US1561614A - Gravity toy - Google Patents

Description

, Nov. 17,1 1,561,614 J. J. MAHAN' GRAVITY TOY Filed April 15, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 avweutoz Nov. 17,192 1,561,614

J. J. MAHAN I GaAvITYmoY Filed April is, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet s Elvwzmtoz Nov. 17, 1925. 1,561,614

.1. J. MAHAN GRAVITY TOY Filed April 15, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l E J. E; 6 lvwemto'a M. $111,451 11am,

" operated by balls or marbles.

Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

JAMES J. MAELAN, (It? NEW JERFSEY.

' ,G'RAVITY TOY,

Application filed, a d

To all whom it may C'O/ICLZI'I'L.

Be it known that 1, JAMES J. Mai-inn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson, S ate of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gravity Toys, of which the following is a specification.

The improvements relate to mechanical toys adapted to be operated auton'iatically by the gravity of some fluent material placed therein, such as sand, marbles, grain, and the like, and relate more particutarly to toys of this character adapted to be Their objects are, among others, to produce a toy of this kind of very simple, strong and durable construction, and which may be easily dismembered and reassembled, which will be instructive, as well as interesting and amusing in its operation, and will act under all ordinary conditions of use with certainty and precision.

The present improvements are 111 the nature of an improvement on the invention of Letters Patent of the United States No. 11119266, granted to the present inventor March 5, 1912, and are intended in part to apply some of the features of the said patented invention to a toy adapted to employ coarser material than sand.

The improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toy embodying the improvements; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the gate and hopper for feeding the marbles and adjacent part-s, some of these parts be- .ing shown in vertical section; Fig. 3 is a front view of the toy; Fig. 4t is a plan with the upper bin removed and the cart in position to receive the marble from the vertically operating car; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4. with the cart near the bottom of its incline: Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form.

Referring to the preferred construction, the base 1 is composed of a rod or wire bent to form a lateral support for the toy and having its ends 2 turned upwardly to receive sleeves 3, in the upper part of which the lower ends of the upright frame 4t are held. At the front the wire forming the base is turned. upwardly and backwardly as shown at 5, to form a standard. for operating the gate of the cart 6. i

Serial Ito. 553,174.

The upright frame at is bent baekwardly at its top to form an angular loop 7 supporting the bin or trough 8 for the marbles, and the car 9 travels up and down on this upright frame between the bin and the cart 6 which moves up and down the incline track 10. An elongated tray 1.1 receives the marbles when they are discharged from the cart, and when this tray is filled it may be removed frontwards or backwards and the marbles dumped therefrom into the bin 8 at the top. Thetray is made of a piece of sheet material bent to form a trough closed at its ends and a support therefor, the metal being turned down at the edges, as shown at 12, so as to support the trough in a position slightly inclined from front to back, and the forward end 13 of the trough extending beyond the supporting sides to a position beneath the bottom of the upright 5 to receive the marbles as they roll therefrom. The part 5 therefore acts as a guide or track for the marbles discharged from the cart as well as a trip for the gate of the cart.

The inclined t 'aclr is supported at its lower end by the shoulders 1st of the base, which receive the jaws 15 at its extremity, and at its upper end by the bar 16 secured to the members of the upright frame at and spanning the space between them, a T-slot 17 receiving the said bars. The bar 16 is fixed to the uprights by having its ends turned around them tightly, and acts also as a gage to position the said upright members accurately in the sleeves 2. These uprights preferably being forced down inside the sleeves until the ends of the bar are in contact with the upper edges of the sleeves. The wheels of the cart run in grooves 18, and the movement of the car in a downwa d direction is limited by the post 5 and in an upward direction by the depending arms of the gate 19 on the car. The marbles 20, which are delivered one by one are held in the cart 6 and prevented from escaping from the lower open end thereof by the gate 21, provided with an extension 22 adapted to strike against the post 5 when the car reaches the bottom of the inclined track and raise the gate so as to permit the marble to escape. The gate normally rests on the step 2-3 of the cart 6 and is pivoted thereon by having its inturned ends loosely received by holes 24. i

The car .9 is open at its front, and has guides 25 loosely engaging the side members of the upright frame 4:, formed by punching out parts of the sheet material in its sides to form double flanges. Its bottom is inclined outwardly, so that the marbles or their units will pass therefrom by gravity, and its open front is provided with a vertically sliding gate 19 operating in grooves 26 and adapted to be raised by contact with the bottom plate of the track 10, to permit the marble to fall from the car 9 to the cart 6, when the said car arrives at the bottom. 1

The bin 8 is supported at its outer end by the brace 27 received by a slot 28 and composed of a rod or wire bent double and having lower inturned ends supported in holes 99 in the depending sides of the track member 10.

7 made of resilient rods or wire and sheet metal having a certain degree of resiliency they are easily assembled and taken apart by flexing the parts at their connections to connect or disconnect them. Thus the gate of the cart 6 may be spread and passed over the cart, and its inturned ends permitted to snap into the holes 2 the brace 27 positioned in similar manner and the car 9 mounted on the upright lby spreadingthe side members or the upright, inserting the car between them until its guides register therewith and then releasing; the said members. Likewise by flexing the metal of the bin at the slot 30 the looped upper end 7 of the upright may be passed to the en larged bottom of said slots to form a secure connection. This is important in a toy of this character, as is also the construction of the parts which'enables them to be arranged fiatwise in approximately parallel relation for packing, storage and shipping, because it permits the manufacturer to pack and ship the parts in small packages or boxes, and also because it permits the user to assemble or take down the toy quickly and easily and without the use of tools of any hint. It also adds greatly to the strength and dura bility of the device, since it will not be apt to break when subjected to unusual shocks and strains in use, but at most will be dismembered and can be easily restored to operative condition.

The sheave 31 rotates on the horizontal portion of the loop 7 inside the bin, while the sheave 32 is supported in a bracket 33 at the upper end of the track member 10, and a line or cable 36 extends from the rear end of the gate up and over thetwo sheaves and down to the bail 3% of the car, so that the, cart and car move simultaneously in opposite directions. The line is of such length as to permit the two to meet at the upper part at the incline 10, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, and to move to their lower and upper respective discharging and charging positions, and the length of the line or cable may be varied, by taking in or letting out at the tail of the cart, so as to give the proper adjustment when needed.

The mechanism for releasing the marbles or other units and causing them to drop into the car one by one comprises a bail 35, formed of an attenuated metal strip bent to form an angular frame and having its inturned horizontal upper ends 37 passed through the vertical slots 38 in the sides of the bin 8, so that the member hangs therefrom, and a bent arm 39 secured to the bottom of the bail and extending outwardly and upwardly through an opening in the bottom oi. the bin and having a backwardly turned upper extremity e0. The bottom of the bin is stamped at 4-1 to form a recess for the member 1 0, so that the marbles w ll not be obstructed therebywhen it is in its lower position, and the length of the slot 38 is such as to permit the bail to be raised to a point just above the top of the marble, so that the marble can pass thereunder. hen the car 9 ascends its upper edge strikes the bail and raises it until one of the marbles pass by gravity under its upper ends and falls into the car 9, first striking in the basket formed by the converging bottom members of the bail and the lower partol: the arm 39 and forcing the bail downwardly. This upward movement of the bail 'aises the upper end of the arm 39 and causes it to be interposed into the path of the next marble to prevent that marble from moving, but when the car descends the bail will fall of its own gravity, aided by the impulse which has been given it by the marble, to its lower position thus removing the upper end of the arm from the path of the marble and permitting it to move down until it is checked by the upper ends ot the bail which are now in its path. This operation is repeated until all of the marbles are auton'iatically discharged from the bin.

lVhen the car reaches a point near the bottom of its downward movement the depending arms of the gate 19 come in contact with the bottom'of the track member 10 and raises the gate so as to permit the marble to escape therefrom and tall into the cart 6. The gravity of the marble causes the car to descend and to draw the cartu'pwardly on the incline, and when the marble is dumped into the cart it causes the said cart" to move downwardly to the low-er end of the incline and draw the car upwardl to receive another marble. The cable being so adjusted that the cart discharges its marble an instant before the car is recharged.

In the modified form illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 the track member is provided with a stop 42 punched out of one side thereof, and

7 the gate 4-3 has an arm 44 hanging therefrom and at an angle thereto, in the path of which the stop or trip 42 is located, so that when the said arm strikes the said stop the gate will swing upwardly on its pivot in the car and release the marble. The bin in this case is composed of a frame 45- with inclined shelves 16 down which the marbles pass until they rest between the incline 47 and the gate member 18. lVhen the car strikes the bottom member 49 of the gate the member 4-8 is raised, releasing the marble, and at the same time the detent member 50 moves upwardly into the path of the succeeding marble, as shown in Fig. 7, so that but one marble can be discharged ata time. A guide 51 directs the marble through the opening 52, and the bottom shelf 47 is inclined toward the opening to direct the marble thereto. The gate member is mounted to slide up and down in openings in the lower shelf 46 and bottom portion 53 ofthe bottom shelf, so that it can have vertical movement only. This gate member is preferably made of a single piece of wire and falls by gravity as soon as it is released by the car. On the back of the bin 1-5 a bracket 54-. is secured upon which the sheave wheel 31 may be mounted by means of a pin run through these parts, but it is preferred to compress the bars of the upright frame 1 and snap them between the clips 55 without dismountingthe sheave 31. This makes the modified form of bin and preferred form interchangeable, without changing any of the other parts.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of an upright frame, a car mounted to reciprocate thereon, a bin located at. the upperpart of said upright frame having an opening and an inclined portion leading thereto and adapted to contain loose material and to permit it to gravitate down said inclined portion to said oponing, said opening being located adjacent to the position of the car when the said car is at the upper limit of its reciprocating movcment, a gate mounted to reciprocate vertically adjacent to the said opening and nor mally located in the path of said material, and a member connected with and mounted to move with said gate and constructed and arranged to be interposed into the path of the material in the bin when the gate is opened, and means whereby the upward movement of the car causes the said gate to open and the said member to be simultaneously interposed into the path of the material, said member having a portion which is in the path of the downward movement 01' the material as it passes from the bin. 1

2. In combination with the mechanism specified in claim 1, means for causing the gate to be opened when the car moves to a position adjacent to the opening of the bin.

3. In combination with the mechanism specified in claim 1, a gate on the car nor mally closed, and means for opening the said gate by the gravity of the car when the car reaches the bottom of its movement on the frame.

4. In the mechanism specified in claim 1,

the said portion forming the connection between the said member and the gate.

. 5. In combination wlth the mechanism specified in claim 1, a cart movable to and upright thereon, an inclined track member supported by said frame and upright, a cart mounted to move along sald inclined track member, means for depositing fluent material on saidcart while itis at the upper part of said inclined track member, and means for discharging the material from said cart when it reaches the lower part of said track member, comprising a gate pivoted on said cart and extending into the path of said ma terial in normal position to hold the same in the cart, an arm connected with said gate extending outwardly and downwardly from the cart to a point below the same, a projection on the lower part of the track in the path of said arm and adapted to check the downward movement of said arm with the cart and causepivotal movement of the arm and the gateon the cart, the connection be tween said gate andarmand their relative positions being such that the said pivotal movementmoves the gate from the. path'o! the material.

7. The combination of a bottom frame, an upright extending therefrom, an inclined track member mounted on said base and upright, a car mounted to travel on said in clined track member, means for depositing fluent material on said car at the upper part of said track member and discharging the same therefrom at the lower part thereof, and a receptacle having a portion located adjacent to the point of discharge, and ex tending laterally therefrom on a plane in clined away from said point, said receptacle being detachable from said base and having a channel for guiding said material.

8. The combination of a bottom frame, an upright thereon, an inclined track member supported by said frame and upright, a cart mounted to move along said inclined track member, means for depositing fluent material on said cart while it is at the upper part of said inclined track member, and means for discharging the material from lit) said cart when it reaches the lower part ofsaid track member, comprising a gatepivoted on said cart and extending into the path of said material in normal position to hold the same in the cart, an arm connected with said gate extending outwardly and downwardly from the cart to a point below the same, a projection on the lower part of the track in the path of said arm and adapted to check the downward movement of said arm with the cart and cause pivotal movement of the arm and the gate on the cart, the connection between said gate and arm and their relative positions being such that the said pivotal movement moves the gate from the path of the material, the said gate normally extending on a line substantially parallelwith the line of gravitation of the material.

9. The combination of a base, an upright frame supported thereon and rigidly connected therewith, an inclined track member mounted between said base and upright frame, said track being made of sheet metal, and said base and upright being made of spring metal, said inclined track member having open recesses therein to engage portions of the base and upright frame and said recesses having mouths through which the said portions of the base and upright frame enter them spaced a greater distance apart than the distance between the portions of said base and member received therein, and the said base and upright frame being capable of being flexed to enter the same and normally holding the inclined track member by spring action causing engagement of their said portions with the recesses.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, an upright frame mounted thereon, an inclined track member mounted on the said base and frame, a car mounted to reciprocate on the upright frame, a cart mounted to travel along the inclined track member, a line connecting said car and cart, guides mounted on the said track member and upright frame for the line, and a plurality of receptacles for holding fluent material, said receptacles being mou-ntable on said upright frame and detachable therefrom, one of said receptacles having a longitudinal trough or way therein, and the other having guiding members whereby the material moves in a mean vertical direction.

11. The combination of an upright frame, a car mounted to reciprocate thereon, abin having a discharge opening adjacent to the car when the car is in its upper position and adapted to contain fluent material in a divided state, a gate mounted to reciprocate adjacent to the opening of said bin arranged to normally hold the said material and prevent it from passing from the bin, and a member connected with said gate and spaced therefrom, mounted to move vertically and in a plane parallel therewith with said gate and to be interposed into the path of the material in the bin when the gate is opened, said member having a portion extending into the path of said material as it leaves the bin. 7

12. In the combination of parts specified in. claim 11, said member which is interposed into the path of thematerial in the bin being. rigidly connected with said gate.

13. In the combination of parts specified in claim 11, said member which is interposed into the path of the material in the bin being normally located in the bottom of the bin and adapted to move upwardly into the path of said material.

14. In the combination of parts specified in claim 11, the said member which is interposed into the path of the material in the bin having a portion extending laterally therefrom within thebin.

15. The combination of an upright frame, a car mounted to reciprocate thereon, a bin having a discharge opening adjacent to the car when the car is inits upper position and adapted to contain globular units a gate mounted to reciprocate adjacent to the discharge opening ofsaid bin arranged to normally hold material in the bin and prevent it from passing from the bin, and a member connected with said gate and mounted to move therewith but spaced therefrom adapted to be interposed into the path of the material in the bin when the gate is opened, and a member connected with said gate extending into the path of said globular unit between thebin and the car to receive the impact of said unit as it passes from the bin to the car.

lVitness my hand this 7th day of April, 1922, at the city of New York, in the county and State of New York.

JAMES J. MAHAN.

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