US3024566A

US3024566A - Detonating toy vehicle

Info

Publication number: US3024566A
Application number: US762607A
Authority: US
Inventors: Licitis Gunars
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-09-22
Filing date: 1958-09-22
Publication date: 1962-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 1979-03-13

Description

March 13, 1962 G. LlclTls A 3,024,566

DETONATING TOY VEHICLE Filed sepi. 22, 195s United States Fatent fhce 3,024,566 Patented Mar. 13, 1962 3,024,566 DETQNATING TOY VEHICLE Gunars Licitis, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Eil. Filed Sept. 22, 1958, Ser. No. '762,607 7 Claims. (Cl. 46-112) The present invention relates generally to a toy and more particularly to a toy which is operable to detonate explosive caps and eject objects as it is moved along a supporting surface.

The operating mechanism of the present invention is designed 'to detonate a succession of caps and eject objects as it is propelled along a supporting surface. Thus, if the mechanism is enclosed in a housing resembling a tank, the toy can simulate a tank firing its cannon repeatedly and discharging shell cases or the like.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for detonating caps and ejecting objects as the mechanism is moved along a supporting surface.

Another object is the provision of a simple cap detonating and object ejecting toy which can be economically manufactured and which is durable in use.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawing.

ln the drawing:

FIGURE l is a side view of a toy embodying various of the features of the present invention with a portion broken away to show the internal operating mechanism, the detonating hammer being illustrated in a non-firing or cocked position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIGURE l.

The toy shown in the drawing generally comprises a housing which is supported for movement on a supporting surface. A drive wheel 12, which is rotatably mounted within the housing 10 so as to frictionally engage the supporting surface, is rotated by propelling the housing along the supporting surface. Means 13, associated with the drive Wheel 12, intermittently operates a cap feeding means 14, which is adapted to successively feed caps c into position to be detonated, incident to the rotation of the drive wheel 12. The caps c are sequentially detonated by a hammer 16 which is'intermittently operated in timed relation to the operation of the feeding means 114 by a cam means 18 associated with the drive wheel 12. Also, as the toy is propelled along the supporting surface, an ejecting means 20, which is operated intermittently by means 13 associated with the drive wheel 12, discharges objects 22 from the housing 1t).

The operating mechanism of the present invention may be applied to various forms of toys. Since the operating mechanism notonly detonates caps but also ejects objects, it is ideally suited to be utilized with a housing that simulates a tank, as illustrated in the drawing. The tankshaped housing 10 includes a turret 24, which has a simulated cannon 26 extending forwardly therefrom, mounted upon a body 28 having simulated tracks 30 extending laterally outwardly from each of its sides. The housing 10 may be made of readily formable material such as plastic and may be formed in two halves that, after the internal operating mechanism is assembled, are suitably joined together.

In order to obtain access into the interior of the housing 10, the llower portion of the housing is covered by a base plate 32 which is pivoted by one end on a pair of pins 34 extending inwardly toward each other from the inner surfaces of the side walls of the housing 19. The

base plate 32 is held in a closed position by projections 36 extending from the side walls of the housing 10.

The drive wheel 12 extends through a suitable longi tudinally extending slot 38 inthe base plate 32 which may be disposed midway between the tracks 30. The drive wheel 12 is tixedly mounted to a horizontally extending, rotatably mounted drive shaft 40, which is vertically disposed so that the drive wheel extends slightly below the lower surface of the housing 10. The ends 41 of the drive shaft 40, which are of reduced diameter, are journalled in apertures 42 in the side walls of the housing 10. The drive wheel 12 is provided with a peripheral groove 44 in which there is disposed an O-ring 46 or the like.

The O-ring 46, which is of a material having a high co-eiiicient of friction such as rubber or the like, provides frictional engagement between the drive wheel 12 and the supporting surface.

The cap feeding means `14, in the illustrated embodiment, is adapted to feed the caps successively to a lposition to be detonated. It includes a striker plate in the shape of a drum. The drum 47 is fixedly mounted on a horizontally extending shaft 48 located forwardly of and above the drive shaft 40. The drum shaft 48 is jour= nalled in the housing 10` on reduced diameter endrportions 50 which are supported in apertures 52 in the side walls of the housing 10. The drum 47 is provided with equally spaced apart radial projections 54 extending outwardly therefrom, the projections being spaced as to conform with the spacing of the perforations which occur between individual caps in a roll of caps c. In this Way, as the drum 47 is rotated, as hereinafter described, the perforations in the strip of caps c, which is drawn from the roll of caps, are sequentially engaged by the projections 54 extending from the drum 47. As illustrated, the roll of caps is disposed on a cap spindle 56 extending from the side of the housing 10 forwardly of the drum shaft 48.

The drum 47 is intermittently rotated by the interengagement of the cam means 13 attached to the drive wheel 12 with a star Wheel 58 which is fixedly attached to the drum shaft 48.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cam means 13 comprises an arcuately shaped cam shoe 59 which extends outwardly from the side of the drive wheel 12 near the outer `edge thereof. The star wheel 58, in the illustrated embodiment, includes four radially extending, arcuately shaped arms 60 each of which has a camming surface 60a at its outer end which is engaged by the cam shoe 59. The cam shoe 59 is positioned to rotate the star wheel 53 a quarter of a turn or 90 for each revolution of the drive wheel 12. To positively index the star wheel 58, a cam 62, which is lixedly attached to the drive shaft 40, is shaped so as to bear upon the trailing edge of the arm 60 of the star wheel 58 after the star wheel is initially engaged by the cam shoe 59 and indexed to its proper position.

The caps are detonated by the detonating hammer 16. which is Xedly attached by one end to a horizontally extending shaft 64 located above the drive shaft 40, in such a position that the end of the hammer strikes a portion of the drum 47. The shaft 64 is pivotally mounted to the housing 10 by means of reduced diameter end portions 66 which are journalled in apertures 68 in the side walls of the housing 10. The portion of the hammer 16 which makes contact with the drum 47 may be serrated, as shown in FIG. l, to increase the effectiveness of the hammer in detonating a cap.

The hammer 16 is urged toward its firing position byv means of a coiled spring 70 disposed on one of the extending arms of the shaft 64. One end of .the coiled spring 70 is extended to forman L-shaped arm 72 which is engaged with the upper'surface of the hammer 16, as

shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, and the other arm 74 of the coiled spring is flxedly engaged, because of its disposition, beneath the drum shaft 4S.

The hammer 16 is moved alternately between a firing and a non-firing position by means of the cam means 1S which is fixedly attached to the drive shaft 40 and is operable to bear upon a camming surface 75 of an arm 76 extending laterally from the hammer 16. The cam means 18 should be of such a shape that the hammer 16 is maintained in a non-firing position (i.e. the serrated end of the hammer is spaced from the drum 47) during the movement of the drum 47 and released quickly when the cap is to be fired. The cam means 18 in the illustrated embodiment is spiral shaped with a sharp drop off at its trailing edge to insure firing of the cap.

The means 20 for ejecting the shells 22 from the housing 10 is disposed rearwardly of the drive wheel 12 and comprises a star wheel 77 which is fixedly mounted to a horizontally extending, rotatable shaft 78. The shaft 7S is journalled in the housing 1t? by means of reduced diameter end portions 8() which are supported in apertures 82 in the side walls of the housing. The star wheel 77, in the illustrated embodiment, includes four equally spaced, radially extending, arcuate shaped arms 84 which have camming surfaces 85 at their outer ends. The camming surfaces S are engaged by a cam means which, in the illustrated structure, is the cam shoe 59 which actuates the cap feeding star wheel 58. Consequently, the ejecting star wheel 77 is rotated 90 for each revolution of the drive wheel 12.

The objects 22 to be ejected, which in the illustrated embodiment are shaped to simulate spent shell casings, are deposited between two of the arms 84 of the ejecting star wheel 77 from a magazine 86 disposed above the star wheel. The magazine 36 maintains the shells 22 in stacked arrangement by means of an elongated T- shaped slot S8 which is disposed in the side wall of the housing and extends at an angle from a position adjacent the star wheel 77 to the top of the housing. The slot 38 is of such size as to receive the flanged portions of the shells 22. The shells 22 are inserted into the magazine 86 through a suitable opening (not shown) in the upper part of the housing 10.

As the drive wheel 12 rotates, the cam shoe 59 on the drive wheel 12 bears upon the camming surfaces 85 of the ejecting star wheel 77 thereby rotating the star wheel. The shell, which is seated between the arms S4, is thus carried to a position where it falls from the star wheel 77 through an opening 90 in the bottom of the housing 10. The outer ends of the ejecting star wheel arms 84 are of such a shape and size that they permit only one shell to be seated between the arms,

To prepare the toy for operation, the base plate 32 of the housing 10 is opened, a roll of caps c is positioned on the spindle 56 and the rolled off end portion of the roll of caps c is arranged on the projections 54 extending from the drum 47. The base plate 32 is closed and shells 22 are inserted into the magazine 86. The toy is then ready for operation. As the toy is propelled along a supporting surface, `the drive wheel 12 rotates and operates the feeding mechanism 14, the hammer 16, and the ejecting means 2f), thus successively detonating the caps and ejecting the shells 22 from the rear portion of the housing 1f).

Various changes and modications may be made in the above described construction without departing from the scope of the invention. Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, a rotatable member in said housing, means for rotating said rotatable member, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted to successively feed caps into position to be detonated, a first actuating means associated with said rotatable member for intermittently activating said feeding means incident to the rotation of said rotatable member, a detonating hammer mounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap and cause the explosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said rotatable member for alternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firing position in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, a magazine dis posed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects from said housing, said rst actuating means associated with said rotatable member also being for intermittently actuating said dropping means incident to the rotation of said rotatable member.

2. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mounted in said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supporting surface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted to successively feed caps into position to be detonated, a first actuating means associated with said wheel for intermittently activating said feeding means incident to the rotation of said wheel, detonating hammer mounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap and cause the explosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheel for alternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firing position in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, a magazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects from said housing, said first actuating means associated with said wheel also being for intermittently actuating said dropping means incident to the rotation of said wheel.

3. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mounted in said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supporting surface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted to successively feed caps into position to be detonated, a first actuating means associated with said wheel for intermittently activating said feeding means incident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonating hammer mounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap and cause the explosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheel for alternately moving said hammer between a tiring and a non-firing position in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, a magazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects from said housing, said first actuating means associated with said wheel also being for intermittently actuating said dropping means in timed relation to the actuation of said cap feeding means.

4. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mounted in said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supporting surface, a drum rotatably mounted in said housing, said drum having radial projections extending therefrom, said projections being so positioned and spaced as to correspond to the perforations in a strip of caps which are to be used with the toy, a first actuating means associated with said wheel for intermittently actuating said drum incident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonating hammer mounted in said housing and adapted to engage a cap on said drum and cause the explosion thereof, a second actuating means associated with said wheel for alternately moving said hammer between a firing and a non-firing position in timed relation to the operation of said drum, a magazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects from said housing, said first actuating means associated with said wheel also being for intermittently operating said dropping means incident to the rotation of said wheel.

5. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means spegnere for supporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a wheel rotatably mounted in said housing and adapted to frictionally engage the supporting surface, feeding means mounted in said housing and adapted to successively feed caps into position to be detonated, an actuating means associated with said wheel for intermittently actuating said feeding means incident to the rotation of said wheel, a detonating hammer pivotally mounted in said housing and movable between a ring and a nontiring position, means urging said hammer toward the tiring position, cam means associated with said wheel for alternately moving said hammer between a tiring and a noniring position in timed relation to the operation of said feeding means, a magazine disposed in said housing and adapted to receive a plurality of objects, means located adjacent said magazine for dropping the objects lfrom said housing, said actuating means associated with said wheel also being for intermittently operating said dropping means incident to the rotation of said wheel.

6. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for moving said housing along a supporting surface, a cap detonating means mounted within said housing, a star wheel rotatably mounted in said housing, said wheel having a plurality of radially extending arms, a magazine disposed a-bove said star wheel in said housing in such a position as to feed objects to a position between a pair of said arms, a first means in said housing connected to said moving means so as to be operable incident to the movement of the housing along the supporting surface for intermittently rotating said star wheel and a second means in said housing connected to said moving means for operating said cap detonating means in timed relation to the operation of said star wheel.

7. A cap detonating toy comprising a housing, means for supporting said housing for movement on a supporting surface, a drive wheel rotatably mounted in said housing in such a position as to frictionally engage the supporting surface, a drum rotatably mounted within said housing, projections extending from said drum which are adapted to engage corresponding perforations in a strip of caps which are to be used with the toy, a star wheel xedly connected to said drum, a cam shoe extending from said drive wheel in such a position as to intermittently rotate said star wheel incident to the rotation of said drive wheel, a detonating hammer pivotally mounted in said housing in such a position as to engage a portion of the surface of said drum in its tiring position, cam means -fxedly connected to said drive wheel for alternately moving said hammer between a ring and a non-firing position in timed relation to the operation of said drum, an ejecting star wheel rotatably mounted within said housing, said ejecting star wheel having a plurality of equally spaced arms extending outwardly from the center thereof, the outer ends of said arms being sequentially engaged by said cam shoe, whereby the ejecting star wheel is intermittently rotated incident to the rotation of said drive wheel, and a magazine disposed in said housing above said ejecting star wheel in such a position as to feed objects to a position between a pair of said arms.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 738,613 Holloway Sept. 8, 1903 2,137,159 Fischer Nov. 15, 1938 2,551,109 lFornary May 1, 1951 2,578,029 Ahmanson Dec. 11, 1951