Flashing Toy Road Barrier Having Folding Legs

Abstract

A toy road barrier or marker having a channeled cross-member or body providing a recess or trough which contains a lamp socket bracketed and grounded to an interior surface and extending through an opening in one wall to receive an external flashing-type battery lamp. The trough also contains a pair of battery mounting clips and two small flashlight battery cells mounted therein. The latter are connected with the socket and lamp through ground and an insulated lead extending from the lamp socket. Supporting legs for the body, pivoted in pairs in the end walls, swing together for storage or outwardly for a spaced four-point footing.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to miniature or toy traffic warning devices, and more particularly to a flashing toy road barrier or marker for use with scale-model automobiles, trucks, buses and other toy vehicles.

It has for its primary object to provide a device of the above type which is of relatively simple, low-cost and rugged construction, and which may effectively simulate full-size traffic warning devices of this type.

Like the full-size devices, the toy road barrier or marker preferably should readily be adapted to carry the usual type warning lettering and markings in such designations as: "Detour," "Road Closed," "Danger," "Construction" and "Single Lane," for example.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a flashing toy road barrier or marker in which one of the members may be a casing of open-channel construction adapted for carrying traffic warning lettering and markings, and for receiving and holding battery elements together with flasher light means connected therewith, in a unitary structure simulating full-size highway warning equipment of this type.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a flashing toy road barrier or marker device simulating a full-size structure wherein a cross-member or main body element may be of a channel or trough construction adapted for receiving and holding battery and other operating elements, while at the same time being adapted for mounting on legs and like supporting means of the type normally used for full-size road barriers and markers.

It is also a further and related object of this invention to provide a device of the above type wherein a folding leg construction may be used and carried by the cross-member or body element with integral stop means therein for limiting the leg movement to a normal stable footing for the device.

In accordance with the invention, a toy road barrier or marker is made to simulate a full-size device of this type, and the main element thereof, such as a cross-member or body, is in the form of a channel or open casing providing a recess suitable for one or more small battery cells to be inserted and clipped into position therein.

The battery cells, which may be of the Penlite type, power a flasher light unit comprising a miniature lamp socket, which extends out through one wall of the channeled body or casing, and a small lamp bulb with built-in thermal flasher switch mounted in the socket. Combined clip-mounting and contact means for the battery cells are provided in the channeled body or casing and grounded thereto along with the lamp socket for one side of the battery connection. The opposite side is provided by an insulated lead extending from the lamp socket to an insulated terminal for the battery connection.

The channeled body or casing is so constructed that it is particularly adapted for utilizing various mounting means including a folding four-leg mount simulating full-size road barriers or markers, and for carrying lettering and markings providing any of the usual traffic warnings and directives as above noted.

The invention will, however, be further understood from the following description, when considered with reference to the accompanying drawings showing certain embodiments thereof, and its scope is pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view, substantially full-size, of a flashing toy road barrier or marker embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end or side view of the device of FIG. 1 showing further details thereof in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a further front view of the device of FIG. 1, on a reduced scale, showing traffic warning lettering and markings thereon in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a flasher unit, for a toy road barrier or marker of the type above referred to, in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and end views, respectively, of a modification of the toy road barrier and marker of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in accordance with the invention, and adapted for use primarily as a barrier, showing the mounting means therefor and general construction;

FIG. 7 is a further front view of the device of FIGS. 5 and 6, with a portion of the mounting means broken away, and substantially full-size, showing further details thereof in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a flashing toy road barrier and marker embodying the invention and showing a further modification, representing a well known form, adapted primarily for use as a marker or warning device; and

FIG. 9 is a side view of the device of FIG. 8, substantially full-size and with a portion of the supporting means broken away, showing further details thereof in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, and referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 2, a casing 10 of thin sheet metal or other electrically conducting material provides the body or cross-member of the toy road barrier or marker and comprises a top plate or main wall 11 and integral skirt-like end walls 12 and side walls 13 extending or depending therefrom and forming a channel or trough. The casing is thus open and accessible on one side, or the bottom in the present example, and contains a lamp socket 14 mounted on a metal bracket 15 attached to an interior surface thereof and extending through the top wall 11 to receive an external flashing-type battery lamp or bulb 16 which preferably may be of red or yellow color.

The casing also contains a pair of battery mounting clips 17 with integral spring contact blades 18 for two end-to-end, serially connected, Penlite-type battery cells 19. In the present example, the battery mounting clips are attached to an inner surface of the top plate or wall 11, with the contact blades at opposite ends of the battery unit provided by the serially-connected cells, as indicated in FIG. 1. One contact blade carries an insulated battery contact 20, while the other carries a contact 21 directly grounded to the casing wall 11. The insulated contact 20 is provided with a terminal 22 which is connected with the lamp socket 14 through an insulated wire or lead 23 extending from the lamp socket through the interior of the casing, as indicated in FIG. 1.

The channeled body or open casing is adapted for various mounting means to simulate any of the well known forms of road barriers or markers commonly in use. It is particularly well adapted for the four-leg mount of the present example. This four-leg construction is unique in that the supporting legs 24 are mounted or attached inside the casing and are pivoted in pairs to the end walls 12, on hollow rivets 25, to swing together for storage, as shown in FIG. 1, or away, one from the other, into contact with the lower edges of the side walls 13 of the casing at points on the legs adjacent to the pivot ends thereof, as shown in FIG. 2. The skirted side walls thus act as stop means for limiting the spread or pivotal separation of each pair of legs, whereby an over-wide footing is prevented while maintaining good stability for the device in use, as well as the appearance of the type of rugged construction that would be associated with actual road repair.

The hollow rivets pass through the end walls of the casing and the upper or inner ends of the legs, which may be relatively thin, flat strips of any suitable material, and hold the legs in firm frictional contact and rigidly attached to the casing as supporting means therefor. The rivets are located in the end walls substantially midway between the side walls on a common pivot axis 26 for both pairs of legs, to provide an even spread and level support for the casing in use on a simulated roadway or other like supporting surface 27, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. On one end, as shown in FIG. 1, the rivet also passes through the bracket 15 for the lamp socket and may be used to hold it in place in lieu of other means of attachment, such as spot welding, for example, which may be used for the bracket and the battery mounting clips 17.

It will be seen that with this type of construction, the channeled body or casing 10, with its skirted side walls 13, provides flat extended exterior surfaces or faces readily adapted for carrying lettering and markings for any of the usual traffic warnings and directives of such devices. Thus, in the present example, and as shown in FIG. 3, a "Detour" sign 28, with arrowed directional markings 29, is provided. The same sign or lettering, and markings pointing to the same end, may be provided on the opposite side to permit reversal of the barrier or marker and a reversal of the "Detour" direction.

Referring now to FIG. 4, along with the preceding figures of the drawing, the battery cells 19, which are of relatively small size such as the Penlite flashlight type, power a flasher light unit 30 for the device, also of compact construction, so that, with the battery elements, it can be housed in the casing 10 without complication or departure from size and shape considerations dictated by a necessary adherence to a design in each case that may effectively simulate full-size traffic warning devices of this type.

To this end, the lamp is of the flasher type preferably with a built-in thermal flasher switch 31. One side of the filament 32 is grounded, as indicated at 33, to the casing through the lamp base 34, the socket 14, and the bracket 15. The other side of the filament connects through the center contact 35 of the lamp base and an insulated contact 36 therefor in the lamp socket. The insulated wire or lead 23 is connected between the contact 36 and the insulated terminal 22 and contact 20 for the battery as indicated, and is formed integral with the lamp socket to facilitate assembly of the device and simplify the construction. The casing ground 33 is also connected through the spring contact blade 18 and the grounded contact 21 to the battery, thereby completing the power supply circuit to the flasher light unit. This simplified grounded return through the casing is thus preferred to the use of a separate insulated-wire return. With the lamp 16 screwed or inserted into contact in the socket 14, the flasher switch functions by thermal action to provide a flashing warning light from the colored lamp 16, thus simulating the full-size devices of this type. A greatly simplified and effective toy road barrier or marker is thus provided.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 and the modification of the invention shown therein, it will be seen that it is similar to the preceding embodiment except that dual flasher light means are provided in a wider barrier-type device adapted to be placed across toy vehicular roadways and traffic lanes.

The increased width and light requirements of such a device are readily met by the construction in accordance with the invention. The same channeled casing of metal or other electrically conducting material, here designated at 10A, is simply elongated to provide a full width cross-member or bar element for the barrier, and carries a flasher light unit 37 at each end. This extended length provides adequate space for the added battery power means required and comprising two duplicate battery units 38, one for each light unit. As indicated, these preferably are of the same two-cell, series-connected type as previously described. Thus the casing 10A preferably may be of the same cross-sectional size and shape (FIG. 6) as the previous embodiment (FIG. 2), with the battery units 38 arranged in end-to-end relation along and in the casing channel between the lamp unit positions as shown in FIG. 7.

It will be seen that the casing 10A is provided with the same skirt-like end walls 12 and side walls 13 depending from a top wall 11 to form the open channel or trough accessible from underneath for readily reaching the interior of the casing and replacement of the battery elements, while shielding the contents of the channel from view, as before, and providing flat extended clearly-viewable faces or surfaces adapted for carrying lettering and markings for any of the usual type warnings and directives such as the "Road Closed" sign 39 shown in FIG. 5, for example, for this particular barrier type device.

The light units 37 at the ends of the casing are the same as shown and described for the preceding embodiment. Each unit thus comprises the colored lamp 16, or beacon element, and the lamp socket 14 therefor which projects through the casing top or main wall 11 from the mounting bracket 15 attached to an inner surface of the casing as before, together with the insulated supply lead 23 attached to and made part of the lamp socket, and the flasher switch means, preferably included in the lamp, all as shown and previously described with reference to FIG. 4.

The battery units 38 (FIG. 7) are housed in end-to-end relation in the channel and each comprises the two series-connected battery cells 19, preferably of the small, slender, Penlite type as before, mounted in the battery clips 17 attached to the casing top wall 11 and arranged with the integral spring contact blades 18 at opposite ends. These carry the insulated battery contacts 20 and the grounded battery contacts 21, one for each battery unit. The insulated contacts 21 are placed preferably at the ends of the battery units adjacent to the respective light units they supply, so that the lamp socket leads 23 may be connected more directly to the insulated terminals 22 for said contacts, as indicated in FIG. 7. The power supply means thus provided is compact and effective, along with the flasher light means, for use in a casing of relatively small cross-section for any type of toy road barrier or marker.

In the present example, as shown more fully in FIGS. 5 and 6, the casing 10A provides the top cross-member or bar for the barrier device and is provided with two spaced supporting legs 40 of flat strip material rigidly attached to the rear wall 13 thereof and extending in parallel relation or vertically downward to a broad base element 41 adapted to rest firmly on the roadway 27 or like supporting surface and hold the casing or cross-bar in a desired elevated and level position with respect thereto, as indicated. The legs are of a width to simulate heavy barrier posts and are attached to and may be integral with the base 41 which extends between them and preferably is formed of the same material, with a large stabilizing bottom plate 42 as shown in FIG. 6.

To complete the simulated road barrier, a second cross-member or bar 43 is provided in spaced parallel relation to and below the first or the casing 10A, and is made substantially equal thereto in length or width, as shown. The casing 10A gives a solid, rugged look to the top bar as an effective stopping means, and therefore preferably the cross-bar 43 is a casing of the open-channel type and of the same size and shape, with skirted end walls 44 and side walls 45, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The two cross-bar elements of the barrier are thus identical in construction, and this not only enhances the rugged appearance of the device but also facilitates manufacture in reducing the number of different parts required. An effective and rugged flashing toy road barrier is thus provided by the structure above described, as a further modification of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, a still further modification of the invention is provided. This is of the road marker type adapted for many uses and having a single mounting leg, as distinguished from the two and four-leg types previously described. A casing 46 of the same open-channel type, and preferably of metal or other electrically conducting material, is provided as before, but is of rectangular or square configuration, with a frontally-facing main wall 47 and similar skirted side walls 48 extending rearwardly therefrom. In the present example, the casing is mounted to stand diagonally, that is, with one diagonal thereof vertical as shown in FIG. 8, on a single leg 49 which has a wide base plate 50 attached thereto and adapted to rest firmly on the roadway 27 or like supporting surface.

The casing 46 is detachably mounted on the supporting leg 49 by attachment means carried by the leg and adapted to fit into the casing and frictionally grip the side walls. In the present example, this comprises a second, rectangular or square, open casing 51 smaller than and nesting tightly within said casing, as indicated more clearly in FIG. 9. This inner casing or attachment means for the casing 46 is firmly attached to the supporting leg in a position to hold the casing 46 in the diagonal operating position shown in FIG. 8.

The inner casing and supporting leg provide a unitary mounting means for the casing 46 from which it may be detached by sliding it forward and off the inner casing 51. This renders the casing 46 accessible from the open face thereof as in the previously-described embodiments, for the installation and servicing of the required flasher light and battery power means therein which, in accordance with the invention, may be the same as before. Referring more particularly to FIG. 9, these include the colored flasher lamp 16 mounted in the socket 14 which is carried by the bracket 15 attached to the inner surface of the wall 47 and projects through the cut-away top 53 of the inner casing 51 and clearance opening 52 in the apex or top of the casing so that the lamp stands as a flashing beacon element at the top of the marker, as shown more clearly in FIG. 8, while the frontal wall 47 carries the desired traffic warning or directive which for example, in this case, may be the "Single Lane" sign 54 as indicated.

With one flasher unit, the battery power means may be of the single-unit type with two small or Penlite type series-connected battery cells 19, one of which is shown, arranged in a side-by-side relation in the wider casing instead of end-to-end as before, on the inner surface of the wall 47 in the battery clips 17 between the end contact blades 18 and with the lamp socket lead 23 connected with the insulated battery contact terminal 22. The circuit and components are the same and operate the same as shown in and described for FIG. 4, except that the series connection between the battery cells is provided by suitable insulated jumper means (not shown) instead of direct battery contact as in FIG. 4.

It will be seen that in the present embodiment, as in the preceding embodiments, an open-channel type casing is provided as an easily accessible housing for flasher light and battery power means which may be of the same type in all, and is readily adapted to different mounting means in accordance with the invention, as required to simulate different road barrier and marker devices, all as shown and described.

Various modifications of this invention will be apparent from the illustrated embodiments described above. For example, it has been found that the lamp socket 14 and insulated wire lead 23 may be eliminated by a modified construction; namely, the top wall 11 of the casing may be extruded (i.e., the metal formed downward into the casing) and tapped for a screw hole to receive directly the lamp base 34 and thereby ground it to the casing 10. A battery bracket 18 having an insulated contact 20 is constructed so that its terminal 22 extends across the axis of this lamp-base screw hole to engage the center contact 35 of the lamp base and thereby complete the circuit through the battery (which has its other contact grounded in the manner described above). Accordingly, the lamp base has its two contacts respectively grounded and directly engaging the insulated terminal of the battery, whereby a simpler construction is provided.

Thus, the above embodiments are illustrative, and not restrictive, of this invention, which is defined in the following claims. From the above description, it will be apparent that a flashing toy road barrier or marker is provided which may be used with various toy vehicles and which is of relatively simple, low-cost, rugged construction and effective to simulate full-size traffic warning devices of the same type.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device comprising:

a casing of open-channel construction formed of sheet material providing a cross-bar element for said device and having a top wall with integral skirt-like end and side walls depending therefrom and an open bottom providing an open channel within the casing, and carrying sign markings on an outer side wall surface thereof;

flasher light means attached to the interior of and projecting upwardly from said casing through the top wall thereof, said flasher light means including a battery lamp socket with an insulated supply lead, bracketed to the interior of the casing and projecting through the top wall, and a flasher type battery lamp mounted in the socket as a flashing beacon element for said device;

means in the casing channel for receiving and electrically contacting battery elements extending along and within said channel and accessible from the open portion of said channel and for electrically connecting said battery elements to said flasher light means, said battery element means being connected with said flasher lamp through the insulated supply lead carried by said socket, and including two battery mounting clips of conducting material for two serially-connected battery cells in end-to-end relation along the channel as a battery unit, said clips having integral spring contact blades for the battery ends attached to the inner surface of the top wall at each end of the battery unit and open to receive batteries through the open casing bottom, one of said spring contact blades having an insulated battery contact and terminal connected with said socket lead; and

means for mounting said casing to stand as a road barrier or marker device and with the markings thereof visible and the contents of said channel shielded from view by the channel walls.

2. A flashing toy road barrier and marker device as defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting means for the casing includes a pair of spaced post-like supporting legs attached to the casing and a common base element therefor, and wherein a second casing of like open-channel construction is mounted on and attached to said supporting legs below and in spaced relation to the first casing to simulate therewith the cross-bar elements of a full-size road barrier.

3. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as recited in claim 1 wherein the sheet material of said casing is electrically conducting, said lamp socket is grounded to the interior of said casing, and the other of said spring contact blades is electrically connected to said electrically conducting casing and has a battery contact grounded thereto.

4. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as recited in claim 1, wherein:

said means for mounting said casing includes a pair of spaced post-like supporting legs attached to the casing and extending downwardly in substantially parallel relation and a flat stable base element attached to the lower ends of said legs.

5. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as defined in claim 4, wherein a second casing of like size, shape and open-channel construction is mounted on and attached to said supporting legs below and in spaced parallel relation to the first casing to simulate therewith the bar elements of a full-size road barrier.

6. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as defined in claim 5, wherein the flasher light means includes a flasher type battery lamp at each end of the first casing projecting upwardly thereon to simulate the dual beacon lights of said full-size road barrier.

7. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting means for the casing includes a pair of spaced post-like supporting leg elements attached to the other of the casing side walls from that which carries the traffic warning markings, and a common base element integral with said leg elements, and wherein a second casing of like open-channel construction is mounted on and attached to said leg elements below and in spaced relation to the first casing to provide a second and like cross-bar element for the device, thereby to simulate the cross-bar construction of a full-size road barrier or marker.

8. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as recited in claim 1, wherein:

said means for mounting said casing includes a single supporting leg element having a relatively wide base plate attached thereto, and a second casing of open-channel construction firmly attached to the leg element and nesting tightly within the first casing to detachably hold it in connection with the leg element.

9. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting means for the casing includes four legs pivoted on the same pivot axis in pairs on the channel end walls and internally of said channel to swing together for storage or apart outwardly of the channel transversely thereof and positioned by said axis for internal contact with the channel side walls as stop means therefor at points adjacent the pivot ends of the legs to limit the spread or pivotal separation of each pair whereby an over-wide footing is prevented.

10. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as defined in claim 9, wherein said flasher light means includes a socket and a bracket secured to said socket internally of said casing channel and secured to an end channel wall on said pivot axis and by a common pivot element with one of said pairs of legs.

11. A flashing toy road barrier or marker device as recited in claim 10 wherein said legs of each pair are formed of flat sheet material and are retained in frictional contact with each other and with said end wall.