US3158954A - Toy figure with body members secured by vacuum cups - Google Patents

Description

J. GREEN Dec. 1, 1964 TOY FIGURE WITH BODY MEMBERS SECURED BY VACUUM CUPS Filed April 9, 1962 iNVEN TOR. JUJZPH 5555 3,158,954 TOY FIGURE WITH BODY MEMBERS SECURED BY VACUUM CUPS Joseph Green, New York, N51. (54 Prospect Ave, Hewlett, Long Island, NCY.) Filed Apr. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 185,946 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-22) My invention is an improvement in childrens toys, especially toys comprising parts and members that can be easily assembled to form a complete unit, with an odd look.

An important object of this inventionis to provide toys which can be made of articles that are usually on hand in any household, or readily obtainable by any family having one or more youngsters wanting playthings for diversion and amusement.

Another object is to provide toys so constructed that the parts or members thereof can be disconnected at any time without damage or impairment, and then quickly reunited to change the appearance of the finished product as the whim or wish of the user may suggest or direct.

A further object is to provide toys of this character that can be fully altered by hand, requiring no tools whenever reconstruction is attempted.

Other objects and the advantages of my invention are clearly set forth in the ensuing detailed description; and the novel features are defined in the appended claim. The drawings illustrate some embodiments of the invention but variations not necessarily shown herein may be adopted without alteration of the general design in which the invention resides. On the drawings- FIGURE 1 is a side View and FIGURE 2 a top view of one toy of my invention.

FIGURE 3 is a side view of another toy of this invention, and FIGURE 4 shows a detail thereof.

FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 6 show a vacuum cup for joining certain parts.

FIGURE 7 shows a further modification.

The toy as shownin FIGURES 1 and 2 has a body 1 to be supported on legs 2 at each side near both ends. The body is cylindrical with one end 3 closed and the other end open. A well-known round empty tin can or carton can be made to serve as this body, with round sticks for the legs, so attached to the body 1 as to support it in horizontal position with the closed end 3 at the rear; a stick 4 does duty as a neck, projecting from the opposite end, and carries on its outer end a flat piece of wood or other material having the outline of a head 5.

The legs 2 and neck 4 are joined at one extremity to hollow bosses 7 into which the legs and neck fit snugly and are held fast. The bosses are of course flexible and the legs are located so that the cups 6 engage the curved outer surface more or less underneath the body 1 so that the legs 2 spread out somewhat, and the body can thus stand in a stable position on any convenient horizontal surface. As for the neck 4, the cup at the inner end thereof engages the inside surface of the body at the bottom thereof and may retain the neck at a slant against the upper edges of the open end 3. This effect is assured United States Patent O because the boss 7 on the cup for the neck is flexible and can be bent at the necessary angle. The head 5 has a small recess in its edge so that the outer end of the neck 4 can be inserted to secure the head 5 in place. The

3,158,954 Patented Dec. 1, 1964 "ice can be afiixed in various positions and easily changed from one point of union with the body to another. Thus the toy consists of simple materials that are always obtainable, and the toy can be sold in knockdown condition, with brief printed instructions to assemble and complete it quickly to resemble various objects as the owner may desire.

The vacuum cups 6 are illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6, and FIGURES 3, and 4 indicate another toy with a similar round hollow body 8, having one end open and the other closed, the body 8 being designed to stand upright, with its closed end at the bottom, and the open end at the top; Two legs 9 are connected to the body by means of vacuum cups 6 as above described, one cup engaging the closed bottom 3 towards one side, and the other leg being connected to the body on a side and extending outward as if that leg were lifted. Each leg is connected to a flat piece 10 at its outer end, this piece resembling a foot, and having a recess in which the end of the outer end of the leg is removably inserted. A third stick 11 inside the body has a vacuum cup at its inner end to engage the closed bottom 3, and projects from the body through the open end at the top, serving as a neck and bearing on its upper extremity a flat piece of wood, in

. low cost. It will always present a great appeal for diversion and amusement.

Of course the toy of FIGURE 3 may have arms also, attached by vacuum cups to the outside surface of the body 8, with parts resembling hands on the ends of the arms; or the arms with hands can be painted on the body in the proper locations.

FIGURE 7 shows a toy having a body 8 to have legs 9 and feet 10 as in FIGURE 3, but the top 13 is closed, and a smaller round can or carton 14 serves as a head with eyes, nose, mouth, etc. painted thereon. This body 14 has a closed bottom 3, and is united to the body 1 by a short stem 15 and a pair of vacuum cups 6.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

A toy comprising a hollow round body with one end open, legs for said body, vacuum cups attached to the ends of said legs and engaging the outer surface of the body to hold the legs in position, a neck having one end within the body, and projecting therefrom, another vacuum cup attached to the inner end of said neck and en- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,169,682

7 8/ 39 Duncan 46-22 2,770,915 11/56 Hicks 46-22 2,846,809 8/58 Majewski 46-22 XR 3,018,583 1/62 Novotney 46-22 XR DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

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