US3054377A

US3054377A - Wheel driven music boxes

Info

Publication number: US3054377A
Application number: US65661A
Authority: US
Inventors: James W Scott
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-10-28
Filing date: 1960-10-28
Publication date: 1962-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1979-09-18

Description

Sept. 18, 1962 J. w. SCOTT 3,054,377

WHEEL DRIVEN MUSIC BOXES Filed Oct. 28, 1960 g/V EN TOR. 3 2g? a t-M States l its This invention relates to improvements in sound pro ducing devices and particularly with reference to a device which may be used as a toy or as a warning signal which can be motor driven or driven by the wheel of a vehicle, and which produces the sound of an automotive vehicle internal combustion motor when operated at normal traveling speeds of a bicycle.

The invention also provides for simultaneous or selective production of different sounds, one of which consists of a plurality of tones simultaneously produced through air pressure while the other produces one or more impacted reed tones simultaneously or sequentially, as may be desired.

The invention also provides for operation of the device and termination at will, suitable mounting means being provided for the specific vehicle on which it is to be mounted.

The objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a motor box which, when operated at or above a predetermined speed will produce the tone of an internal combustion motor in operation.

Second, to provide a motor box as outlined which can be made to produce a single type of tone or tones or a plurality of different types.

Third, to provide a motor box as outlined with means for selective or simultaneous production of a plurality of different types of tones.

Fourth, to provide a motor box as outlined with means for driving through the medium of the rim or tire of a vehicle.

Fifth, to provide a device as outlined which is relatively simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

In describing the invention reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation through the invention taken on line 1 of FIGURE 2.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing the controls.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary development of portions of the housing and drum walls and shown in section to indicate the relationship between the housing and reed drum, passages, and reeds.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational View of FIG. 4.

The invention consists of a cylindrical housing which is provided with one or more series of angularly related air passages 11 and 12 and having a bottom provided with air inlet passages 13 and 14 located as close to the axis as possible, and a head 15 is removably attached to the top of the housing as indicated at 16.

The reed drum 17 also is cylindrical and has reeds 118 mounted on the exterior over the reed passages '19, equal in number and spacing to the air passages 11 and 12, and also has air intake passages 20 and 21 provided through the bottom wall.

A drive shaft 23 is rotatably supported in a bearing 24 which is fixed in the mounting bracket 25 which is shown as of the clamp variety, and shown in a form to clamp about the head 26 of the front fork of a bicycle through the medium of a bolt 27.

The drive shaft is connected to the housing, with the bearing extending up into the housing and the housing having a cylindrical recess 28 to fit over the bearing and having a top wall 29 having a passage for the threaded end of the shaft and being secured by a nut 30.

'atent O The reed drum has a bearing 31 which is rotatable on the hub 32, is adjustable in the housing to two positions through the medium of a lever 33 which is fixed to the upper end of the drum and projects through a slot 34 which has a recess at each end as indicated at 35 and 36 in which the spring lever engages, the passages in the housing and drum being in registry in one of the positions and the reed passages being covered in the other postion.

The drive shaft requires a universal joint intermediate its length and is shown in the simplest possible form consisting of a closely-wound compression spring 37 the ends of which are fixed to the adjacent ends of the upper portion 38 and lower portion 39 of the drive shaft to permit retraction of the drive wheel 40 from the tire 41, and which retraction is accomplished through a collar 42 in which the shaft is rotatable, this coliar having an arm 43 which is retained against rotation by the form 44 which depends from the bearing support 45 which is a part of the mounting bracket 25. Thus, when the flexible member 46 is pulled upwardly, the shaft is flexed and the drive wheel 40 retracted from the tire.

Opposed depending reeds 47 and 48 are mounted in the head and are equidistant from the axis and each has a lever as indicated at 49 and 50 and which levers are movable to two positions in one of which the reeds are radial and in the other broadside to the axis as indicated respectively by the positions shown for 47 and 48.

If both are to be operated, they must be operated simultaneously so that the levers will be in the opposite positions from each other, otherwise, one, as 47 may be a dummy with the lever 49 rotatable and the reed fixed in the position shown, to maintain dynamic balance, the levers being indicated as retained in the respective positions by permanent magnets 50' and 51.

A depending shaft 52 is rotatable in the bearing 53 and is retained against rotation by the arm 54 which is connected to the steering shaft of the handle bars of the bicycle as by a clamp 55. This shaft is provided with one or more radial arms 56 which may be rigid but preferably formed of spring metal such as clock spring steel and with the terminal ends so located as to just tip the depending reeds, as indicated at 57.

When the bicycle is driven at around 15 miles per hour, the drive shaft will be rotated at about 30 revolutions per second or 1800 r.p.m., with the housing and reed drum rotating at that speed.

This causes the drum and housing to function as a pump, both exteriorly and interiorly, air being drawn in through the passages 13, '14, 20, 21, 58 and 59, with centrifugal action providing a pressure on the interior walls to force air through the reed passages to vibrate the reeds when the housing and drum are in the relative positions shown, and simultaneously the drag on the exterior creates a drop in pressure to augment the interior pressure, and at the same time, the rods or reeds 56 strike the reed 48 the same number of times, or 30 times per second, and with both reeds 47 and 48 turned to operating position, the rate will be 60 times per second. If both levers are turned to the positions with the reeds radial, the reeds will not be struck and only the air operated reeds will provide the sound, while if turned to operate, and the housing and drum are changed to the other position by moving the lever 33 into notch 36, the air operated reels will be silent since they are blocked by the intervening portions 60 of the side walls of the housing.

The device can be made with both types of sounds or either of them. If air-operated sounds are not desired the drum is not required, while if only the air operated reeds are desired, the depending shaft and reeds also will not be required.

I claim:

1. In a musical device having an outer cylindrical housing having a series of spaced passages formed through the walls thereof, and friction drive means manually selectively cooperative with the wheel of a vehicle for rotatably driving said housing, sound producing means comprising an inner cylindrical reed drum having a plurality of passages formed through the circumferential walls and registrable with the spaced passages, and a reed mounted in substantially closing relation on the exterior of each of the plurality of passages,

with the friction drive means rotating said housing and reed drum at relative high speed to provide centrifugal action for creating air pressure interiorly of the reed drum, and partial vacuum exteriorly of the housing for vibrating the reeds to produce a composite tone when the friction drive means cooperates with the vehicle wheel.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, in which said drum is rotatably adjustable in said housing and including means cooperative between the housing and drum for manually adjusting the drum to two positions,

in one of which the passages in drum and housing are in registry for vibration of the reeds, and in the other the passages in the drum are closed by the intervening Wall portions for non-vibration of the reeds.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1, a head for said housing and an axial bearing on said head, a trigger shaft depending into said drum through said bearing, and

secured against rotation with the head and having a plurality of spaced radial trigger elements, and

an impact reed depending from said head in spaced relation to the axis of the trigger shaft for engagement by said trigger elements,

said impact reed having means exteriorly of the head for manual adjustment to two positions, respectively, in engaging position for the trigger elements, and clearing the trigger elements.

4. In a sound device having a cylindrical housing having a circumferential wall and a bottom wall, with the circumferential wall having a series of passages formed therethrough, and drive means including a friction drive wheel manually selectively cooperative with the wheel of a vehicle for rotatably driving said housing, and means for mounting said device on a vehicle; sound producing means comprising a drum within said housing and having a circumferential wall closely related to the interior of the circumferential wall of the housing, and having a plurality of reed air passages registrable with the passages in said housing and each having a reed mounted on the exterior wall over each passage, and

means manually adjustable and movable to two positions and cooperative between the drum and the housing and including releasable securing means for selective registry and non-registry of the passages in the housing and drum.

5. In a sound device having a cylindrical housing and mounting means therefor, with the housing having a circumferential wall and a bottom wall, and drive means for selective driving cooperation with the wheel of a vehicle, and a series of spaced passages formed through the circumferential wall, and a head for said housing, sound producing means comprising a drum mounted interiorly of and rotatable with said housing and having a series of reed passages registrable with the spaced passages and each having a vibratory reed mounted exteriorly, and

adjusting means cooperative between the drum and the housing for adjusting the drum selectively to two positions, respectively with the reed passages in registry with the spaced passages, and, closed by the intervening wall portions between the spaced passages,

a reed shaft axially mounted in said head and secured against rotation and depending into said housing and having a plurality of spaced engaging members projecting laterally, and

a plurality of angularly spaced impact reeds mounted in said head and depending into said drum and each adjustable to two positions, in one of which the engaging members strike the impact reeds successively, and in the other the reeds are in clearing relation to the engaging members.

References (lited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 400,123 Schoenner Mar. 26, 1889 618,107 Kraushaar Jan. 24, 1899 1,198,844 Hawthorne Sept. 19, 1916 1,835,452 Armstrong Dec. 8, 1931