U.S. patent number 3,597,872 [Application Number 04/804,412] was granted by the patent office on 1971-08-10 for a toy composed of a plurality of bodies held in end-to-end relation by an elastic member.
Invention is credited to Pekka Korpijaakko, Jorma Vennola.
United States Patent |
3,597,872 |
Vennola , et al. |
August 10, 1971 |
A TOY COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF BODIES HELD IN END-TO-END RELATION
BY AN ELASTIC MEMBER
Abstract
A toy comprises a number of mutually connected bodies of wood,
plastic, metal, cork or the like arranged in a row in which
consecutive bodies are joined turnably in such manner that the
friction between the surfaces of the bodies resting against each
other counteracts the turning. In each body both such contact
surfaces have different directions, that is that in each body both
turning axes have different directions.
Inventors: |
Vennola; Jorma (Helsinki 20,
SF), Korpijaakko; Pekka (Laaksolahti, SF) |
Family
ID: |
8503767 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/804,412 |
Filed: |
March 5, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/490;
482/44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
9/088 (20130101); A63H 33/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
9/06 (20060101); A63F 9/08 (20060101); A63H
33/00 (20060101); A63h 033/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;46/26,152,1R
;273/157R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Shay; F. Barry
Claims
We claim:
1. A toy comprising a plurality of parts each said part having
opposite inclined planar surfaces, each of said parts having a bore
extending from one said surface thereof to the other, an elastic
connecting band extending through the bores of the parts to hold
the parts in assembled end-to-end relation to form an assembly
having one said part at each end and the remaining said parts
therebetween, with the surfaces of each said remaining part in
contact with the surfaces of adjacent ones of said parts, and means
securing the elastic connecting member at the ends thereof to the
parts at the opposite ends of the assembly, said elastic connecting
member being in tension and thereby exerting pressure on said parts
and developing friction between the contacting surfaces, whereby
the shape of the assembly is variable by mutually independently
turning said parts and the shape resulting is maintained by the
pressure and friction which is developed, each said part being a
symmetrical body and the bore therein being substantially
axial.
2. A toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said part is
cylindrical and said surfaces are end faces.
3. A toy as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bore is coaxial in the
cylindrical part.
4. A toy as claimed in claim 3, wherein said end faces are inclined
to said axis at equal and opposite angles and said parts are
identical.
5. A toy as claimed in claim 3, wherein said elastic band has ends
with knots secured in the bores in the parts at the ends of the
assembly.
Description
Various toys have been devised for children which are intended to
be entertaining on one hand and educative on the other hand. The
aim of the present invention is to afford a toy which has
particular advantages in these respects.
A toy according to the invention can be twisted at various points
to form a great number of different configurations. It can be used
to produce geometric figures, simple letters, numerals, etc. In
this way the toy develops the correlated action of the child's hand
and eye. Due to the fact that friction between the contact faces of
adjacent bodies resists their turning, the toy retains the shape it
has been given. The toy also possesses particular therapeutic
effects, for instance, in the rehabilitation of injured hands.
The various pieces constituting the toy may be mutually connected
such as by means of slide bearings. But manufacture of the toy
becomes substantially simpler if the bodies are mutually connected
by means of a stretched, elastic band such as of rubber, which
passes through them from one end to the other of the row and which
is fastened to the bodies at either end. The cost of such an
educative toy becomes so low that it can be offered to the general
public.
The bodies are most appropriately mutually congruent, oblique-based
cylinders, both bases of which form equal angles with the axis of
the body. In its basic form, such a toy is a completely
smooth-surfaced bar, which then can be shaped into various figures
by twisting the bodies with respect to each other.
The invention is described for illustration in the following with
reference to the attached drawing, the sole FIG. of which shows one
configuration of the toy partly in section in solid lines, and
another configuration of the toy is in chain dotted outline.
All bodies except those at the ends of the toy, which are indicated
by the reference numerals 1 and 2, are mutually congruent
oblique-based cylinders 3, the bases of which are inclined at equal
angles with respect to the axis of the body. Through all pieces a
rubberband 4 is passed, which has been stretched so that the bodies
are urged one against the other with a given force. By action of
this force friction is produced between the contact surfaces of
adjacent bodies, which keeps the bodies in any twisted position
into which they are brought. For anchoring the rubberband 4 in the
endmost pieces 1 and 2, knots have been made in the rubber band,
and the pieces 1 and 2 have recesses 5 for these knots.
For the purpose of illustration, the chain-dotted outline shows an
arbitrary configuration into which the toy can be shaped.
Various modifications of the toy may obviously be made within the
scope of the claims stated below. For instance, the bodies 1--3
need not necessarily have a cylindrical surface; bodies of other
shape, such as a spherical segment or a star, may also be used. On
the other hand the contact surfaces between the bodies need not
necessarily be planar, and they may be, for instance, parts of a
sphere which are urged against each other.
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