US3186125A - Changeable appearance pull toy - Google Patents

Description

June 1,1965 B. OREL 3,186,125

CHANGEABLE APPEARANCE PULL TOY Filed April 2, 1963 /0 Era. 4.

7% {1J INVENTOR. BEN UREL WM Q Cir/ZZZ United States, Patent 3,186,125 CHANGEABLE APPEARANCE PULL TOY Ben Ore], Hollywood, Calif.

(2553 E. 7th St., Brooklyn, NY.) Filed Apr. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 269,946 1 Claim. (Cl. 46104) This invention relates to a pull toy which presents a changeable and changing appearance as it is pulled along the floor or other supporting surface.

It is among the objects of the; invention to provide a novel pull toy which incorporates one or more balls or other rotatable or changeable'members which engage the floor and which are rotated or moved thereby as the toy is pulled acrossthe floor, causing changes to take place in the appearance of the toy.

1n the preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in the drawings, the toy has two oppositely directed flat horizontal surfaces upon which are imposed certain fixed patterns such as faces or bodies of human beings or animals. The body member of the toy carries a plurality of rotatable balls, which have patterns thereon such as the eyes and nose and which are rotated in appropriate relationship to the fixed pattern. As the toy is pulled along the floor, the lower portions of the balls engage the floor, causing the balls to rotate and move the eye and nose patterns to change their positions and relationship with respect to the fixed pattern and thus change the expressions and appearance of the toy. The toy is reversible to expose either of its flat surfaces.

It is also among the objects of the invention to provide such a toy which is capable of many variations as to the shape of the toy and the changeable members and asto the fixed and movable patterns.

It is among the further objects of the invention to provide such a toy which is simple and economical to manufacture and which may be made of substantially any materials. I

The invention also comprises such other objects, ad-

vantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by the invention.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of my pull toy; I

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of one side of the body member;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan View of the other side of the body member;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View of the body member taken along line'44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connection of the handle to the body member, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

A preferred embodiment of theinvention comprises a pull toy having an elongated handle 19, which is screw threadedly attached to its lower end to the center of a bar 11. The bar 11 has extensions of reduced diameter at its ends which are rotatably journaled in openings extending through a yoke 12. The yoke 12 is formed of complementary halves which extend outwardly from a body member which comprises a pair of body portions 13 and 14.

The body member in the particular embodiment shown in the drawings is substantially oval in contour and the body portions 13 and 14 are disposed in overlying relationship to each other. The exposed side of the body portion 13 comprises a fiat horizontal surface upon which is imposed a fixed pattern 15, which comprises the face and body of a Humpty Dumpty. The exposed side of 3,185,125 Patented dune 1,1965

' the body portion 14 comprises a flat horizontal surface upon which is imposed a fixed pattern 16 which comprises the face of a clown. The- patterns 15 and 16 may be applied by printing, painting,'deca1s or any other suitable means.

The body portion 13 is provided with three openings 17 of circular configuration which extend completely therethrough. Each opening 17 is completely circumscribed by an overlying flange 18. The flanges 18 are formed as integral parts of the body portion 13. The bodyportion 14 is provided with three complementarily formed openings 19 having flanges 20. The openings 17 and 19 are aligned to provide openings extending completely through the body member.

Three balls 21, 22 and 23 are mountedwithin the area formed by the combined openings 17 and 19. Each of the balls has a diameter somewhat less than the diameter of the openings 17 and 19, so that the balls are freely rotatable therewithin. The diameter of the balls is, however, somewhat greater than the diameter of the flanges 18 and 21), so that the flanges 18 and 20 prevent removal of the balls from the openings 17 and 19.

Each of the balls 21, 22 and 23 also has a diameter somewhat greater than the thickness of the combined body portions 13 and 14, so that a portion of each of the balls protrudes beneath the bottom of the lowermost body portion 13 or 14 when the toy is on the floor. The uppermost portionsof the balls either protrude through or are visible through the upper ends of the openings.

The balls 21, 22 and 23 carry on the surface thereof a pair of substantially oppositely disposed movable patterns 24, 25 and 26 respectively. In the embodiment shown, the patterns 24, 25 and. 26 comprisea pair of eyes and a nose.

The sides of the body portions 13 and 14 which carry the fixed patterns 15 and 16 may, if necessary or desirable, be provided with one or more nylon glides 27, or other suitable means, which act to engage the floor when the v toy is in use to prevent frictional engagement between the patterns 15 and 16 and the floor. Such frictional e11.- gagement might otherwise wear off the fixed patterns 15 and 16'if they are merely imposed on the surface of the toy.

The body portions 13 and 14 may be formed separately, the balls 21, 22 and 23 inserted into the openings and the body portions then sealed together by a band 28 secured along their edges or by other suitable attaching means. The body portions 13 and 14 may also be formed as an integral unit, of desired. In such case, at least one of the flanges 18 and 20 would have to be formed separately or other means provided for inserting and retaining. the balls in the recesses. If the diameter of the balls is only slightly greater than the diameter of the openings, the balls can be forced into the openings by pounding or other pressure. They will then be retained in the openings, since a comparable amount of pressure cannot be exerted upon them in order to effect their removal.

In use, the toy is placed so that the fixed pattern 15 or 16 is disposed in a horizontal upwardly facing position. As the toy is pulled, pushed or moved in any direction across the floor by means of a handle 10, the downwardly protruding portions of the balls 21, 22 and 23 engage the floor and are rotated thereby to cause the movable patterns 24, 25 and 26 carried by the balls to assume different positions with respect to the fixed pattern 15 or 16 and thus provide random and comical variations in the facial expressions formed by the combined fixed and movable patterns.

The toy can easily be reversed by means of the handle 10 to expose the other side and the handle can be removed for shipping or storage purposes.

It will be obvious that the invention is capable of a substantially infinite number of variations. For example, the fixed and movable patterns may be human or animal faces or bodies or the shape of any object or an arbitrary shape or pattern. The number of movable patterns and the relationship between the fixed and movable patterns may also be varied as desired.

Instead of using balls, it is possible to use wheels or other rotatable or movable members and the recesses may be extended into paths.

The shape and contour of the body portion of the toy may also be varied as desired. It may be one sided and it can easily be made three dimensional, if desired.

I claim:

A reversible changeable appearance pull toy adapted to be moved along a floor, said toy comprising a body member having a pair of substantially identically formed body portions secured in overlying relationship to each other, said body portions having a pair of substantially flat oppositely facing horizontal surfaces, a fixed pattern carried by each of said surfaces, said body member having therein a plurality of openings, each of which extends completely through said body member, a spherical ball rotatably and unremovably mounted within each of said openings, each of said balls having at least one pattern on its outer surface, the diameter of each of said balls being somewhat greater than the vertical thickness of said body member, whereby a portion of each of said balls protrudes beyond the horizontal surfaces of said body member and is adapted to engage the floor, each of said body portions having a flange circumscribing each of said openings, said flanges being of slightly smaller diameter than said balls, said balls being adapted to be rotated at random upon the movement of said pull toy along the floor to cause the patterns on said balls to move with respect to said fixed patterns on said body member and change the overall appearance of said toy.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,657,175 1/28 Peace 46-104 2,085,414 6/37 Cavanagh 46-467 X 2,782,556 2/57 Otis 46204 X 2,833,083 5/58 Dunstan 46-205 X 3,078,619 2/63 Brown 46--l35 X RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

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