US3199231A - Educational toy device - Google Patents

Description

1955 M. J. RUDEREAN 3,199,231

EDUCATIONAL TOY DEVICE Original Filed Oct. 3, 1962 INVENTOR MAX J. RU'DERIAN A TTURNE Ys FIC7.2. M paw- United States Patent 3,199,231 EDUCATIQQNAL TQY DEVECE Twin J. Ruderian, 631 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, Calii. Continuation of application Ser. No. 228,133, Oct. 3, 1962. This application Apr. 19, E65, Ser. No. 450,258

1 Claim. (Cl. 35-74) This invention is a continuation of my copending patent application Serial No. 228,133, filed October 3, 1962, and entitled Educational Toy Device.

This invention generally relates to an educational toy device. Although the toy device of the present invention is primarly designed for educational purposes, it will be appreciated as the specification proceeds that it also may be employed in conjunction with games of chance or the like.

More specifically, the educational toy device of the present invention falls into that category of structures in which one portion is moved with respect to another portion and various indicating means are employed in conjunction with markings to discretely or by random identify a given term, word, number, name, or the like which is to be matched with or related to another term or marking. Thus, the educational toy device of the present invention is designed to stimulate a students or child's thinking and desire to acquire knowledge by matching words, names, or the like through a movable structure rather than through merely visible means as is oftentimes the conventional practice. Of course, as heretofore mentioned, although the device of the present invention is primarily directed towards educational purposes, it may be employed for games of chance and luck.

One object of the present invention is to provide an educational toy device which may be extremely economically constructed from heavy paper, cardboard, or other inexpensive thin sheets of material, for example, plastic, metal foil, or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an educational toy device which, except for the minute thickness of the material as such, may be manufactured in two-dimensional form and assembled by the user into the three-dimensional operational device.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an educational toy device which may, for example, be embodied on a cardboard box of the type that is employed for holding dry cereals, flour, pancake mixes, cake mixes, and the like. More specifically, in this regard, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which may be printed upon cardboard sheets to be snapped out of place or cut out of place and simply assembled into the operational unit without any appreciable skill being required of the user.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an educational toy device conforming with the foregoing objects, and yet which is susceptible of repeated usage Without deterioration, and also which may be simply assembled and disassembled and which consists of only a minimum number of parts.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are generally achieved by providing a pair of congruent discs, which discs are flexibly joined together at an edge portion so as to be foldable for super-imposition one with respect to the other. The discs may be formed of cardboard, thin plastic, aluminum foil, or other materials. In one preferred form, the discs are formed in conjunction with cereal box sidewalls, for example, such that they may be easily pressed out along perforations or cut along designated lines.

The discs preferably comprise the movable or rotatable portion of the device and marking means are associated with the discs, preferably in the form of sector designating lines, although it is conceivable that other types of markings may be used.

Frame means are designed to journal the discs in superimposed position. Associated with the frame means is some type of stationary indicating means designed to cooperate with the markings on the discs to establish the particular disposition of the discs relative to the indicating means.

It will be appreciated that as a consequence of the foregoing structure, various educational games as well as games of chance may be played according to the particular printing employed on the discs and the particular relationship of the indicating means associated with the frame means to the markings used on the discs.

In a preferred form, it is also desirable to employ markings in conjunction with the frame means and also cutouts associated with the frame means whereby the educa tional toy device of the present invention may be employed in several different ways as will hereafter become clearer as the specification proceeds.

A better understanding of the educational toy device of the present invention may be had by reference to the drawings, showing merely illustrative embodiments, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of the toy device of the present invention prior to being cut out and assembled, the device being shown embodied in the sidewalls of a cereal box or the like;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the device immediately prior to final assembly;

FZGURE 3 is a top elevational view of the device in its assembled form; and

FIGURE 4 is a view of a modified form of the educational toy device of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG- URE l a cereal box or the like in which is merely disclosed for illustrative purposes of suggesting the manner in which the structures of the educational toy device may be formed. Thus, on one sidewall of the cereal box, there are shown a pair of discs Ill and 12 joined together at a common edge portion 13. Preferably, the disc 11 is divided by printing into a plurality of sector portions 14, and similarly the disc 12 is provided with printing or the like to form a plurality of sector portions 15. It is also desirable, but not essential, in this particularly structure,

that a tab 16 be formed in association with the disc 11 and a slot 17 in association with the disc 12. The tab 16 serves as a means of locking the disc 11 to the disc 12 in super-imposed position when the discs are folded together as will be hereafter described.

in the adjacent side of the box til, there is shown a retainer structure or frame means 18 which embodies a disc-like portion 19 and a disc-like portion 20. The disc portions 1? and 2t have integrally formed therewith strip or frame portions 21, 22, and 23. The frame portion 22 is provided with a locking tab 24, and the frame portion 23 is provided with a cooperating slot 25 for the locking tab 24-. it is also preferred to provide a perforated sector or triangularly shaped cutout or the like 26 in the disc portion 19 and a similar cutout 27 in the disc portion 29.

As an important feature of the present invention, tab structures 28 and 29 are provided, respectively, in the disc portions 19 and 2th. The ta-b structures are preferably partially perforated into the disc portions 19 and 20 such that three sides of each of the tabs 28 and 29 may be freed while one side retains the tab connected to a given disc portion 19 or Ztl as the case may be. The function of these tabs 28 and 29 will become clearer as the specification proceeds.

Thus, referring to the view of FIGURE '2, the frame or retaining means 18 is shown folded over along a fold line and locked by having the tab 24 extend around the bottom edge of the frame 23 back into the slot 25 in the manner indicated. Normally, this locking operation would not be completed until the super-imposed discs 11 and 12 wererassembled within the frame member 18.

As will be seen from the view of FIGURE 2, the tab 29 has been forced out of position to leave a cutout 29a. The tab is designed to be received through a central opening 31 formed in the disc 12 such that the marginal portion of the disc adjacent the opening 31 will fit against the tab 29 and below the tab opening 2%.

. A- similar opening 32 in the center'of the disc 11 is provided which is designed to. receive the tab 28, the latter being preferably 180 degrees out of alignment with the tab 29. Thus, the tab 28 would be received through the opening 32 for disposal between the discs 11 and 12 with respect to the frame or retaining means 18, but would also serve to guide relative rotative movement of may be used with respect to the discs 11 and 12; however, in place ofthe frame structure 18, a cutout of the form 34 may be used. The cutout 34 functions for the same purpose but does not yield as many variations in the use of the device. Thus, the cutout 34 may comprise strip structures and 36 integrally formed and extending from a fold line 37. The strip structures 35 and 36 terminate, respectively, in arrow portions 38 and 39.

In use, the portions 35 and 36 are folded about the foldline'3'7 into the position as indicated in FIGURE 4. The arrow portions 38 and 39 are thenalso folded ninety degrees back and the disc structure assembled as shown in the manner of FIGURE 3, may then be spun about the strips 35 and 36 now functioning as a shaft and retaining means for the coupled discs 11 and 12. Towards this end, the strip structures 35 and 36 would be passed through the central opening 31 and the users fingers would be used to grasp the same while the other hand could be employed to spin the super-imposed discs 11 the discs in a given path relative to the axis of the device as determined by the center openings 31 and 32.

In the form shown in FIGURE 2, the device is ready for final assembly; the disc 11 has been folded at the edge portion 14 over the disc 12, and the tab 16 is shown in position ready to be turned over the adjacent edge of the disc 12 into and through the slot 17 disposed thereon. The tab 16 in its final position would have its free end disposed between the discs 11 and 12 in the same manner that tabs 28 and 29 would be hidden from'view. Thereafter, the discs 11 and 12 would be inserted into the retainer 18 by positioning the tabs 28 and 29 relative to the openings 31 and 32 in the manner as previously described. The tab 24 would then be locked into the slot 25 in the manner as shown in FIGURE .2 and the device would be 7 ready for operation.

In its final assembled form, as shown in'FIGURE 3, it is simple for the userto retainany portion of the frame structure 18 between the fingers of one hand and spin or move the disc members 11 and 12 which are now locked for coupled rotation about the axis of the device.

. It willbe appreciated that a variety of educational games of chance may be played with this device. For example, the cutout 26 may indicate a particularradially inner sector marking 15a having printing designating the primary product of a given state. The radially outer sector portions 15b could indicate the names of states, and the sector portions 33 On the disc portion 20 could indicate the capitals of the states. It would then be the users objective to find the particular related state and align the capital therewith by moving the disc portion 2% relative to sector markings 15b.

It will also be appreciated that cooperating nomenclature can be imposed on the reverse side of the device or on the disc 11 which might indicate, for example, they flower of the particular state or the like or serve as a' check for the answer.

, In addition, it will be noted that the tab opening 29a may index to a particular portion of the inner markings or sector areas 15a. This indication might also give a particular number which would indicate the population rankingof the state or the area ranking of the state. Thus, it will be evident that the device may employ an appreciable number of variable to make the toy stimulating and challenging to the user thereof.

Although it is a preferred concept of the toy that the discs 11 and 12 be rotated with respect to the frame structure or retaining means 18, it is apparent that the frame means 18 may be, discretely moved with respect to the discs 11 and 12 and achieve the same result.

' In an alternate form of the invention, instead of providing the structures as shown, a similar construction and 12. The arrows 38 and 3% would then align with given sector portions 15 whereby the user would have to,

for example, name the capital of one state or the state associated with the capital of another.

Of course, the educational toy device may be used in a variety of ways, for example, to name poets associated with given poems, to name inventions associated with given inventors, and the like.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made to the educational toy device of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

What is claimed is: An educationaltoy device comprising, in combination:

i first and second congruent fiat discs having first and second central openings and being flexibly joined together at an edge portion, said'discs being folded together about said edge portion with said central openings in registration; markings on the exterior exposed surfaces of each of said discs; frame means comprising an elongated strip of the same material as said discs folded back on itself, said discs being received between the folded portions of said strip so that said folded portions extend diametrically across the exposed surfaces of said discs; means for securing the ends of said elongated strip together to thereby cradle said discs within said strip; and at least two locking tabs, one of said tabs being on the inner surface portion of said elongated strip extending across the exposed surface of said first-disc adjacent to said first central opening in aid first disc, and the other being disposed on the inner surface portion of said elongated strip exetnding across the exposed surface of said second disc adjacent to said second central opening in said second disc, said tabs extending between the peripheral edges of said central openings of said discs to lie between said discs and thereby journal said discs for rotation within said elongated strip member, said elongated strip defining indicating means whereby one of said markings will be juxtaposed said indicating means on said elongated strip when said discs ENGENE cArozro, Primary Examiner.

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