US3197203A - Roundabout amusement device - Google Patents

Description

July 27, 1965 J. E. TIEMANW I 3,

ROUNDABOUT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G.l. FIGA, 3

INVENTOR. JAMES E- Tl EMAN W y. M? ATTORN EY July 27, 1965 J. E. TIEMAN ROUND ABOUT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JAMES E. TIEMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,197,203 ROUNDABQUT AMUSEWNT DEVICE James E. Tiernan, 548 S. Home SL, Mesa, Ariz. Filed Feb. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 260,973 1 Gains. (65. 272-33) This is a roundabout amusement device, being a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 239,246 filed November 21, 1962.

The object of the invention is to provide a portable roundabout, especially for use by teen agers and adults which comprises a platform with rubber rollers, strategically positioned thereon, to support the front or wheel end of the roundabout, the aft end of the latter being swivelly supported by an upright carried by the platronn, suitable means being suspended from the top, and complemental means carried by the bottom of the roundabout, for engagement with the hands and feet, respectively, of a roundabout passenger.

It is to be understood that although this invention is designed primarily as an amusement device, it has been found useful as an exercising medium for the entire body. It is a simple expedient in furthering the national physical fitness program for both sexes.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description of the present preferred form of the invention, taken with the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a roundabout amusement device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational View of the same;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of the invention, equipped with a pair of brakes, one of which is passenger-operated;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the form of invention shown in FIG. 3, the hub assembly of the roundabout being shown in side elevation in association with the passenger-operated hand brake unit, together with the independent non-passenger-operated brake entity;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the disk portion of the hub, brake band, stanchion and hand controlled screw shaft extended through the stanchion, the inner end of the screw shaft carrying a brake head shown in engagement with the disk of the hub assembly;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of another modified form of invention wherein the platform is equipped with rollers upon which the wheel of the roundabout is rotatably mounted; 7,

PEG. 8 is a side elevational view of the same; 7

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner of swivelly connecting the aft end of the roundabout to the platform stanchion;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10-40 of FIG. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing to advantage one of the hand holds and the manner of connecting it to the wheel of the car; and

FIG. 11 is a detailed fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 1111 of FIG. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Basically, the invention here involved is approximately the same as shown in my application Serial No. 239,246. One of the principal differences is that the invention of the parent application is adapted for use on the ground or on a support, wherein the wheel or hoop portion of the passenger carrier comes in direct contact with the ground or other supporting surface. With the present improvement I provide an entity including a supporting base or platform equipped with a stanchion which supports the rotatable passenger-carrying medium in a manice ner to hold the wheel or hoop suspended above the platform or operable on rollers carried by the platform.

The assembly of the present invention includes a platform or supporting base 20 equipped with a stanchion 21 which is preferably tubular and extends vertically a predetermined distance so that the passenger-carrying medium 22 will be held in spaced relation to the top of the platform 20, as advantageously illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The stanchion 21 is braced by struts 23, the lower ends of which are secured to an intermediate part of the platform and are slanted rearwardly with their upper ends engaged with the stanchion, as indicated at 24. In this form of the invention the passenger carrier 22 includes a hub unit generally designated 25 which is adapted for engagement with the upper end of the stanchion, as advantageously illustrated in FIG. 2. The unit is adapted for slidable mounting on a rod 26 serving as an axle for the hub, one end of the rod being formed to provide a head which abuts the outer periphery of the stanchion, as shown in FIG. 2. The opposite end of the rod is adapted for engagement by a nut 27 which is screw threaded on the rod and adapted for abutting engagement with the outer cylindrical part 28 of the hub unit. The unit further embodies a disk 2? to which the inner ends of the supporting rods 30 are fixedly secured. The outer ends of the rods 30 are fixedly secured to the inner periphery of the wheel or hoop portion 31 of the carrier 22. The disk 29 is bolted or otherwise secured to a hub flange 32 as indicated at 33. This provides a suitable stabilizing arrangement to prevent casual displacement of the car on the stanchion.

The carrier 22 further includes hand holds 34 which may be trained through loops 35 carried by the inner periphery of the wheel 31 as shown in FIG. 1. It is to be understood that these hand holds are to be of any desired construction and adjustable to suit the convenience of the passenger-operator of the carrier. Furthermore, suitable means 36 are provided to embrace the feet of the passen ger-operator of the carrier.

The operation of this form of the invention is the same as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing in my parent application Serial No. 239,246 wherein the passenger-operator stands in the vertical position with the hands engaged with the hand holds 34 and the feet embraced by the means 36 in such a manner that bodily movement of the operator is permitted to set the carrier in motion and to stop the carrier at the option of the operator. V

In the form of invention illustrated in FIGS. 3-6 and 11, the carrier is equipped with a passenger-operated hand brake 37 and also with a multi-purpose brake entity generally designated 38. In this form of invention it is necessary to use a modified form of brake assembly, indicated at 25, which includes a brake drum 39 which carries a brake band 46) in any suitable manner, the drum being secured to the stanchion 21 by arms 41 which extend, at suitable intervals, from the inner periphery of the drum to brackets 42 which issue upwardly from the top of the stanchion 21, as advantageously illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The hub assembly 25' includes a disk 29 which carries a hub unit 43 including a bell crank lever 44 and brake shoe 45. The lever 44 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 46 which extends outwardly from one face of the disk 29 as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The end of the lever 44, opposite to that which carries the brake shoe 45, is engaged by a cable 47 which may extend forwardly along one of the rods 3% to a manually operated finger grip 48 pivotally mounted, as indicated at 49, adjacent the outer end of said rod 39 and in close proximity to the wheel or hoop 31' of the passenger carrier. The multi-purpose entity 3% is adapted to serve as a drag to control, when desired, the speed of rotation of the passenger carrier; to bring rotation of the carrier to a stop, by a non-passenger standing adjacent the aft end of the carrier; to lock the carrier from rotation when not in use; and to provide a brake entirely independent from the passengeroperated brake 43. This entity 33 comprises an elongated threaded shaft 50, one end of which carries a hand wheel 51 and the opposite end, a brake head 52. This shaft is threaded through a bearing 53 on the outer periphery of the stanchion 21.

As advantageously illustrated in FIG. 6, the shaft passes transversely through the stanchion 21' to permit the brake head 52 to be urged into engagement with, and retracted from, the disk 29 of the hub assembly. Relatively light pressure on the disk causes the brake to act as a drag to slow down the rotation of the passenger carrier to an approximate speed of rotation. When the brake head 52 is urged tightly against the disk 29 under rotation of the hand wheel 51, rotation of the wheel may be stopped whenever desired. This may become desirable in some instances where the rotation cannot be stopped by the passenger due to some mechanical failure, or due to the ineapacitati'on of the passenger-operator. It is to be observed that this braking entity is operable for the intended uses even if the passenger-operated hand brake has,

been rendered inoperative.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7-9, the platform 26 and stanchion 21 remain the same as the form of invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The passenger medium 22 is also the same approximate construction, varying in the shape and size of the disk. The modified form of disk shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 is somewhat smaller and the rods 30 of the passenger car are secured to the disk 29' as illustrated in FIG. 9. In this form of the invention, screw threaded stub shafts 54 are employed. The unscrew threaded inner end of each stub shaft is fixedly secured within its respective rod 30 by welding 55, or the like. The outer end of each stub shaft is adapted for the reception of a nut 56. In this form of the invention, the stanchion is equipped with a fixed restraining plate 57 and a removable restraining plate 58. The restraining plates are adapted to receive therebetween the head of an eye bolt 59, the shaft of which latter provides an axle upon which the disk 29' is rotatably mounted between restraining washers 66 and 61. The Washer 60 is fixedly secured to the shaft of the eye bolt. The washer 61 is removably secured to the shaft of the eye bolt in any suitable manner. When desired, the passenger carrier may be detachably engaged with, and detachably disengaged from, the shaft of the eye bolt 59 by the simple expedient of disengaging the washer 61. The eye bolt 59 is slidably mounted over the top of the stanchion 21 until it contacts the fixed restraining plate 57. The restraining plate 53 is then superimposed over 4 v the eye end of the eye bolt and a cotter pin 62 engaged through the stanchion above the plate 58 as shown in FIG. 9.

The form of invention as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a pair of rubber rollers 63 elevated above the platform by supports 64 which may be formed integral with, or fixedly secured to, the platform 20. The rollers 63 are positioned at the extreme forward end of the platform 29 adjacent the lateral margins of the platform, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. An additional pair of rollers 65 are also mounted on the top ofthe platform approximately midway between the support 64. These rollers are carried by supports 65 which hold the rollers elevated above the top of the platform but in a plane considerably below the plane of the rollers 63. The wheel or hoop 31 of the passenger carrier is adapted to be mounted in the rollers 63 and 65 to support the wheel, yet permitting facile rotation of the carrier under bodily movement of a passenger-operator engaged with hand holds 34 and with feet embracing means 36.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made herein without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A roundabout amusement device including a platform, a stanchion carried by the platform, an axle extending horizontally from the stanchion, a passenger-carrying means including a wheel with a hub sleeved over the axle, passenger-engaging elements on the wheel to permit the passenger to be supported in a vertical osition while the wheel rotates on said axle, the said elements including a pair of spaced hand holds on one part of the wheel and a pair of feet-engaging members on the wheel, remote from the hand holds, a pair ofrollers mounted on the platform and elevated above the latter adjacent the lateral margins of the platform, and a second pair of rollers mounted on the platform midway between the elevated rollers and ma plane below the latter, the passengercarrying wheel being in contact with all of said rollers to permit facile rotation of the wheel under movement of the passenger while the hands are engaged with the hand holds and the feet secured in said feet-engaging members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,521,946 1/25 Hargreaves 272--33 X 1,660,139 2/28 Shellabarger 272-49 2,403,593 7/46 Franklin 27249 X 2,467,338 4/49 Sellards 272-33 2,877,827 3/59 Anderson 272-33 X RICHARD C. PINKHAM,Primary Examiner.

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