U.S. patent number 3,780,469 [Application Number 05/144,583] was granted by the patent office on 1973-12-25 for sectional creative toy.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hi-Ho Products, Inc.. Invention is credited to John P. Hancovsky.
United States Patent |
3,780,469 |
Hancovsky |
December 25, 1973 |
SECTIONAL CREATIVE TOY
Abstract
The specification discloses a creative toy of lightweight,
durable material, such as a low-density polyethylene and plastic
composition, which is made up of a plurality of interlocking
arcuate sections capable of assembly in a variety of different ways
to provide different life-size toys for juveniles, such as a hoop,
slide or chair. Each section of the toy comprises a body portion of
hollow, thin-walled and substantially rectangular cross-section
having a protruding V-shaped tongue at one end and at the opposite
end a recess of complementary and interlocking configuration to the
tongue. The outer and inner walls of the body portion are curved
inwardly and the side walls have shallow cups recessively molded
therein for decoration and reinforcement purposes.
Inventors: |
Hancovsky; John P. (Shaler
Township, Allegheny County, PA) |
Assignee: |
Hi-Ho Products, Inc.
(Sharpsburg, PA)
|
Family
ID: |
22509227 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/144,583 |
Filed: |
May 18, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/127; 280/206;
446/108; 472/116; 138/157; 297/118; 472/115 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H
33/065 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63H
33/04 (20060101); A63H 33/06 (20060101); A63g
011/00 (); A63g 021/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;272/56.5R,56,60,1R,1B
;46/23,25,30 ;D34/5,6.4B,6.4C,6.4D,64E ;301/63DS ;280/205,206,207
;52/309 ;138/157,117,120 ;24/21C,23BC |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
661,203 |
|
Apr 1963 |
|
CA |
|
464,185 |
|
Mar 1914 |
|
FR |
|
1,221,579 |
|
Jan 1960 |
|
FR |
|
221,755 |
|
Sep 1924 |
|
GB |
|
117,199 |
|
Jul 1946 |
|
SW |
|
Other References
"Playthings" April, 1971. .
Sears 1970 Christmas Book, "Playall" on page 476..
|
Primary Examiner: Oechsle; Anton O.
Assistant Examiner: Kramer; Arnold W.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus,
comprising a body portion having top and bottom walls, side walls
and end walls, the body portion being curved on a substantially
uniform radius of curvature along its longitudinal axis extending
between the end walls with the top wall having a greater radius of
curvature than the bottom wall and with the end walls being
substantially perpendicular to the top, bottom and side walls, a
transverse cross-section of said body portion having substantially
parallel side walls and curved top and bottom walls, a tongue
extending transversely across the center of one end wall from side
wall to side wall, said tongue having a head and neck portion, the
head portion being formed by a substantially flat top and bottom
head wall converging outwardly to join at their forward edges to
form the forward edge of the tongue head portion, the neck portion
being formed by a substantially flat top and bottom neck wall
outwardly converging from said end wall, and reversely curved walls
each respectively joining the rear edge of a head wall to the
forward edge of a neck wall, the opposite end wall of said body
portion terminating in an open recess in said body portion
conforming in contour to the outer contour of said tongue, whereby
two sectional members may be interlockingly joined in end-to-end
relation by inserting the tongue of one member laterally into the
recess of another member.
2. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus
according to claim 1, wherein the said body portion is of hollow
construction, the walls of said body portion being of relatively
thin construction in the range of one-eighth to one-fourtb inch
thickness.
3. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus
according to claim 2, wherein the side walls of the body portion
have integrally formed therein a plurality of arcuately spaced
inwardly extending shallow cups that furnish reinforcement and
substantial rigidity to said side walls.
4. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus
according to claim 1, wherein the top and bottom walls of the body
portion are curved inwardly toward each other.
5. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus
according to claim 1, wherein the walls of said body portion are of
thin construction molded of light-weight material.
6. A sectional member for a multi-member sectional toy apparatus
according to claim 1, wherein the walls of said body portions are
of thin construction and molded of a low density polyethylene and
plastic material having plastic memory.
Description
This invention relates to a sectionalized toy having a plurality of
interlocking elements capable of assembly in a plurality of ways to
provide different toy configurations, such as a hoop, a children's
slide, or a lounging chair.
Sectional toys, such as building blocks, having interlocking
elements for assembly into various constructional configurations
are well known. Typical of such toys is that disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 2,031,194, issued Feb. 18, 1936, in which interlocking blocks
may be assembled alternatively to form a straight or a curved track
section for a toy train.
It has also been proposed to provide an amusement device,
especially for children, comprising a sectionalized sphere or ball
of two ventilated hemi-spherical sections sufficiently large when
assembled to hold a child in a quasi-embryonic position. Such an
amusement device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,979, issued
Apr. 2, 1963.
In contrast to the sectionalized toys typified by the aforesaid
patents, I propose to provide a sectionalized toy having
interlocking sections capable of assembly into a plurality of
different configurations, each of which may be utilized by children
as an amusement device.
More particularly, I propose to provide a sectionalized toy of
light-weight durable material, such as a low-density polyethylene
and plastic composition, molded into a plurality of identical
arcuate sections of hollow substantially rectangular cross-section,
the opposite ends of each section terminating in complementary
tongue and recess contour whereby a plurality of sections may be
interlockingly arranged into different constructional
configurations utilizable individually as a child's amusement
device. Moreover, due to mechanical stresses imposed on the
interlocking tongue and recess portions under use while assembled
in the various configurations, the tongue and complementary recess
provided on each section are specifically designed so as to tend to
tighten the connection therebetween under stress and thus to
prevent separation of the sections and, at the same time, insure
adequate mechanical strength to prevent splitting or fracture of
the material in the section under conditions of normal juvenile
use.
The invention is more fully described hereinafter in connection
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, showing a sectionalized toy in the
form of a hoop and embodying the invention,
FIG. 2 is an exploded view, showing the several sections making up
the hoop in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a profile view, showing further details of the hoop of
FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a plan view, showing one side of an individual
section,
FIG. 5 is a plan view, showing the side of the individual section
opposite to that in FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the hoop, taken on line VI--VI of
FIG. 3,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view through an individual section taken on
the line VII--VII of FIG. 6,
FIG. 8 is a sectional view through an individual section, taken on
the line VIII--VIII of FIG. 6,
FIG. 9 is a perspective view, showing an assembly of sections,
utilizable as a juvenile see-saw,
FIG. 10 is a perspective view, showing an assembly of sections,
utilizable as a juvenile slide,
FIG. 11 is a perspective view, showing a different assembly of
sections, also utilizable as a juvenile slide, and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view, showing a further assembly of
sections, utilizable as a juvenile lounging chair.
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 8 of the drawings, the embodiment of
the invention shown, comprises a plurality of individual and
identical arcuate sections 10, illustratively shown as three in
number though the number may vary as desired. The sections are
preferably molded of light-weight durable material, such as
low-density polyethylene and plastic composition which is
characterized by non-brittleness and plastic memory. The term
"plastic memory" refers to the ability to return to original
contour when stressed out of that contour. As will be seen in FIGS.
7 and 8, each individual section 10 is of hollow substantially
rectangular cross-section, the walls being relatively thin and of
the order of one-eighth to one-fourth inch thick. The inside and
outside cylindrical walls, identified in FIGS. 7 and 8 by reference
numerals 11 and 12 respectively are transversely arcuate in
contour, being of greater or lesser diameter at the midpoint than
at the outside edges thereof. This curvature in the cylindrical
walls of the sections 10 provides the necessary trough to assist a
child in centering his body on the sections in the various
configurations of the toy hereinafter more fully described. In the
hoop form shown in FIG. 1, the inside diameter of the hoop is
sufficiently large to enable a child to sit comfortably inside the
hoop.
As may be seen in the drawings, the side walls of the sections 10
are provided with a series of arcuately spaced recesses 13, some of
which are illustrated as circular in form and some of rectangular
or square form. The walls of the recesses are in the form of
shallow cups 14 and serve to provide additional strength and
rigidity to the side walls of the sections without increasing the
thickness of the material in the side walls.
As will be noted in FIG. 2, each section 10 comprises a body
portion formed at one end with a protruding tongue 15 and at the
opposite end with a complementary recess 16. The specific contour
of the tongue and recess is such as to positively lock two sections
together when the tongue of one section is transversely inserted
into the recess of another section. The tongue fits the recess with
a snug fit which enables connection and separation of the sections
with minimal physical effort and yet frictionally prevents
accidental lateral separation while in use.
Essentially, the tongue 15 has an enlarged end portion which is
transversely tubular and substantially V-shaped in cross-section
and which is joined to the end wall of the body portion of the
section 10 by a neck 17 which is tubular and rectangular in
cross-section. Neck 17 tapers toward the longitudinal axis of the
tongue in the direction of the enlarged end portion. It should be
particularly noted that the wall connection between the neck and
the enlarged end portion of tongue 15 has an outer surface that
extends outwardly from the axis of the tongue and at the same time
reversely toward the body portion of the section, thus forming a
pair of transversely extending lobes 18 at the juncture with the
inner extremities of the V-shaped outer surface of the tongue. The
lobes 18 are especially important in providing the interlocking
with the complementary recess 16 as will presently become more
apparent.
Being complementary to the contour of tongue 15, the recess 16 is
necessarily a V-shaped tubular recess with inwardly projecting
transverse lobes 19 on each side of a slot 20 opening to the end
face of the section. Thus it will be seen that the lobes 18 on the
tongue 15 contact the inner face of the lobes 19 to positively lock
the tongued end of a section 10 against separation from the
recessed end of a section 10. It should be noted that the pressure
of the lobes 18 against the lobes 19 under stress actually tends to
tighten the connection between coupled sections 10.
Referring to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, it
should now be apparent that when the several sections 10 are
assembled, the resulting hoop provides one form of amusement device
for a child who can curl up inside the interior of the hoop and
rock back and forth or even roll linearly in somersaulting fashion.
The transversely curved cylindrical inner wall of the sections 10
enables the child to remain within the hoop without sliding out
laterally.
The versatility of the invention is manifested by the illustrative
variations of configurations shown in FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 12. In
the configuration of FIG. 9, the central section 10 rests on the
ground while the end sections are elevated above the ground. Thus
two children may sit on opposite ends and the device becomes an
excellent see-saw.
In the configuration of FIG. 10, the outer ends of the end sections
10 rest on the ground while the central section is elevated. The
device thus is utilizable as a child's slide in opposite directions
from the center. In this instance, the transversely curved
cylindrical contour of the sections serves as a slide trough.
In FIGS. 11 and 12 the same configuration of sections 10 is shown
but the assemblies are oriented oppositely. Thus in FIG. 11, the
ends of opposite end sections 10 rest on the ground and the
assembly becomes a child's slide. In FIG. 12, however, the end of
one end section 10 and the central area of the middle section 10
rest on the ground and the assembly becomes a child's lounging
chair.
It will accordingly be apparent that I have provided a versatile
toy which enables a child to exercise creative instincts in
assembling the individual sections in a variety of different ways
to obtain correspondingly different instruments of enjoyment.
Moreover, the construction of the sections and particularly the
interlocking tongue and recess design is such as to provide a
serviceable and durable product capable of withstanding all
reasonable normal use to which a child would put it with some
considerable factor of safety. In the event of temporary
overstressing of the section, and particularly the interlocking
tongue and recess portions, the composition of the polyethylene and
plastic combination is such that the lobes 18 and 19 will yield
slightly and the plastic memory of the material causes a return of
the lobes to original contour.
While I have disclosed specific embodiments of the invention and
the manner in which they may be employed, it will be apparent that
variations in construction and use made be had within the scope of
the appended claims.
* * * * *