US3858872A

US3858872A - Captive flying toy

Info

Publication number: US3858872A
Application number: US412948A
Authority: US
Inventors: William F Summerfield; Joseph F Plizzotto; Denis V Bosley
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1973-11-05
Filing date: 1973-11-05
Publication date: 1975-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-07

Abstract

A novel control mechanism for a captive flying toy wherein the toy is attached to the outer end of a boom and rotates around a centrally located pylon. The pylon includes battery, a motor, a turntable and suitable gearing, and a control mechanism that is mechanically actuated by controls that are located outside of the orbit of the flying toy. The flying toy orbits in one direction right side up and in the other direction upside down. The control mechanism allows the direction of flight of the flying toy to be instantaneously changed so that the flying toy may perform various simulated flying stunts.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Summerfield et al.

[ 1 CAPTIVE FLYING TOY [75] Inventors: William F. Summerfield; Joseph F.

Plizzotto, both of Huntington Beach; Denis V. Bosley, Palos Verdes Peninsula, all of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif. [22] Filed: Nov. 5, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 412,948

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,123,653 1/1915 Anderson et al 272/31 A UX 2,075,267 3/1937 Christiansen 272/31 A 2,206,750 7/1940 Nove 272/31 A 1 Jan.7, 1975 3,657,457 4/1972 Poynter 273/1 M X Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Arnold W. Kramer Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John G. Mesaros; Max E. Shirk [57] ABSTRACT A novel control mechanism for a captive flying toy wherein the toy is attached to the outer end ota boom and rotates around a centrally located pylon. The pylon includes battery, a motor, a turntable and suitable gearing, and a control mechanism that is mechanically actuated by controls that are located outside of the orbit of the flying toy. The flying toy orbits in one direction right side up and in the other direction upside down. The control mechanism allows the direction of flight of the flying toy to be instantaneously changed so that the flying toy may perform various simulated flying stunts.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAN H975 SHEET 1 or 2 1 CAPTIVE FLYING TOY FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to captive flying toys and more particularly to a novel control mechanism for controlling captive flying toys.

THE PRIOR ART Toy airplanes that fly around a centrally located pylon have been very popular with children for a number of years. For the most part, such toy airplanes have included complex mechanical linkages or counter weights to obtain simulated flying of the toy airplane. In other cases, the propeller was driven and the wings provide the necessary lift to fly the airplane. Mechanical linkages have also been employed in the latter type of airplanes to change the elevators of the toy airplane so that the toy airplane could perform various stunts. For the most part, the cost of materials prohibited the use of quality materials, and these prior toy airplanes would not operate for a very long period of time after the child received the airplane, or the child could not manipulate the speed control and the direction control at the same time to perform the various stunts.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a captive flying toy that is inexpensive yet highly reliable.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a captive flying toy that a child may easily operate to perform various stunts.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a captive flying toy that features one control to change the speed and direction of orbit of the captive flying toy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the objects set forth above, the present invention provides a novel control mechanism for a captive flying toy which allows the flying toy to orbit in one direction right side up and in the other direction upside down. The control mechanism allows the direction of orbit and the speed of the flying toy to be instantaneously changed so that the captive toy airplane may perform various stunts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Additional objects, advantages, characteristic features of the present invention become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a captive flying toy in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram, partially in block form, of the captive flying toy of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a captive flying toy in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The captive flying toy 10 is generally comprised of a tethered object 11, as illustrated by the dog SNOOPY and his dog house, a centrally located pylon l2 and a controller member 13. SNOOPY and his dog house may be constructed of some lightweight material, for example, expanded polystyrene. A propeller 23 is rotatably mounted to the front ofthe dog house as shown. The propeller 23 is not driven but rotates as the tethered object 11 orbits the pylon 12. A streamer 23a is attached to the rear end of the dog house as shown to provide aerodynamic drag so as to stabilize the flight of the tethered object 11.

The tethered object 11 is rotatably mounted on the outer end ofa flexible boom 14. The flexible boom may be made of suitable metallic material so as to maintain flexiblity. The other end of the flexible boom 14 is mounted to a boom mounting member 22, as illustrated by the cartoon charachter PEANUTS. The boom mounting member 22 is mounted on a turntable 21 which rotates around a pylon base housing 20. To the right of the pylon 12 is the controller member 13. The controller member 13 includes a speed and direction control handle 17 and an on/off control knob 18 movably mounted on a controller housing 19. Two plastic tubes 15 and 16 are coupled between the controller member 13 and the pylon 12. The plastic tube .15 houses a metal rod, as illustrated by the dashed line designated 150, that moves back and forth in response to movement of the speed and direciton control handle 17 to control the speed and direction of the tethered object 11. The plastic tube 16 houses a metal rod, as illustrated by the dashed lines designated 16a, that moves in response to the actuation of the on/off control knob 18 to control motor means of the captive flying toy 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a functional diagram, partially in block form, of the captive flying toy 10 of FIG. 1. All of the electrical components ofthe captive flying toy 10 are located within the pylon 12, and include a motor designated NI, two pairs of batteries designated D and D, two

rheostats

28 and 29, a rotatably mounted on/off switch 24, and a rotatably mounted speed and direction wiper arm 25. The motor ably mounted on/off switch 24 is controlled by means of the on/off knob 18 which moves the metal rod 16a back and forth. In the off position, the rotatably mounted on/off switch 24 rotates upwardly so as to lift the rotatably mounted speed and direction wiper arm 25 off of the

rheostats

28 and 29 or the insulating member 30. The rotatably mounted speed and direction wiper arm 25 is constructed of suitable conductive ma terial. The wiper arm 25 is rotatably mounted to the housing of the pylon 12 by means of the mounting 26 and the wiper arm 25 may be rotated over the

rheostats

28 and 29 by means of the movement of the lever arm 27 which is attached to the metal rod 15a, which in turn is controlled by the speed and direction control handle 17.

Referring now to the left hand side of FIG. 2, there is shown a dashed line, designated S, which represents the shaft of motor M. The output end of the motor shaft S is connected to a block 21 which represents the gears, not shown, and the turntable 21 of the captive flying toy 10. Further illustrated is the flexible boom 14 3 which is coupled between the captive flying toy 11 and the gears and turntable block 21'. The motor shaft S will rotate the gears and the turntable 21 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction depending upon which pair of batteries D or D are electrically connected to the motor M.

In operating the captive flying toy 10, a child may actuate the on/off knob 18 to rotate the rotatably mounted on/off switch 24 downward so as to allow the rotatably mounted speed and direction wiper arm to come into contact with the

rheostats

28 and 29 or the insulating member 30. If the wiper arm 25 is resting on the insulating member 30, the captive flying toy will not be activated. However, as soon as the child moves the speed and direction control handle 17, the wiper arm 25 will move in contact along one of the

rheostats

28 or 29, and the captive flying toy 10 will orbit around the pylon 12. If the child wishes to increase the speed of the orbiting tethered object 11, he may push the handle 17 in the same direction so as to decrease the resistance in the particular circuit activated. On the other hand, if he desires to perform some stunt or reverse the direction of orbit of the tethered object 11, he moves the handle in the opposite direction, whereupon the wiper arm 25 will come into contact with the other rheostat. The center of gravity of the tethered object 11 is aft of the distal end of the flexible boom 14; therefore, the tethered object will fly right side up in one direction of orbit and will fly upside down in the other direction of orbit.

Although a particular embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and consequently it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A captive flying toy comprising:

a centrally located pylon having a turntable;

drive means coupled to said turntable for rotating said turntable;

a flexible boom having a first end and a second end, said first end connected to said turntable of said centrally located pylon;

a toy member mounted to said second end of said flexible boom;

an electric motor and motor shaft for rotating said drive means;

a first electrical circuit including first battery means and a first rheostat for energizing said electric motor to drive said motor shaft in a clockwise direction;

a second electrical circuit including second battery means and a second rheostat for energizing said electric motor to drive said motor shaft in a counterclockwise direction;

mechanical means for actuating and controlling said flying toy, said mechanical means including a conductive wiper arm that may be rotated by actuation of said mechanical means to contact either said first rheostat or said second rheostat to complete electrical connection to said first or second electrical circuit, respectively.

2. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 1 wherein said wiper arm includes a first and a second end. said second end adapted to come in contact with either said first or second rheostat, and said mechanical means further comprises:

a lever arm attached to said first end of said wiper arm;

a connecting rod having a first and second end, said first end connected to said lever arm, said connecting rod being longer in length than said flexible boom; and

control means attached to said second end of said connecting rod for moving said connecting rod so as to actuate said lever arm and said wiper arm.

3. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 2 wherein:

said drive means is housed within said centrally located pylon;

said electrical means is housed within said centrally located pylon; and

said control means is located at a remote location from said centrally located pylon at a distance greater than the length of said flexible boom.

4. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second rheostats of said electrical means are connected together by an insulating member.

5. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 1 wherein said toy member is rotatably mounted to said second end of said flexible boom and said toy member includes a front end and a rear end and the center of gravity of said toy member is located aft of said rotatable mounting so that said toy member rotates right side up in one direction and upside down in the other direction.

6. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 5 wherein said toy member is in the shape of a doghouse having a dog mounted thereon and a propeller is rotatably mounted to the front end of the doghouse and streamer means are attached to the rear end of the doghouse to provide aerodynamic drag for stabilizing the flight of said toy member.

7. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 1 which further includes a rotatable member located underneath said wiper arm that may be actuated for lifting said wiper arm off of either said first or second electrical circuit.

8. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 7 which further includes a connecting member having a first end and a second end, said first end connected to said rotatable member, said connecting member being longer in length than said flexible boom, and actuation means attached to said second end of said connecting member so as to actuate said rotatable member.

i i l=

Claims

1. A captive flying toy comprising: a centrally located pylon having a turntable; drive means coupled to said turntable for rotating said turntable; a flexible boom having a first end and a second end, said first end connected to said turntable of said centrally located pylon; a toy member mounted to said second end of said flexible boom; an electric motor and motor shaft for rotating said drive means; a first electrical circuit including first battery means and a first rheostat for energizing said electric motor to drive said motor shaft in a clockwise direction; a second electrical circuit including second battery means and a second rheostat for energizing said electric motor to drive said motor shaft in a counterclockwise direction; mechanical means for actuating and controlling said flying toy, said mechanical means including a conductive wiper arm that may be rotated by actuation of said mechanical means to contact either said first rheostat or said second rheostat to complete electrical connection to said first or second electrical circuit, respectively.

2. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 1 wherein said wiper arm includes a first and a second end, said second end adapted to come in contact with either said first or second rheostat, and said mechanical means further comprises: a lever arm attached to said first end of said wiper arm; a connecting rod having a first and second end, said first end connected to said lever arm, said connecting rod being longer in length than said flexible boom; and control means attached to said second end of said connecting rod for moving said connecting rod so as to actuate said lever arm and said wiper arm.

3. A captive flying toy as recited in claim 2 wherein: said drive means is housed within said centrally located pylon; said electrical means is housed within said centrally located pylon; and said control means is located at a remote location from said centrally located pylon at a distance greater than the length of said flexible boom.