US3315407A - Electric motor driven noise simulator - Google Patents

Description

Aprll 25, 1967 N. L. CASE ETAL ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVEN NOISE SIMULATOR Filed July 14, 1964 K o A 4 v "w "a M m a. Hut-Finn! S E m Q J H J m FW 0 4 7 .E LR 2 2 v A W a N, 0 m v a N BY .9 9. B a j i m T a m Q Y T a a. I 1 k a 4 fi G a 2 mm m n l United States Patent 3,315,407 ELECTRIC MUTOR DRHVEN NOISE SIMULATOR Noel L. Case and Bernard J. Tuschak, Girard, Pa., assignors to Louis Marx & Co., Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 14-, 1964, Ser. No. 382,563 1 Claim. (Cl. 46232) This invention relates generally to a motor noise simulator and is more particularly directed to a device mounted within a model house such as a workhouse or sawmill which produces a noise simulating that produced by an engine or sawmill motor.

The invention is directed to a motor noise simulator which is self-powered to generate a loud noise thereby creating the effect that a motor is operating within the house or other enclosure and which may be externally controlled to vary the speed of operation of the motor noise simulator.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive device of improved and simplified construction which may be mounted within a model building and which can simulate the sound of a motor or engine operating within the building or other enclosure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

Generally speaking, in accordance with this invention, a frame carries a semi-rigid diaphragm or sounding board. A motor mounted to the frame proximate to the diaphragm carries a rotor in which is housed a slidable ball. The ball is adapted to partially extend beyond the rotor in its outermost position and to strike the diaphragm to produce a cyclical sound. The motor is battery operated through a series connected rheostat which can be adjusted to control the speed of operation of the motor.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claim.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is bad to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of a model building for receiving and supporting a motor simulator constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a motor simulator constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional View taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the rotary element of the motor simulator, shown at a greatly enlarged scale; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of typical electrical circuitry for operation of the motor.

The device disclosed herein may be generally classified as a toy and, as such, may be mounted within a model building such as indicated generally at 11 in FIG. 1. The size and appearance of the building are of no patentable significance but merely lend visual interest to the toy. Thus, the outside of the building may have the appearance of a. workhouse or a sawmill or other type of building which might normally house a motor and which thus would normally be expected to give off the sounds of motor operation Within the building. Of course, it should be understood that the motor simulator disclosed herein is not limited to incorporation within a building, the building being shown for environmental purposes only. When a model building is utilized, it may be provided "ice with a compartment 12 in which batteries 13 are mounted for operating the motor to be subsequently described.

The building may be provided with a separable roof 14 to which the motor noise simulator may be mounted and which permits access to compartment 12 for changing the batteries. Both the roof and floor will preferably be provided with a plurality of apertures 15 which readily permit the escape of the sound generated by the motor simulator.

The motor noise simulator is more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 through 4. Secured to the building roof 14 through flanges 16 is an annular frame 17 adapted to support a semi-rigid diaphragm or sounding board 18 in spaced relation to roof 14 as clearly shown in FIG. 3. A diametrically disposed support 19 is secured to the annular frame above the sounding board in such a manner that the central area of the sounding board is not contacted by the support. Additional support elements 21 are secured between support 19 and the annular frame to define a channel for receiving and supporting a motor 22. The motor is supported above the sounding board in spaced relation thereto and the motor armature shaft 23 extends through support 19 approximately along a diameter of the annular frame perpendicular to the diameter through support 19. Mounted fast to the end of armature shaft 23 is an elongated rotor 24 adapted to rotate in a circular path such as indicated in FIG. 3, for example. Rotor 24 is provided with a longitudinal chamber 25 of circular cross-section which extends from one end of the rotor toward the center of rotation thereof but stops short of the center of rotation as best shown in FIG. 4. A ball 26 is freely received in chamber 25 and the outer end of rotor 24 is necked as at 27 to prevent escape of ball 26 once the ball has been inserted in the chamber. The necked end of the rotor while preventing complete discharge of the ball, permits a portion of the ball to extend beyond the end of the rotor.

As shown in FIG. 3, as the motor is driven and rotor 24 revolves, the centrifugal force acting on ball 26 causes it to move away from the center of rotation, the outward limit of movement being defined by the necked end of the rotor. Ball 26 is positioned so as to strike sounding board 18 thereby producing a sharp sound. Because of the semi-rigid construction of the sounding board, ball 26 will be deflected immediately on striking the sounding board and will freely move into chamber 25. This deflection prevents stretching of or undue stress on the sounding board as the length of the rotor is such to prevent any contact between the rotor and the sounding board. In other words, the only contact is made between ball 26 and the sounding board when the ball is in its outermost position due to the centrifugal force resultant from rotation of the rotor. The termination of chamber 25 short of the center of rotation of the rotor prevents .ball 26 from being deflected to the other side of the center of rotation, which might otherwise cause the ball to' be retained in an inner position.

Suitable leads 28 connect motor 22 to contacts 29 which engage the uppermost ends of batteries 13 when the roof is in place on the building. The other ends of the batteries are connected in series with a rheostat 31 as best shown in FIG. 5. From the schematic diagram of FIG. 5, it will be quite evident that rheostat 31 can be utilized to act (as an on-oif switch and also to control the speed of operation of motor 22. Rheostat 31 may either be mounted directly on the building, or suitable posts (not shown) may be provided for remote wiring on the rheostat if placement of the rheostat on a remote control panel is desired.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, tare efiicie'ntly attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrated and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features (it the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

In a noise simulator, the combination comprising a planar base, sound releasing means in said planar base, an annular frame secured to said planar base and surrounding said sound releasing means, a sounding board carried by said annular frame and spaced thereby from said planar base, a motor mounted on said frame on a side of said sounding board away from said planar base and adapted to be operated by an energy source, an elongated rotor attached to the armature shaft of said motor for rotation therewith, the central axis of said elongated rotor being perpendicular to the axis of said armature shaft, and a striking element slidably carried by said rotor and adapted to extend partially beyond one end of said rotor in its outer limit of movement, said rotor being positioned for rotation in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said sounding board, said striking element being positioned to strike said sounding board as said rotor is rotated and said striking element is urged to its outer limit of movement.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,992 11/1893 Burgress 116-158 2,914,885 12/1959 Milligan 272-8 X 3,160,984 12/1964 Ryan 46-175 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

DELBERT B. LOWE, R. F. CUTTING,

Assistant Examiners.-

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