US2816536A - Ring projecting toy - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 17, 1957 L. M. PRoFrrT RING PROJECTING TOY Filed April l5, 1955 ATTORNEY 'Ciel 2,816,536 Ice Patented Dec. 17, 1957 RING PROJECTING TOY Application April 15, 1955, Serial No. 501,503

Leslie M. Profitt, Middletown, hio

1 Claim. (Cl. 124-10) 'Ihis invention relates to a projectile type of toy and more particularly to a ring projecting device which imparts a boomerang effect to the ring.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a rugged and reliable toy which may be operated by children as young as three years, without possibility of harm, and which nevertheless provides suicient interest for older children as well as adults.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a toy which may be fabricated of metal, plastic, wood or other structural materials and which may operate upon rings, annuli or discs of light materials to eject them by a simple manipulation of a leaf spring in a manner to cause the expulsion of the circular projectile in such a way that the latter returns automatically to the point of discharge.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide a boomerang-type of toy which may be produced economically of different materials such as wood, metal or plastic, and which may be adapted for use with targets to enhance the interest of the toy.

It is another object of the invention to provide for an adjustment of the force exerted by the leaf spring to adapt the toy for use in different spaces, depending upon the available distances in which the ring bodies may be projected for automatic return to the approximate point of ejection.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a projectile for plastic rings or discs which is formed of few parts, which are so simple in arrangement and construction that they cannot get out of order, and in which the fingers or hand of a child or adult cannot be caught or harmed in any way.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing a housing for supporting an annulus, ring or disc body in position for the engagement therewith of a leaf spring, which upon actuation results in a propulsion of the circular body from the housing in a forward direction with a reverse spin, so that upon the exhaustion of the forward propelling force, the ring body returns to the starting point. The toy is adapted to be used on a substantially horizontal supporting plane, so that when the ring is disposed in a vertical plane and the same is ejected from the housing, it rolls back automatically towards the housing in consequence of the reverse spin imparted to the ring simultaneously with the forward ejecting force.

The use of a leaf spring, preferably of sheet metal, in lieu of flexible rubber bands of the type used heretofore in toys of this type, results in a rugged toy of long life which may be operated by young children who would be too young to operate toys with rubber bands and similar spring devices.

The toy is also adapted for the expulsion of light discs into space, which discs are capable of returning to the point of use similarly to conventional boomerangs.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the toy with certain parts in elevation, illustrating the operation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of Fig. 1, showing the character of the engagement between the leaf spring and the ring projectile.

In the drawing is shown a base B which may be fabricated of metal, and which is provided with slots therein to receive the prongs 7 of an upstanding frame extending upwardly from the base B. The upstanding frame is of U-shaped configuration, consisting of the side walls 1 and 2 which extend from the end wall 6 and which terminate in ends 3 and 4, respectively, of reduced height relative to the end walls 1 and 2. The end walls 3 and 4 define a vertical passageway 5, which is narrower than the spacing between the walls 1 and 2 adjacent to the base 6 in consequence of the angular offsets 22. The passage 5 is wide enough to accommodate a light ring R in upstanding position for discharge therefrom through the opening at the front thereof. The prongs 7, which may be provided at different points along the bottom of the side walls 1, 2, 3 and 4, and end wall 6, are bent laterally after they are passed through the slots in the base B, in order to interconnect the base B with the upstanding frame. Any other mode of interconnection of the parts, such as welding, soldering or fusing may be employed.

A lever 15, which may be of channeled metal or solid material, is pivotally mounted between the side walls 1 and 2 at the wider portion thereof by means of a rivet or bolt 16 passing through a pair of aligned openings 8 in the side walls 1 and 2. A handle 20, which may be spherical as shown, is aflixed to the upper end of the lever. A leaf spring 17 may be aflixed to the lower end of pivoted lever 15 by means of rivet 19 or by any other mode of aflixation, and extends forwardly therefrom to dispose the free end of the spring 18 on the top of a projectile ring R, which is preferably formed of light plastic material, and which is disposed vertically in the passage 5 between the extremities 3 and 4 of the side walls. A stop for fixing the position of the ring is provided by means of a bolt 9 having a freely revoluble sleeve 10 extending between the side Walls 1 and 2. With the position of the ring lxed at all times against the sleeve or roller 10, adjustment of the positioning of the terminal end 18 of the spring against the ring R may be made by varying the pivot point of the lever 15. Thus, the shifting of the pivot bolt 16 to the forward set of openings 8a advances the point 18 forwardly of the ring, while the shifting of the pivot to the rearwardly disposed set of holes 8b disposes the free end 18 rearwardly of the ring.

The propulsion of the ring is executed by rotating the lever 15 in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, so that as the spring 17 is pushed downwardly it flexes and exerts a force against the ring R in the direction indicated by the arrow A. In view of the fact that the spring acts along a chord of the ring, the ring is projected forwardly from the open passageway 5 with a reverse spin, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, so that the ring mayv travel for a distance of approximately twenty feet in consequence of the forward propulsion movement, and thereafter it will return to the point of starting as a result of the spinning movement imparted to the ring. The larger chord against which the spring operates when the forward pivot holes 8a are utilized results in a greater force of propulsion as well as spinning which is exerted upon the ring, whereas the engagement of the spring with a smaller chord of the ring when the rearward holes 8b are used results in a propulsion 4when less room `is available.

The travel of the spring i7 is limited in the course of its actuating movement by the stop 10, and the same is retained between the side walls of the -frarne in lposition for engagement with the ring with the -aid of Alugs 21. These lugs are bent vlaterally from the wal-ls il and 2 c-f the frame and form -a stop vto limit Jthe movement .of the spr-ing 17 in the return clockwise direction.

Preferably the free end 18 of the leaf spring is notched, as clearly shown in Fig. A4, lto conform -to the -toroidal shapeof the ring-so that a more effective engagement between the ring vand the spring 4is .attained -in the course of its projection. lIf rings or Vhoops of `cylindrical outline are used, t-he free end of the leaf spring may Vbe provided with a rough ti-p of abrasive or rubber to enhance the frictiona-l resistance between the contacting surfaces. As stated-above, the `springis preferably formed of sheet steel, but any other Arigid sheet material possessing resilient eects may be used, for example, of plastic or wood.

While the illustrated invention shows the projecting device formed of a base B -which may rest upon a table or lloor, the same principle lmay be applied to a housing which may beheld in the hand and -which may be adapted to project ring .missiles of disc outline provided with colored patterns and vanes -which may be lprojected into space to produce novel visual, audible and ight effects.

While I have described my invent-ion as embodied in a specific form and as operating in a specic manner for purpose of illustration, it should be vunderstood that l do not limit my invention thereto, since various modications will suggest -themselves to 4those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claim.

I claim:

A ring projecting device comprising a base, a frame mounted on said base dening a narrow vertical passageway with an opening at .the front thereof for supporting a light ring in vertical position, .a stop at .the rear of said passageway, the rear vportion of said frame having a plurality of pairs of aligned-openings displaced from each other, a lever pivotally ,mounted selectively in one of said pairs of openings and connected with a leaf spring having the free end `of the spring engaging the periphery of said ring, and means for rotating said lever and spring to press the ring towards said stop until the llexure of the spring permits the ejection of the ring forwardly through said opening with a reverse spin, said selective mounting of said lever adapted -to -vary the point of engagement of the free end of said leaf spring with the periphery of the ring .and the consequent force of propulsion of the ring from the projecting device.

References'Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 912,059 :Bartholomew .r.- Feb. 9, 1909 2,372,608 Shackleford Mar. 27, 1945 2,432,570 Gorsuch Dec. 16, 1947 v 2,601,070 Teschel etal. June 17, 1952

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