U.S. patent application number 15/899315 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-23 for wall-based rolling ball sculpture.
The applicant listed for this patent is Andrew Lewis Johnston, Keith Barker Johnston. Invention is credited to Andrew Lewis Johnston, Keith Barker Johnston.
Application Number | 20180236350 15/899315 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63166738 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180236350 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Johnston; Andrew Lewis ; et
al. |
August 23, 2018 |
Wall-based Rolling Ball Sculpture
Abstract
A rolling ball sculpture is comprised of modular track parts,
connected together to form a contiguous pathway for balls. Magnetic
wall mount parts are assembled to a wall in an array with even
spacing in order to hold magnetic support pieces that may be moved
into various locations. Track pieces may be held by support pieces
that mount onto the moveable supports that are magnetically mounted
to permanent magnetic pieces. Track parts include straight parts,
turns, and mechanisms such as chimes, switches for diverting balls
along differing paths, funnels, and conveyor parts that lift balls
to the top of the sculpture. Parts may be constructed of
2-dimensional parts that may be cut or stamped from flat materials,
such as laser-cut plywood.
Inventors: |
Johnston; Andrew Lewis;
(Redwood City, CA) ; Johnston; Keith Barker;
(Eugene, OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Johnston; Andrew Lewis
Johnston; Keith Barker |
Redwood City
Eugene |
CA
OR |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
63166738 |
Appl. No.: |
15/899315 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62460840 |
Feb 19, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 18/023 20130101;
A63H 5/00 20130101; A63F 7/3622 20130101; A63F 2250/50 20130101;
A63F 9/34 20130101; A63H 33/26 20130101; A63H 18/04 20130101; A63F
2007/3662 20130101; A63H 18/02 20130101; A63H 18/021 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63F 7/36 20060101
A63F007/36; A63H 5/00 20060101 A63H005/00; A63H 18/02 20060101
A63H018/02; A63H 33/26 20060101 A63H033/26 |
Claims
1. A kinetic sculpture of the rolling ball type comprising: a
plurality of individual parts including: a modular wall-mounted
support structure composed of an evenly-spaced array of magnetic
mounts, semi-permanently adhered to the wall; support struts with
magnets at either end which latch magnetically to said magnetic
mount parts; various track support parts which mount to said
support struts via mechanical interlocking features and which
support said track parts; a plurality of modular interlocking track
parts which mount to said support struts and which align to one
another to form a contiguous track to accommodate rolling
balls;
2. The kinetic sculpture in claim 1, wherein said modular
interlocking track parts are held together with u-shaped press-fit
clips that hold parts together.
3. The kinetic sculpture in claim 1, wherein all parts are
comprised primarily of flat pieces that can be manufactured from
laser-cut sheet materials such as wood, plastic, metal, etc.
4. The kinetic sculpture in claim 1, wherein the modular parts are
aligned to one another with interlocking features to ensure smooth
transitions of the ball between parts.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims an invention which was disclosed in
Provisional Application No. 62/460,840, filed Feb. 19, 2017,
entitled "Wall-based 2-D cut wood Rolling Ball Toy Kit". The
benefit under 35 USC .sctn. 119(e) of the United States provisional
application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application
is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Marble toys have existed for a long time. Generally, a
marble starts at the top of a track and rolls downward along a
path, sometimes winding and sometimes traveling through various
mechanisms along the way down. In some cases the path is modular
and/or adjustable in some way so that a user can enjoy making
changes to a design.
[0003] Some examples of such toys are: [0004] "Rolling Ball and
Track Toy" Stair, U.S. Pat. No. 2,532,521, issued Dec. 5, 1959
[0005] "Marble Runway" Cook, U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,914, Jan. 10, 1956
[0006] "Knockdown Marble Railway Toy" Grosser, U.S. Pat. No.
3,145,501, Aug. 25, 1964 [0007] "Jump Chute Marble Race Toy"
Klitsner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,342, Oct. 17, 1989 [0008] "Marble
race toy with elevator and supporting infrastructure" U.S. Ser. No.
08/657,856, Sep. 1, 1998 [0009] "Tube toy and method", Gilman, U.S.
Ser. No. 08/326,278, Sep. 19, 1995 [0010] "Suspended runway",
Quercetti, EP1427498B1, Dec. 17, 2008 [0011] "Track Segments
Providing A Convoluted Path", Horowitz, U.S. Pat. No. 8,568,188B2,
Oct. 29, 2013 [0012] "Wall mounted toy track set", O'Connor, U.S.
Pat. No. 8,608,527B2, 2015 Pending
[0013] All of these examples incorporate a track with an upper
starting point, and a pathway down to an endpoint below. Some
require manual operation to drop balls into the top of the track,
while others incorporate a means of conveying marbles back up to
the top starting position.
[0014] As evidenced by these examples of prior art, the concept of
a rolling ball sculpture has long been appreciated. While there
have been many attempts to enable users to re-configure track
designs, many of these attempts result in a limited ability to
re-configure track. Oftentimes the device is assembled on a table
or floor at least temporarily dedicated for the purpose. These
concepts also generally lack forethought as to ease of assembly, as
well as ease of manufacturing.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Objects of the present rolling ball sculpture are:
to semi-permanently mount magnetic components to a wall in an array
with even spacing; to construct a track comprised of modular track
components; to align modular track components to one another with
interlocking features; to rigidly connect modular track pieces to
one another with u-shaped clips; to mount the track to a wall using
support members attached to wall via magnetic mounts; to enable
re-configuration of modular track pieces to one another and to wall
mounts; to convey balls to the top of the sculpture using a
motorized conveyor
[0016] The rolling ball sculpture is comprised of modular track
parts which connect to one another using u-shaped clips. Said
modular track parts align to one another with interlocking features
to ensure that a rolling ball does not get stuck in transition
between track parts. An array of magnetic wall mount parts are
assembled to a wall in an array with even spacing. Support pieces
with magnets may be moved into various locations where they latch
to the magnetic wall mount parts magnetically. Track pieces may be
connected to support pieces that mount onto moveable supports that
are magnetically mounted to permanent magnetic pieces. Track parts
include straight parts, turns, and mechanisms such as chimes,
switches for diverting balls along differing paths, funnels, and
conveyor parts that lift balls to the top of the sculpture. The
parts may be constructed of 2-dimensional parts that may be cut or
stamped from flat materials, such as laser-cut plywood. In this
manner a large sculpture kit could be flat packaged into a
relatively small box. A motorized conveyor belt moves balls back to
the top of the sculpture to enable continuous motion of balls along
the track.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0017] FIG. 1 is a side view of one configuration of the
wall-mounted rolling ball sculpture
[0018] FIG. 2 is a side view of an array of magnetic wall mount
parts
[0019] FIG. 3 shows an isometric view of the wall-mounted rolling
ball sculpture
[0020] FIG. 4 shows a magnetic support before it latches to
magnetic wall mounts
[0021] FIG. 5A shows modular track parts and assembly clips prior
to assembly
[0022] FIG. 5B shows modular track parts and assembly clips after
assembly
[0023] FIG. 6 shows interlocking alignment features between modular
parts
[0024] FIG. 7 shows assembly clip holding modular track parts
together
[0025] FIG. 8 shows track support part holding modular track
part
[0026] FIG. 9 shows spiral track segment comprised of 80-degree
turn parts
[0027] FIG. 10 shows motorized conveyor for lifting balls to top of
sculpture
[0028] FIG. 11A shows modular track pieces prior to assembly
[0029] FIG. 11B shows assembled modular track part
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] FIG. 1
[0031] The rolling ball sculpture 100 shown in FIG. 1 is comprised
of modular track components 110 mounted on track support members
106 which are mounted to magnetic support parts 102, which
magnetically latch to magnetic wall mount parts 101.
[0032] FIG. 2
[0033] An array of evenly spaced magnetic wall mount parts 101 is
shown in FIG. 2. Each part is comprised of a disc containing a
high-strength magnet 104 located in the center of the disc. Wall
mount discs 101 are mounted to the wall with adhesive, preferably a
non-destructive removable double-sided adhesive tape. A wall
containing this array of discs is prepared to receive magnetic
support structures which provide a foundation for mounting track
support parts.
[0034] FIG. 3 FIG. 3 shows an isometric view of the rolling ball
sculpture 100.
[0035] FIG. 4
[0036] FIG. 4 shows a magnetic support structure 102, with
high-strength magnet 104, in a position just before latching
magnetically with the wall mounted magnetic discs 101, which also
contain high-strength magnets 104.
[0037] FIG. 5A
[0038] FIG. 5A shows modular track parts 110 prior to assembly with
assembly clips 105
[0039] FIG. 5B
[0040] FIG. 5B shows assembled modular track components 110 held
together with assembly clips 105. Assembly clips slide around end
pieces of modular track parts, coupling them together to form a
continuous track.
[0041] FIG. 6 shows interlocking alignment features 103 that act to
position modular parts 110 relative to one another in such a manner
as to ensure smooth transition of a ball rolling from one part to
another.
[0042] FIG. 7 Modular track parts 110 are held together via
assembly clips 105.
[0043] FIG. 8
[0044] Modular track part 110 is supported by track support part
106 which is hooked onto magnetic support part 102.
[0045] FIG. 9
[0046] FIG. 9 illustrates the versatility of the modular track
design. In assembling a group of 80-degree modular track parts 110,
introducing a slight rotation with assembly of each successive part
can achieve a spiral segment of track 120.
[0047] FIG. 10
[0048] FIG. 10 shows a motorized conveyor belt 108 that returns
balls 109 from the bottom of the sculpture back to the top.
[0049] FIG. 11A
[0050] FIG. 11A shows pieces 111, 112 that can be assembled to form
a modular track part 110. These pieces can be made entirely from
2-D materials. Said materials may be flat packaged prior to parts
being punched out, in order to achieve efficient packaging
design.
[0051] FIG. 11B
[0052] FIG. 11B shows an assembled modular track part 110.
* * * * *