US3358998A

US3358998A - Animated action toy

Info

Publication number: US3358998A
Application number: US413555A
Authority: US
Inventors: Adolph E Goldfarb
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-11-24
Filing date: 1964-11-24
Publication date: 1967-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 1984-12-19

Description

Dec. 19, 1967 A. E.'GOLDFARB ANIMATED ACTION TOY Filed Nov. 24, 1964 INVENTOR.

,ipozm/ i United States Patent 3,358,998 ANIMATED ACTION TOY Adolph E. Goldfarb, 7427 Varna St., North Hollywood, Calif. 91605 Filed Nov. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 413,555 15 Claims. (Cl. 273-95) This invention relates to an animatable action toy and more particularly to such a toy incorporating an object which, upon actuation of an appropriate release mechanism, is ejected from the toy at an unpredictable time whereupon a user of the toy may attempt to catch the object.

Many games are available for children which are not only amusing, but also develop a childs coordination and agility.

The game of the present invention is not only amusing to children of all ages, but also develops their coordination and agility in a manner somewhat different from that employed in prior art devices.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and useful animatable action toy.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toy of that type described which can be played by one or more individuals.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toy which forms the basis of a highly amusing game which not only amuses children, but also develops their coordination and agility.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a new and useful game of the type described wherein points may be scored upon the happening of a chance event, providing the child acts with skill and agility after the happening of the event.

According to the present invention, a game is provided wherein a first tower is mounted on a base plate. A coil spring has one end attached to the base plate inside the first tower and the other end of the coil spring has a platform attached to it. The platform can be depressed against the pressure of the spring and locked in a depressed position. After which the players of the game can place animated objects, such as simulated butterflies or the like, on top of the platform in the first tower.

The mechanism which maintains the platform in a depressed position includes a triggering device having a lever arm extending into a passageway provided in a second tower.

The second tower has an upper passageway adapted to receive a ball or marble with close tolerance. The upper passageway communicates with a pair of lower passageways which are separated by a central divider. A player of the game may drop a marble or ball into the second tower. As the ball drops down the upper passageway, it strikes the divider and rolls into one of the lower passageways unobserved by the player. Should the ball roll into a first of the lower passageways the ball will be returned to the player without a score.

On the other hand, should the ball roll from the central divider into the other lower passageway, it will strike the lever arm releasing the triggering mechanism so that the platform flies upwardly in the first tower. This causes the butterfly which is stored in the tower to fly out the top thereof. The player is provided with a butterfly net and attempts to catch the butterfly flying out of the tower. Should the player succeed in catching the butterfly in the net, the player is entitled to the number of points indicated on the butterfly by a suitable indicia placed thereon. The score indicating indicia on the butterflies are not visible to the players of the game so that they never know how many points they can score on a given occasion.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to the like elements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a toy of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the toy of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a holder means and the animated game pieces used in playing a game with the toy shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring again to the drawing, an animatable toy constituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, generally designated 10, includes a base plate 12 upon which a pair of open-

topped towers

14 and 16 are mounted. A catapult spring 18 is disposed within the tower 14 and has a first end 20 secured to the base plate 12 by a clip 22 (FIGURE 2). The other end 24 of spring 20 is secured by a clip 26 to a catapult platform 28 which is slidably mounted within the tower 14. The platform 28 may be lowered into the tower 14 against the pressure exerted by spring 20 by a suitable lever 30 which is attached to the platform by a weldment 31 and which is disposed within a vertical slot 32 provided in the encompassing sidewall 34 of tower 14.

The platform 28 includes a depending skirt portion 36 in which an elongated aperture 38 is provided. The aperture 38 is brought into alignment with a like aperture 40 provided in the sidewall 34 near its lower end 42. When the apertures 38 and 40 are in alignment, the platform 28 can be latched in its depressed position by a latching mechanism 44 which is pivotally mounted on the base plate 12 by a bracket 46 and a pivot pin 48. The latching mechanism of 44 includes a first leg 50 which is pinned to the bracket 46 by pin 48 and a second leg 52 which extends through apertures 40 and 38 into engagement with platform 28 when the mechanism 44 is pivoted in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2. The latch mechanism 44 is biased in a counter clockwise direction by a suitable spring 54 which has one end connected to the leg 52 and its other end connected to the tower 14. The latch mechanism 44 also includes a third leg 56 which extends through a slot 58 provided in the rear sidewall 17 of tower 16. The slot 58 permits the leg 56 to swing in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2, while the end 60 thereof remains disposed within a first lower chamber 62 provided in the bottom portion of the tower 16. A second lower chamber 64 is also provided in the lower portion of the tower 16 and the

chambers

62 and 64 are separated by a vertical partition 66 having a V-shaped, upper end portion 68.

The tower 16 includes a hollow upper portion 70 having an encompassing sidewall 72 defining a passageway 73 through which a spherical ball or marble 74 is free to pass with close tolerance. When the ball 74 reaches the lower end 76 of passageway 73, the ball 74 strikes the V- shaped portion 68 which directs the ball into either lower chamber 62 or lower chamber 64 on a chance basis. That is, assuming that the base plate 12 is perfectly level, the partition 66, the passageway 73 and the entrance to the

chambers

62 and 64 are arranged in such a manner that there is approximately a 50-50 chance that the ball 74 will roll into a

particular chamber

62 or 64.

Upon entering the chamber 64, the ball rolls out of the tower 16 through an opening 78 provided in the front sidewall 80 of the tower 16. Should the ball 74 enter chamber 62, the ball engages the end 60 of lever 56 overcoming the tension of spring 54 and causing the latching mechanism to swing in a clockwise direction so that the leg 52 becomes disengaged from the platform 28. The compression spring 20 then catapults the platform 28 upwardly in the tower 14.

The device can be used for the amusement of children while simultaneously developing their coordination and agility by placing a suitable object, such as an animated, simulated butterfly 82 on the platform 28 with the wings 82a of the butterfly 82 slideably engaged in slots 34a provided in sidewall 34. The child may then be provided with a suitable catching device, such as a butterfly net 84 in which to catch the butterfly 82 when it flies out the open top 85 of the tower 14 upon release of the platform 28. A plurality of butterflies 82 may be store-d on a suitable holding device 86 which is preferably placed in a playing area in such a manner that children playing the game cannot see certain indicia 88 provided on each butterfly 82. The indicia 88 may be in the form of numerals designating the amount of points to be scored by a child catcln'ng a butterfly 82 in the net 84. The butterflies 82 may be selected from the holding device 86 at random and in such a manner that the child whose turn it is will not know the amount of points to be scored by catching a butterfly when it flies out of the tower 14. The tower 14 is of sutficient height and is preferably made of a suitable opaque material, such as metal or colored plastic, so that the players of the game cannot see the indicia 88 on a butterfly 82 when it is in position on platform 28 at the lower end 42 of tower 14.

The excitement of the game may be enhanced by modifying the partition 66 shown in FIGURE 1 to the form thereof shown in FIGURE 3 wherein a partition 66a may be set into motion by a suitable actuating lever 6619 before the ball 74 is dropped into the tower 16. As the partition 66a swings to and fro it will be impossible for a child whose turn it is to predict whether the marble 74 will pass into the lower chamber 62 or the lower chamber 64. Thus, the child must have the butterfly net 84 at hand and have a good grip on its handle 90 when he drops the marble 74 into tower 16 in anticipation that a butterfly 82 might fly out of the tower 14. When ball 74 passes into chamber 62 to trip the latch mechanism 44, the ball is returned to the player through an opening 79 provided therein. The tower 16 is provided with sloping top walls 92 which limit the openings into

thelower chambers

62 and 64 in such a manner that the ball 74 passes therethrough with close tolerance when the partitions 66 and 66a are exactly centered between

chambers

62 and 64.

While the device 10 may form the basis of many games, one game may be played as follows:

The game can be played by one or more children. When more than one child plays a game with the device 10, each child will take a turn at which time the child takes the net 84 in one hand and the marble 74 in another hand. The platform 28 may then be lowered by another child depressing the lever 30 until the latch mechanism 44 engages the skirt 36 locking the platform in its depressed position. The other child may then select a butterfly 82 at random from holding device 86 and drop the butterfly 82 into the tower 14 so that it comes to rest on the platform 28. The child holding the marble 74 then drops it into the tower 16 while observing the tower 14 with the net 84 in position to catch the butterfly 82 in case it flies cut of the tower 14. Should the marble 74 be directed by the partition 68 or the partition 66a into the lower chamber 62, the latching mechanism 44 will be released causing the butterfly 82 to fly out of the tower 14 whereupon the child holding the net 84 attempts to catch the butterfly.

4 Should the child succeed, he scores the number of points shown on the butterfly.

On the other hand the indicia 88 on the butterflies 82 can take the form of suitable colors and the object of the game would be to collect all of the butterflies of one particular color. The child having the most butterflies of the same color at the end of a predetermined number of turns would then be declared the winner.

Although the particular toy and method of using same herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understoodthat it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction, design or method steps herein shown and described other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a toy game device, comprising:

catapult means for hiding a game piece from view and ejecting the game piece into the air when said catapult device is released;

a game piece mounted on said catapult device for ejection thereby;

catching means for catching a game piece ejected by said catapult means;

trigger means connected to said catapult device for releasing it; and

chance means for releasing said trigger.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for releasing said trigger includes a spherical object adapted to contact said trigger means on a chance basis when released.

3. A toy game device, comprising:

a first tower means adapted to conceal a game piece from the view of the users of the device;

catapult means mounted in said first tower means for catapulting said game piece therefrom; second tower means mounted adjacent said first tower means, said second tower means including lower chambers separated by a partition means, said second tower means also including an upper passageway communicating with said lower chambers;

trigger means mounted between said first and second tower means, said trigger means having a first leg extendable into said first tower means to retain said catapult means in a loaded condition, said trigger means including a second leg extending into one of said lower chambers;

trigger release means adapted to pass through said upper passageway means with close tolerance and strike said partition which directs said release means into one of said lower chambers on the basis of chance, said second leg extending into said one lower chamber in the path of travel of said release means as it is directed into said one chamber by said partition; and

catching means positionable to catch said game piece upon its ejection from said first tower means by said catapult means when said release means engages said second leg in said one lower chamber.

4. A toy game device as defined in claim 3 wherein said game piece comprises an animated figure having scoring indicia provided thereon.

5. A toy game device as defined in claim 3 wherein said release means comprises a marble adapted to be dropped into said second tower means by a user of said device.

6. A toy game device as defined in claim 3 wherein said game piece comprises a simulated butterfly.

7. A toy game device as defined in claim 6 wherein said catching means comprises a butterfly net.

8. A toy game device as defined in claim 7 including a plurality of simulated butterflies each having a different scoring indicia provided thereon.

9. A toy game device as defined in claim 8 including holder means for concealing said indicia when said butterflies are in position thereon.

10. A toy game device as defined in claim 3 wherein said partition is swingable.

11. A toy game device, comprising:

a base plate;

a first tower mounted on said base plate, said first tower including an encompassing upstanding sidewall adapted to conceal a game piece from the view of a user of the game device;

a second tower mounted on said base plate adjacent said first tower, said second tower including an upper passageway defined by an upstanding encompassing sidewall, said second tower also including a pair of lower chambers, and a partition separating said lower chambers, said partition including a V-shaped upper end portion at the bottom of said upper passageway in the path of travel of an object dropping therethrough;

a coil spring mounted in said first tower, said spring having a first end connected to said base plate and a second end;

a platform slidably mounted in said first tower, said platform being connected to said second end of the said coil spring, said platform including a depending skirt having an elongated aperture provided therein, said aperture in said skirt being alignable with an elongated aperture provided in said encompassing sidewall of said first tower;

a. latching mechanism pivotally mounted on said base plate between said towers, said latching mechanism including a first leg extendable through said apertures in said sidewall of said first tower and in said depending skirt when said apertures are in alignment to engage said skirt and retain said platform in a depressed position within said tower, thereby compressing said coil spring, said latching mechanism including a second leg extending into one of said chambers in the path of travel of an object being directed into said one chamber by said partition;

a weight object adapted to be dropped into said second tower through said passageway, said object being shaped to travel through said passageway with close tolerance and engage said V-shaped portion of said partition, whereby said object is directed into either said first lower chamber or said second lower chamber as a matter of chance, said object being engageable with said second leg to release said first leg from engagement with said depending skirt when said object enters said one chamber to cause said platform to be ejected upwardly in said first tower;

a game piece positionable on said platform for ejection from said first tower when said platform is released; and

catching means for catching said game piece as it is ejected from said tower.

12. A toy game device as defined in claim 11 wherein said partition is swingably mounted in said second tower.

13. A toy game device as defined in claim 11 wherein said game piece comprises a simulated butterfly having scoring indicia provided thereon.

14. A toy game device as defined in claim 13 including a holder means for holding a plurality of said butterflies in such a manner that said scoring indicia are not visible to the users of said game device.

15. A toy game device, comprising: tower means for hiding a game piece from the view of users of the game device; catapult means mounted in said tower means for ejecting said game piece therefrom when said catapult means is released; and chance triggering means connected to the catapult means for releasing it, said chance means being manually operable and having the characteristic that manual operation will or will not by chance actuate the ejecting means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,111,631 3/1938 Jones et al. 124-26 2,636,738 4/1953 Abagoff 124-16 2,664,077 12/1953 Moore 124-16 3,190,656 6/1965 Weisbecker 273-138 3,224,141 12/1965 Borak 124-26 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,259 1901 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner. M. R. PAGE, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN COMBINATION, A TOY GAME DEVICE, COMPRISING: CATAPULT MEANS FOR HIDING A GAME PIECE FROM VIEW AND EJECTING THE GAME PIECE INTO THE AIR WHEN SAID CATAPULT DEVICE IS RELEASED; A GAME PIECE MOUNTED ON SAID CATAPULT DEVICE FOR EJECTION THEREBY; CATCHING MEANS FOR CATCHING A GAME PIECE EJECTED BY SAID CATAPULT MEANS; TRIGGER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CATAPULT DEVICE FOR RELEASING IT; AND CHANCE MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID TRIGGER.