US3613300A - Sectional balancing toy - Google Patents

Abstract

A SET OF ELONGATED BODY MEMBERS INCLUDING A PRIMARY MEMBER WHICH IS ROCKABLE IN A VERTICLE PLANE ABOUT A FULCRUM. THE SET ALSO INCLUDES ADDITIONAL BODY MEMBERS WHICH ARE RIGIDLY BUT SEPARABLY CONNECTABLE TO THE PRIMARY MEMBER AND TO ONE ANOTHER TO PROVIDE A UNITARY ROCKABLE ASSEMBLY WHICH HAS ITS CENTER OF GRAVITY DISPOSED BELOW THE FULCRUM.

Description

0ct.'19, 1971 E. SEGUIN ETAL 3,613,300

, SECTIONAL BALANCING TOY Filed May 22, 1969 INVENTORS [fives/ f6 0/ 2 Wax Mme??? BY v ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,613,300 SECTIONAL BALANCING TOY Ernest Seguin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Max Whiteman, 5450 King Edward Ave., Montreal, Quebec,

Canada; said Seguin assignor to said Whiteman Filed May 22, 1969, Ser. No. 826,903 Int. Cl. A6311 13/12 U.S. Cl. 46131 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A set of elongated body members including a primary member which is rockable in a vertical plane about a fulcrum. The set also includes additional body members which are rigidly but separably connectable to the primary member and to one another to provide a unitary rockable assembly which has its center of gravity disposed below the fulcrum.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in balancing toys of the general type wherein the toy is rockable in a vertical plane about a fulcrum and has its center of gravity disposed below the fulcrum, so that the toy is dynamically stable notwithstanding its apparent instability and the rocking motion to which it is subjected.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel and a highly entertaining balancing toy of this type which comprises a set of elongated body members separably connected together. One of these is a primary member which is rockable about a fulcrum, while one or more additional members are connectable to the primary member and to one another so as to provide a unitary rockable assembly. As such, the structural composition and arrangement of the assembly may be widely varied by connecting together the various members in various ways, and the benefits of entertainment and fascination derived from the toy are materially enchanced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sectional balancing toy wherein the elongated body members may conveniently assume the form of simulated acrobats, realistically connected to one another in the performance of the balancing act.

The balancing toy of the invention is simple in construction, highly entertaining, durable and lends itself to economical manufacture.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing one arrangement of the sectional balancing toy of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the primary body member;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the rear end or foot portion of the secondary and tertiary members;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the foot portion shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cross bar which may be used in the assembly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the cross bar connected to the foot portion of the secondary member;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the cross bar connected to the foot portion by a flexible connection; and

3,613,300 Patented Oct. 19, 1971 FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a tertiary member connected to the cross bar on the foot portion of a secondary member.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, one arrangement of the sectional balancing toy of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The toy comprises a set of elongated members 10, 12, 14 which may conveniently be in the form of simulated acrobats, although it is to be understood that these members may have any other configuration, human, animal or otherwise, or they may simply have the form of elongated blocks. Also, while the members may be relatively flat or thin in the transverse direction, they also may have a substantial third dimension corresponding to the human or animal form which they represent.

In any event, the member 10 may be regarded as the primary member in the set, and one end portion thereof, corresponding to the foot of the figure, is formed with a notch 15 for seating on a fulcrum 16 which is provided on a suitable support 17. The latter may be, for example, the edge portion of a table top, or the like, on which the fulcrum 16 is positioned, or a special support 17 embodying the fulcrum 16 may be provided as a component of the toy. Alternatively, the fulcrum 16 as such may be omitted and the foot of the figure may have its toe turn downwardly to engage the support 17 and thus provide a fulcrum about which the member 10 may rock in a vertical plane.

The elongated member 10 extends away from the fulcrum 16 in one direction which, merely for purposes of orientation may be referred to herein as that the member 10 extends forwardly from the fulcrum. The forward or head portion of the primary member 10 is provided with a rectangular notch 18 which, as shown in FIG. 3, is located at the back of the neck of the figure. The notch 18 is intended to removably receive a bar 19 of a rectangular cross-section, which bar is secured to and held by a bifurcated front portion or hands 20 of the member 12.

The member 12, which may be referred to as the secondary member of the set, extends downwardly and rearwardly from the primary member 10, below the support 17, and the rear end or foot portion 21 of the member 12 projects rearwardly beyond the fulcrum 16, substantially as shown in FIG. 1. As will be apparent from the foregoing, the secondary member 12 is connected to the primary member 10 by inserting the bar 19 of the member 12 into the notch 18 of the member 10, and since the notch is complemental to the rectangular cross-section of the bar, the bar cannot turn or rotate in the notch. Thus, the member 12 is separably but rigidly connected to the member 10, in the sense that the member 12 is held at a fixed angular relationship to the member 10 and the center of gravity of the two assembled members is disposed below the fulcrum 16. This permits the assembly to rock in a vertical plane about the fulcrum as indicated by the arrow 22, even if additional members such as the member 14 are included in the assembly, as will be presently explained.

The rear end or foot portion 21 of the secondary member 12 is formed to provide a substantially cylindrical toe portion 23 which is upturned so as to form a groove 24, and an eye 25 is provided at the bottom of the toe portion 23, as is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The member 14, which may be referred to as the tertiary member of the set, is similar to the secondary member 12, but the front end or hand portion 26 of the member 14 is in the form of a downturned hook which engages around the toe portion 23 of the member 12, extending into the groove 24, whereby to separably connect the member 14 to the member 12. Also, the hand portion 26 of the member 14 is provided at its underside with a projection 27 which abuts the eye 25 of the member 12 when the portion 26 is engaged with the portion 23, as will be apparent from FIG. 1. Thus, the tertiary member 14 separaby but rigidly connected to the secondary member 12, the abutment of the projection 27 with the eye 25 serving to support the mem ber 14 at a fixed angular relation to the member 12 while the member 14 extends rearwardly from the member 12, substantially as shown.

When the tertiary member 14 is added to the secondary member 12, the assembly will assume a balanced rest position with the center of gravity of the assembly still disposed below the fulcrum 16, and the assembly will be rockable about the fulcrum as at 22, as already explained. The foot portion 21 of the tertiary member 14 is the same as that of the secondary member 12 and, if desired, the assembly may be extended further rearwardly by adding one or more members such as the member 14 to the member 14 shown in FIG. 1.

Various other modifications are possible by employment of a cross bar 28 shown in FIG. 6. This cross bar is of a slender, substantially cylindrical form and its midportion is provided with a suspension loop 29 which may be removably applied to the groove 24 in the foot portion 21, as for example of the secondary member 12, as shown in FIG. 7. When so applied, the cross bar 28 abuts the eye 25 of the foot portion, and a pair of tertiary members 14 may then be applied to the opposite end portions of the cross bar by engaging the hand portions 26 of the members 14- with the end portions of the bar. These end portions of the bar are provided with depending eyes 30, similar to the eye 25, for abutment by the projections 27 of the hand portions 26, thus supporting the members 14 on the cross bar 28 in proper angular relation to the member 12. Since in this instance two of the teritary members 1-4 are used on the respective opposite sides of the secondary member 12, the bar 28 may be provided with annular shoulders 31 to facilitate equal lateral spacing of the two members 14 from the member 12. FIG. 9 shows the members 14 connected to the member 12 by the cross bar 28 and it will be understood that while in the instance the bar 28 is supported by the secondary member 12, it may also be supported by the tertiary member 14 as the latter is shown in FIG. 1, in which event additional members 14 may be connected in a pair to the cross bar.

FIG. 8 shows another modification wherein the cross bar 28 is not rigidly connected to the foot portion 21 but rather, it is suspended therefrom by a flexible element 32 which may be an elastic band or a length of cord, passing through the suspension loop 29 of the cross bar and through the eye 25 of the foot portion 21, A pair of the members 14 may be applied to the cross bar 28 as already described and the cross bar with these members thereon may rotate in a horizonal plane while being suspended from the foot portion 21 of the next proceeding member.

In all instances the center of gravity of the assembly lies below the fulcrum 16 and the assembly is thus dynamically stable, notwithstanding its apparent instability and its rocking movement about the fulcrum.

What we claim is:

1. A sectional balancing toy comprising a set of elongated body members including a primary member having a fulcrum at one end thereof, said primary member extending forwardly from the fulcrum and being rockable about the fulcrum in a vertical plane, a secondary member having a front end rigidly but separably connected to the forward end portion of said primary member, said secondary member extending downwardly and rearwardly from the primary member with its rear end portion projecting rearwardly beyond and substantially below the fulcrum, the center of gravity of said set of body members lying below said fulcrum, and quickly separable means connecting the secondary member to the primary memher, said means comprising a flat-sided bar fixed transversely to the front end of said secondary member, the forward end portion of said primary member being provided with an upwardly open rectangular notch removably but non-rotatably receiving said flat-sided bar therein, whereby the secondary member is held at a fixed angular relationship to the primary member.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said set of body members also includes at least one tertiary body member having its front end rigidly but separably connected to the rear end of said secondary member and extending rearwardly therefrom.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 together with means rigidly but separably connecting the front end of said tertiary member to the rear end of said secondary member.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said means connecting said tertiary member to said secondary member comprise an upturned toe portion provided at the rear end of the secondary member, a downturned hook provided at the front end of the tertiary member, and mutually abutting projections provided at the underside of said toe portion and of said hook, whereby to hold the tertiary member at a fixed angular relationship to the secondary member.

5. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a cross bar separably connected to the rear end of said secondary member and projecting laterally to opposite sides thereof, said set of body members also including at least two tertiary members having front ends thereof rigidly but separably connected to said cross bar at opposite sides of said secondary member and extending rearwardly therefrom.

6. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a cross bar separably suspended from the rear end of said secondary member and rotatable in a horizontal plane, said set of body members also including at least two tertiary members having front ends thereof rigidly but sep arably connected to opposite end portions of said cross bar.

References tilted UNITED STATES PATENTS 839,145 12/1906 Hoffman .a 46131 2,190,800 2/1940 Murphy 46131 2,551,668 5/1951 GOOSmann 46131 2,881,560 4/1959 Dawson 46-131 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner A. I. HEINZ, Assistant Examiner Us. or. xa. 46-22

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