting away the ends of successive bars at angles in opposite directions so that the snap engagement of the socket is aiiorded by the bending resilience of the bars between the connections and the sockets, and each bar being initially formed at a slight angle to the plane of the link, the angle of each bar displacing it in that direction in which the socket at the end of the bar is cut away, thereby increasing the radial friction which is maintained at the sockets by the bending resilience of the bars when said bars are brought into the plane of the link by snap engagement with the pins of an adjacent link, each link having an even number of bars at one end and one less number of bars not less than three at the other end, with the bars overlapping at the middle of the link to form connections between the bars of a single link, and the even number of bars lie in a common plane and integral pins are formed at their ends, while the angularly cut sockets are formed at the end with the odd number of bars, and the angle of the bars being an angle relative to the plane of the even number bars.

References Cited inthe ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,303,294 Wagner Nov. 24, 1942 2,574,125 Schoeninger Nov. 6, 1951 2,576,439 Beck et al. Nov. 27, 1951 2,637,460 Yates May 5, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 664,998 Great Britain Jan. 16, 1952

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