US3794330A - Game phonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

A toy phonograph suitable for use in a game where one player secretly chooses one of several records and inserts it into the phonograph while the other player chooses an initial rotational position of the record, including a mechanism for readying the phonograph to play but which prevents actual playing until a switch is manually operated. Every time the record is changed or replayed, a lift cam is pivoted to lift the tone arm, the lift cam being latched in the lift position until a manual switch is operated. The lift cam also moves a switch actuator which wedges between a pair of resilient switch contacts to separate them.

Description

ih'iited' States Patent. Buck et al.

GAME imonocmm [451 Feb. 26, 1974 3,666,274 5/1972 Fox et al. 274/9 B Primary ExaminerLuis R. Prince Assistant Examiner-Willis Little Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Max E. Shirk; Franklin D. Jankosky [73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

[22] Filed: June 9, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 261,190 A toy phonograph suitable for use in a game where one player secretly chooses one of several records and [52] U S Cl 274/1 G 274/9 B inserts it into the phonograph while the other player [51] In Cl IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 3/00 Chooses an initial rotational position of the record, in- [58] Field of Search...206/DIG. 25; 274/1 A, i o, dudmg a 'F readying f L f 9 B 274/2 9 RA 1 R play but which prevents actual playing until a switch IS manually operated. Every time the record is changed layed a lift cam is pivoted to lift the tone arm [56] References Cited or the lift cam being latched m'the lift position until a UNITED STATES PATENTS manual switch is operated. The lift cam also moves a 2,000,162 /1935 Buscham 206/DlG. switch actuator which wedges between a pair of resilg; K' ient switch contacts to separate them. yan 3,529,832 9/1970 00m et al 274 9 RA 1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures M )0 36 g ,2; av re I ivl f/f- ,80 2 M2 7/ 114* i I 126 t 2- 5 9 /1Z\1\\V\\\ 1 Y M mam ii "r i I O M vrll fif i 4l[l O,\\ O i i i 62 W a l, lJL-n y, ii 4 fi l In Mr A \s "K 1.44 I 22 x LL0 l i 12 r.

Q 94 J I PATENTEB FEB26I974 sum 3 BF 3 1 GAME PHONOGRAPH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Games of the type which involves a pair of players using opposing strategies can be made more interesting by utilizing a phonograph which indicates the outcome of each play of the game. The offensive player may secretly choose one of several records that define different offensive strategies, and insert it into a phonograph. The defensive player tries to select an appropriate defensive strategy by selecting the initial rotational position of the record. The record contains several interleaved spiral record grooves, and the particular groove which is played is determined by the initial rotational position of the record. If the defensive strategy is appropriate, a groove will be played which announces an outcome favorable to the defense,'whil,e if an inappropriate defense strategy is chosen then a groove will be played which announces an outcome more favorable to the offense. Games of this type are described in Pat. application Ser. No. 208,668 filed Dec. 16, 1971, and a phonograph which can play records is described in Pat. application Ser. No. 100,250 filed Dec. 21, 1970, now Pat. No. 3,666,274.

In order to make the game enjoyable, the toy phonograph should operate in a simple manner that' minimizes the possibility of errors in its operation. Operation of the phonograph should be as foolproof as possible, because children are likely to make mistakes in its operation during the heat of a game when they are concentrating on strategy. Furthermore, a faulty operation can cause frustration if it leads to a loss by a player who had chosen the right strategy and who otherwise would have won or if a secret strategy is revealed prior to the play which will count.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a toy phonograph is provided which is automatically readied for playing a record when the record is changed or is to be replayed, but which prevents actual playing until a child operates a switch. The phonograph includes a lift cam which can move between a restraining position and a release position wherein it respectively lifts the tone arm off the record or releases it to move back onto the record. Whenever a replay knob is depressed or a record is ejected and replaced, the cam is automatically moved to the restrain position and then allowed to move back towards the release position. However, a latch arm on the cam keeps it in the restrain position until a child manually moves the latch arm from OFF to ON." The latch arm is automatically moved to OFF every time the phonograph is ready to begin playing, so that playing does not actually begin until a child affirmatively directs it each time.

The phonograph has-a turntable that is driven by an electric motor. A pair of switch contacts which control energization of the motor extend across one another in different planes, with one of the contacts having a depending portion where it can engage the other contact. An actuator can wedge between the contacts near the location where they cross one another, to deflect them so they move apart. The actuator is slideably mounted on the switch contacts and is moved by the lift cam.

The phonograph has a housing with opposite sides that face the opposing players. The side facing the defense player has a slot through which a child can apply turning forces to the turntable to change its initial rotational position. The wall also has another slot which displays indicia on the turntable indicating different rotational positions of the turntable. A slot through which the record is passed into and out of the phonograph is in a wall extending between the two walls which face the players, so that when a phonograph record is inserted into the slot the defense player sees only one face of the record.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will best be understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy phonograph constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the phonograph during the insertion of a disc record therein;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the phonograph with the disc record fully in place;

FIG. 4 isa partial perspective view of the toy phonograph of FIG. 2',

FIG. 5 is a partial top view of the phonograph of FIG. 4, showing the electrical switch apparatus thereof in an OFF state;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG.,- 5, but Showing the switch apparatus in an ON state;

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the switch apparatus of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8--8 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates a phonographlO which is especially suitable for use in playing a strategy game of a type that involves the choosing of a record 12 by an offense player and the choice of initial rotational position of the record in the phonograph by a defense player. The offense player faces a rear wall 14 of the phonograph while the defense player faces the front wall 16. The offense player inserts the record 12 through a slot 18 in the front wall of the phonograph with an arrow marking 20 on the record facing down. The record is received on a turntable 22 in the phonograph. A knurled ringshaped gripping portion 24 on the turntable is accessible to the defense player through a slot 26. The defense player can move the knurled portion 24 to change the rotational position of the turntable 22. Different positions of the turntable are indicated by indicia 28 affixed to the turntable which can be viewed through a viewing slot 30.

After the defense player has selected an initial position of the turntable and therefore of the record, he moves a switch 32 from an OFF position over a detent 34 to an ON position. As soon as the switch is at the ON position, the phonograph begins playing one of several spiral record grooves formed'in the disc record 12. One example of a game which may be played is a game simulating baseball, wherein the player representing the team at bat selects one of several records to be inserted, each record denoting a different player on the team who may have different batting abilities. The indicia 28 on the turntable correspond to different pitches that may be thrown by the pitcher of the defense team which is on the field. If the chosen pitch is appropriate to the batter (the pitch is unknown to the defense player) then a record groove will be played which is favorable to the defense player. If the choice of pitch is inappropriate, a record groove will be played which is unfavorable to the defensive player.

After a record groove has been played, the record may be played again by depressinga replay knob 36 on a control lever 38. When the replay knob 36 is depressed, a tone arm is lifted off the record and moved to the periphery of the record where the lead-in portions of the record grooves are located, so that the phonograph is ready to play again. However, depression of the replay knob 36 also causes the switch 32 to automatically move to the OFF position. To actually begin the playing of a record groove, the child must move the switch 32 to the ON position. In a similar manner, a new record can be played by first depressing a reject knob 40 on the control lever 38, to cause the record 12 to be ejected through the slot 18 from the phonograph. A new record can then be inserted into place. Ejection of the old record and insertion of the new one causes the tone arm to lift off the. record and move to the periphery of the record so that the phonograph is ready to play. However, as in the case of depression of the replay knob, depression of the eject knob causes the switch 32 to automatically move to the OFF position, so that the switch must be manually moved to ON to actually begin playing.

The automatic movement of the switch 32 to the OFF position every time the phonograph is ready for another playing helps to prevent mistakes in operation of the phonograph. If it were required that a child manually move the switch 32 to the OFF position before pressing the replay knob or inserting a new record, then the possibility would arise of the child forgetting. In such a case, the record would begin playing immediately after depression of the replay knob or insertion of the record, before the defensive player had a chance to turn the turntable to choose a defense strategy. In the heat of play, such forgetting could often occur, and this could lead to the defense player not having a chance to actually choose a strategy. The fact that the switch 32 is automatically turned off before'every playing assures that the defense player will have an opportunity to select the rotatable position of the turntable.

FIG. 3 illustrates the phonograph when it is in a position ready for the playing of the record 12. The record has several interleaved spiral grooves with lead-in portions 42 spaced about the periphery of the record. A tone arm 44 is pivotally mounted on the housing 46 of the phonograph, so that the tone arm can move between the peripheryand hub portion of the record to track a spiral record groove, and so that the tone arm can also move against and away from the record. The turntable 22 which supports the record is driven by an electric motor 48 whose output shaft is connected by a belt 50 to the turntable. The motor can be electrically energized by an electric battery 52 which is held in a battery compartment 54 of the housing. An electrical conductor 56 extends from one end of the battery compartment to the motor 48. A pair of conductors 58, 60 extend in series from the other end of the battery compartment to another motorterminal to complete the electrical circuit. The conductors 58, 60 are constructed of resilient material and serve as switch contacts which can deflect into and out of engagement with each other to energize and deenergize the motor. In order to replay a record after the stylus 62 has reached a run-out groove 64 on the record, it is necessary to lift the tone arm 44 off the record and pivot it to the periphery of the record. The mechanism must also deflect the switch contacts 58, 60 out of engagement until the manually operated switch is moved to the ON position, at which time the motor can be energized and the tone arm 44 can be allowed to drop onto the record.

Lifting of the tone arm is accomplished by a lift cam 70, which is best shown in FIG. 4. The lift cam has a shaft portion 72 which is pivotally mounted at opposite ends on the housing. When the cam is pivoted to a restrain position, shown in solid lines in FIG. 4, the edge portion 74 lifts the tone arm off the record. When the replay knob 36 is depressed, a tone arm return cam 76 on the control member 38 moves an upstanding portion 78 (FIG. 3) of-the tone arm to push it out to the periphery of the record. At the same time, another cam 80 on the control lever moves against a surface 82 on the lift cam to pivot it to the restrain position. When the replay knob 36 is released,'a spring arm 84 returns the control lever to its original position so that the cam 80 is away from the surface 82 of the lift cam. However, the lift cam does not return to the release position shown in'phantom lines in FIG. 4. This is because the manually operated switch 32 is formed as an arm of the lift cam 70, and the detent 34 which holds the switch lever 32 in an OFF position serves to hold the lift cam 70 in the restrain position. When a child manually deflects the switch arm 32 over the detent 34 to the ON position, the lift cam 70 pivots to release the tone arm so that the tone arm can move against the record and begin playing it. At the time that the tone arm is lowered, the motor should be energized to begin rotating the turntable.

As mentioned above, the two switch contacts 58, 60 are biased toward engagement, but can be separated to de-energize the motor. The switch contacts are mounted so that they extend across one another near their outer ends, but the crossed portions lie in different planes. However, one of the contacts 60 has a depending end portion 85 which extends into the plane of the contact 58 so it can engage the contact 58. The contacts 58, 60 are biased towards engagement with each other, but can be readily deflected apart. At the end of play of a record groove, an extension 86 (FIG. 3) on the tone arm moves against the contact 58 to deflect it away from the end portion 85 of the other contact 60 to open the circuit. However, when the tone arm is returned to the periphery of the record the contacts would engage one another and energize the motor unless means were provided to keep them apart. A switch actuator 90 is provided to keep the contacts 58, 60 disengaged until a child manually operates the switch 32 to begin playing.

The actuator 90, best shown in FIG. 4, has a rearward end 92 which is supported and engaged by the lift cam 70, and a forward end 94 which is supported and engaged with the switch contacts 58, 60. In addition, a tab 96 is provided on the housing which can slideably support the actuator when needed during rough handling. The rear portion 92 of the actuator has a projection 98 that is engaged by a pair of camming arms 100 on the lift cams. When the lift cam is pivoted to the restrain position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4, the arms I60 slide the actuator 90 forwardly towards the contacts 58, 60. Conversely, when the lift cam is moved to a release position, the actuator 90 is slid rearwardly. The forward end 94 of the actuator includes a pair of separator portions 102, I06 (FIG. 7) that can respectively engage the switch contacts 58, 60. When the actuator 90 is slid in a forward direction as indicated in FIG. 5, the portion 102 deflects the depending end 85 of the switch contact 60 to the left and the actuator portion 106 deflects the end of the switch contact 58 to the right to separate them so that the contacts do not touch and the motor is de-energized. On the other hand,

when the actuator 90 is slid rearwardly as indicated in FIG. 6, the switch contacts are free to deflect against each other and complete the motor energizing circuit. The mounting of the forward end of the actuator on the contacts 58, 60 eliminates the need for additional guides for the actuator and assures that it will effectively engage the contacts like a separating wedge to separate them.

The electrical switch therefore is operated to OFF in unison with operation of the lift cam 70, and both of them are operated when the replay knob 36 is depressed and then released. Such operation of the replay knob keeps the motor deenergized and brings the tone arm to a position where it can enter the beginning of a record groove. The manually operable switch arm 32 is automatically latched to an OFF position whenever These grooves 126, 128 form living hinges. Such living hinges have commonly been used in toys to pivotally connect two portions of a single element. By the use of several of such living hinges, at the five locations 131-435 spaced along the length of the door, the door is able to flex. The living hinges resist bending so that the door tends to remain straight, but when a moderate bending force is applied the door will bend at the living hinges rather than breaking. The door is much thicker than the living hinges along most of its area, so that it is sturdy. When the door is slid closed, the housing supports the door against bending at the living hinges, and the door is thick enough to resist damage.

Thus, the invention provides a toy phonograph of relatively simple construction, which enables the playing of a strategy game wherein the rotational position of a record can be chosen prior to each playing of a record. The phonograph includes a manually operated switch which is automatically moved to an OFF position at any operation that readies the phonograph for a playing. This prevents the possibility of immediate playing of I the record before a child has an opportunity to choose the lift cam is moved, and it therefore keeps the tone arm off the record and maintains'the electrical contacts open-until manual operation of the switch lever to an ON position. A similar operation occurs when the reject knob 40 of the'control lever 38 is moved to eject a record. When the eject knob 40 is pressed, the control lever 38 pivots arr-eject cam or lever 110 (FIG. 4) which has a region 112 that moves against an arm 114 on the lift cam to pivot the lift cam to a restrain position and simultaneously move the actuator fOI'e wardly to open the electrical contacts. When a new record 12 is inserted as indicated in FIG. 2, and the new record pushes against a return portion 116 on the eject lever, the eject lever and'control lever 38 are returned to their original positions. However, the lift cam 70 is kept in the restrain position by the switch arm 32, in the same manner as in operation of the replay knob. Thus, readying of the phonograph'for' playing always automatically latches the mechanismin an OFF position wherein the tone arm is held off the record and the motor is de-energized, and it requires manual operation of the switch 32 to actually begin the playing cycle.

The battery compartment 54, best shown in FIG. 3, has a door 120 which is slideably mounted on the housing to provide access to the compartment for replacing a battery. When the door is slid to its extreme open position, only a small region of the inner end 122 of the door will be held by the housing. If more than a small bending force is applied to the outer end 124 of the door when it is fully opened, then either the door or the housing portion holding the inner end thereof could break. To reduce the likelihoodof breakage, the door is constructed of a material that can bend at thin sections thereof, such as polypropylene plastic. Grooves such as those shown at 126 and 128 are formed in the door, which extend across the width of the door perpendicular to its direction of sliding on the housing.

a rotational position of the record. The phonograph utilizes crossed electrical switch contacts which are biased towards engagement, but which can be separated by a switch actuator that acts like a wedge to deflect the contacts apart. Thev phonograph has a housing with a wall facing one of the players, the wall having a slot through which the turntable is accessible for turning it and another slot for viewing indicia on the turntable to indicate its position. A record-receiving slot is also provided' which is in a wall located so that a player who turns the'turntable and operates the manual switch to start playing of a record, cannot see oneface of the record as it is inserted into the phonograph. The phonograph is constructed to minimize the possibility of damage, by utilizing a slideable battery door which has several living hinges along its length that allow the door to bend so as to prevent breakage when the door is fully opened. 1

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and consequently it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is: I

1. A toy phonograph comprising:

a housing; 4

means for holding a record in said housing;

an electric motor mounted in said housing for driving said record;

battery holding means on said housing for holding an electric cell;

first and second switch contacts for coupling an electric cell in said battery holding means to said motor to energize it;

a switch actuator moveable within said housing, said actuator having a rear end portion and having a front end portion which is adjacent to said switch contacts; and

a member moveably mounted on said housing and engaged with said rear end portion of said switch actuator to move said actuator toward and away from said switch contacts;

said switch contacts extending across one another at different planes and having engaging portions a portion located in a plane between the planes of the crossing portions of said switch contacts, so that the second end portion of the actuator is supported and guided in movement by said switch contacts.

Claims (1)

1. A toy phonograph comprising: a housing; means for holding a record in said housing; an electric motor mounted in said housing for driving said record; battery holding means on said housing for holding an electric cell; first and second switch contacts for coupling an electric cell in said battery holding means to said motor to energize it; a switch actuator moveable within said housing, said actuator having a rear end portion and having a front end portion which is adjacent to said switch contacts; and a member moveably mounted on said housing and engaged with said rear end portion of said switch actuator to move said actuator toward and away from said switch contacts; said switch contacts extending across one another at different planes and having engaging portions which lie at the same plane at a location spaced from where the contacts cross and said actuator having a portion moveable between said contacts near where they cross to separate them when said actuator is moved toward said switch contacts; said front end portion of said switch actuator having a portion located in a plane between the planes of the crossing portions of said switch contacts, so that the second end portion of the actuator is supported and guided in movement by said switch contacts.

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