US2965385A - Walking simulated toy - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1960 c, AYALA 2,965,385

WALKING SIMULATED TOY Filed Nov. 2a, 1958 United States 2,965,385 WALKING SIMULATED TOY Carl AyaIa,'Chicag0, Ill., assignor to Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Ill.

Filed Nov. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 777,038 1 Claim. c1. 2s0 1.1s1

ample, a riding toy which has become very popular is a horse mounted on springs. However, when riding such a horse the child must imagine thathe is moving. Attempts have been made to provide a riding toy which a child could walk along a supporting surface, but the resulting toys have been complicated and expensive or wouldnt work.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toy animal, or the like, on which a child can ride and which moves with a simulated walking action.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a riding toy which can be easily manipulated by the rider. Still another object of the present invention is the provision of :a durable riding toy which is readily and inexpensively manufactured.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be "understood by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a child mounted thereon, the toy rocked toward one side;

Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing the toy rocked toward the opposite side;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side view of the toyshown in Figures 1 and 2 with the side of the body broken away to show the internal construction of the body;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top view of the toy shown in Figures 1 and 2 with portions broken away to show the internal construction of the toy; and

Figure 6 is a sectional side view of one of the forward legs of the toy shown in Figures 1 to 5.

Generally, the riding toy shown in the drawing com- .prises a body 10 having a pair of generally vertically disposed forward legs 12 and 13 and a pair of generally vertically disposed rearward legs 14 and 15 depending therefrom. Means 16 are provided for pivotally supporting the upper ends of each of the legs 12, 13, 14 and 15 and aft direction relative to the body 10 as a unit. Each 1 of the forward legs 12 and 13 is provided with a means 28 for'manu'ally swinging the interconnected legs 12 and 14,

and 13 and 15, respectively, as a unit.

atent Before describing the toy in detail, a brief explanation of the general operation of the toy is given hereinafter so as'to facilitate the understanding of the toy. The child mounts the body 10 of the toy and, when he desires to advance the toy, he rocks the toy toward one side which, as shown in Fig. 1, may be toward the right-hand side of the rider. As is shown inFigure 1, the foot members 17 on the left-hand side of the body 10 are thus raised from the supporting surface, and hence, the left-hand pair of interconnected legs 12 and 14 may be manually swung by pushing forwardly on the associated means 20 disposed on the forward leg 12. When the left-hand pair of interconnected legs 12 and 14 are advanced to their forwardmost position, the rider rocks toward the left-hand side, as shown in Figure 2, thereby raising the foot members 17 on the right-hand side of the body 10 and permitting the rider to swing the right-hand pair of interconnected legs 13 and 15 toward their forwardmost position. The rider then rocks back toward the right-hand side, as shown in Figure 1, and again advances the left-hand pair of interconnected legs 12 and 14. The rider repeats this sequence of operations and thereby walks the toy to the extent desired.

More specifically,the illustrated toy simulates a miniature horse or pony, the body 10 of which is provided with a cavity 22 for containing the mechanism. The body 10 may be constructed of a high strength material, such as steel, and in twomating pieces. Suitably attached to the rear end of the body is a tail 24, and to the front end of the body It! is a head 26. The head 26 may be mounted to the body 10 by telescoping a socket 28 in the head 26 over a rectangular bar 30 extending upwardly at an angle from the body 10. Appearance of the head 26, tail 24, body'ltl, etc., are not an important part of the invention and, therefore, they may be constructed and interconnected in any convenient manner.

The upper ends of the legs 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the walking toy are pivotally supported by means 16 which, in the illustrated embodiment, includes a pair of spaced apart transversely extending shafts 32 and 34 disposed within the cavity 22, one 32 being located near the forward end of the cavity 22 and the other 34 near the rearward end of the cavity 22. The shafts 32 and 34 are journalled in bearings 36 in the side walls of the body 10, and transverse movement of the shafts 32 and 34 is prevented by suitable means such as a retaining clip 37 inserted in a suitable annular groove (not shown) in each end of the shafts 32 and 34.

Suitable slots 39 are provided in the lower wall of the body 10 for the passage of the legs 12, 13, 14 and 15, the slots 39 being long enough to permit the legs to pivot a sufficient distance fore and aft to walk the toy. The forward and rearward edges of the slots 39 are bent upwardly to provide a stop for the movement of the legs 12, 13, 14 and 15, and also to prevent rough edges.

For ease in manufacture, the forward and rearward legs 12 and 13, and 14 and 15, respectively, are constructed in a similar manner. Therefore, in order to facilitate the description of the legs, one of the forward legs 13 is described hereinafter. The forward leg 13 includes a pivot member 38 by which the leg 13 is pivotally mounted to the associated shaft 32. in order to reduce the tension on the shaft 32 due to the side rocking movement of the toy, the pivot member 33 is designed to provide abearing 44 and 46 adjacent each side of the cavity 22. Moreover, by spacing the bearings 44 and 46 at a maximum distance the side movement of the leg 13 due to tolerances in the manufacture of each of the bearings 44 and 46 is reduced.

-In the illustrated embodiment, the pivot member 38 includes a horizontally extending portion 4% a portion 42 which extends outwardly and downwardly at an angle from the horizontally extending portion 40, and the bearings 44 and 46 disposed in right angular relationship to the horizontally extending portion 40 at the ends thereof.

The horizontally extending portion 40 and the downwardly extending portion 42, which are constructed in the device illustrated of two mating pieces each of which may be a metal stamping or the like, have a hollow rectangular section strengthened by tension flanges 48 on the upper and the lower surfaces thereof. The bearings 44 and 46, which may be right angle extensions of one of the mating pieces, are provided with apertures 50 for receiving the associated shaft 32.

The distance between the bearings 44 and 46 is made slightly less than the width of the cavity 22 so that the bearings 44 and 46 of each of the forward legs 12 and 13 may be alternated along the associated shaft 32 as shown in Figure 5, the horizontal portions 40 of the respective forward legs 12 and 13 being arranged on opposite sides of the shaft 32. The pivot members 38 of the rearward legs 14 and 15 are similarly constructed and similarly arranged on the shaft 34, similar parts being designated in the drawing by the reference numeral and the suffix a.

The downwardly extending portion 42 of each of the pivot members 38 forms a socket of rectangular cross section which receives the upper end of a center member 54 of each leg 12, 13, 14 and 15, which in the illustrated embodiment is a hollow rectangular section of such size as to be press-fitted into the pivot member 38. The lower end of each of the center leg members 54 is suitably attached as by welding to the hoof or foot member 17.

Each of the foot members 17 is curved both transversely and longitudinally of the body so that the toy may be rocked sideways and fore and aft. Preferably, so that the toy is not easily tipped over by the child riding thereon, the center of curvature of the transverse curve of each of the foot members 17 is centrally disposed above the body 10 of the toy a distance such that the combined center of gravity of the toy and the rider falls below the center of curvature. In this way, when the toy is tilted to the side, it will have a tendency to right itself. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the outer portion of the transverse curve is flattened to provide a stop for the side rocking movement of the toy, the center of gravity being thereby prevented from moving beyond the area of the foot members 17. The inner marginal portion of each of the foot members 17 may be curved upwardly as illustrated in Figure 4, in order to increase the stability of the toy in its upright position and to enhance the appearance of the toy.

So as to facilitate the operation of the toy, the center of curvature of the longitudinal curve of each of the foot members 17 may be located at or above the level of the pivot point of the associate leg 12, 13, 14 and 15. In this way, the center of gravity is not raised during forward rocking movement of the body 10. Moreover, the center of curvature may be situated slightly toward the rear of the pivot point of each of the legs 12, 13, 14 and to increase the tendency of the toy to move forwardly. Of course, the foot members 17 are made long enough to insure that the toy rides on an arcuate surface at all times.

In order to enhance the simulation of the hoofs of a horse, the upper surface of each of the foot members 17 may be enclosed by a hollow frusto-pyramid-shaped member 56. The member 56 is provided with a rectangular aperture 58 at its apex for the passage of the center leg member 54 of the associated leg 12, 13, 14 and 15. The pyramid shaped member 56 is attached to the foot members 17 by suitable means, as by welding a flange 60 on the lower edge of the pyramid shaped member 56 to a mating flange 62 on the foot member 17.

So that the forward leg 12 and 13 and the rearward leg 14 and 15 on each side of the body 10 will simultaneously swing as a unit, each forward leg 12 and 13 is mechanically interconnected to the rearward leg 14 and 15, respectively, on the corresponding side of the body 10 by the linking means 18. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the linking means 18 is an elongated rod having its ends turned transversely thereof and inserted into apertures 64 extending transversely through the central leg members 54 ofthe forward leg 12 and 13 and corresponding rearward leg 14 and 15, respectively. The ends of the linking means 18 are suitably retained in the apertures 64 by engaging a retaining clip 66 with an annular groove (not shown) in each end of the linking means 18 or by utilizing nuts, fasteners, or such.

So that the rider of the toy may have control over the movement of the interconnected legs 12 and 14, and 13 and 15, respectively, the stirrup or foot bracket 20 is attached to each of the forward legs 12 and 13. In the illustrated embodiment the foot bracket 20, which is generally L-shaped, is attached to each of the forward legs 12 and 13 by means of a bolt 67 which extends through an aperture (not shown) in the foot bracket 20 and through an aperture 68 in the center leg member 54. If desired, in order to adjust the height of the foot bracket 20, a series of such apertures 68 may be disposed in the center leg member 54.

The above invention provides a toy which may be easily advanced forwardly and backwardly by a small child with little or no skill. The toy is easily rocked to one side, which may be the right side, by the rider bearing toward that side, the rocking movement being stopped by the toy rocking onto the flattened area on the outer portion on each of the right-hand foot members 17. Then the rider swings the interconnected legs 12 and 14 on the left-hand side of the body forwardly by pushing on the left-hand foot bracket 20, the toy simultaneously rocking forwardly on the right-hand foot members 17 until the movement is stopped by the righthand legs 13 and 15 making contact with the rearwardmost edges of the slots 39. After the left- hand legs 12 and 14 are advanced, the rider leans toward the left-hand side of the body thereby rocking the toy toward the left, the rocking movement being stopped by the flattened area on the outer portion on each of the left-hand foot members 17. The right- hand legs 13 and 15 are then swung forwardly by pushing on the right-hand foot bracket 20, the toy simultaneously rocking forwardly on the left-hand foot members 17. The rider then rocks back to the right-hand side and advances the left- hand legs 12 and 14. The sequence of operation is repeated so as to thereby advance the toy to the extent desired, the movement of the toy thus simulating the walking movement of an animal.

While the toy is described in the form of a simulated horse, it should be realized that the invention is equally applicable to other simulated animals. Various changes can be made in the above described walking toy without departing from the scope of the invention.

Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

A toy which is adapted to be ridden by a child, comprising a body, a pair of transversely extending shafts supported by said body, one of said shafts being disposed near the forward end of said body, the other of said shafts being disposed near the rearward end of said body, a pair of generally vertically disposed forward legs, a pair of generally vertically disposed rearward legs, a pair of pivot members on each of said shafts, each of said pivot members including a transverse portion which extends along its associated shaft, a pair of spaced apart bearings, one of said pair of bearings being connected to each of the ends of said transverse portion and rotatably engaging said associated shaft adjacent each .of the ends thereof, and means connected to one 5 s end of said transverse portion for connecting one of References Cited in the file of this patent said legs to said pivot member, the lower end of each UNITED STATES PATENTS leg belng adapted to make contact with a surface on which the toy is to be manipulated, and means me- 111641097 Campbell July 1951 chanically interconnecting each forward leg to the rear- 5 11615383 Hossw 1927 Ward leg on the corresponding side of said body whereby 2325496 Flemmg July 1943 said legs will simultaneously swing in a fore and aft 2'712937 Ben July 1955 direction relative to said body as a unit.

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