Transmission

Jan. 20, 1953

P. B. SAUNDERS, JR

TRANSMISSION

2,625,831

Filed Feb. 15, 1950

SHEETS—SHEET 1

<img file="US2625831A_D0001.tif" />

Jan. 20, 1953

P. B. SAUNDERS, JR

TRANSMISSION

2,625,831

Filed Feb. 15, 1950

SHEETS—SHEET 2

<img file="US2625831A_D0002.tif" />

Paul B. Saunders Jr..

<img file="US2625831A_D0003.tif" />

Patented Jan. 20, 1953

2,625,831

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,625,831 TRANSMISSION Paul B. Saunders, Jr., Aurora, Ill. Application February l5,1950; Serial.No;144,224 (Cl. 74—342)

Claims.

This invention, relates to an improvement in the operating mechanism of a toy.

An-Important object of the invention is to provide a toy with means for automatically changing the direction of its movement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a:,toy. having contact members and means operable. by said; members to vary the direction of movement: of the toy.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy having at its ends obstacle contacting members-with means operable, thereby for reversing the direction of movement of the toy.

Still: another object of the. invention; is.to provide a. toy which is simple in design, rugged, in. construction and economical to-manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, will· be. apparent during the course of the; following description of an embodiment illustrated by way of example in the-accompanying drawings in., which:

Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a toy embodying principles-of this invention and showing in dotted lines the outline of a vehicle body;

in· Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan viewthereof Showing the. relative position of parts effecting movement of the-toy in one direction;

ber 22 to slide .within the frame 12 between, the frame and .the truck. 17. Elongated slots 23, 24 and 25 in the frame respectively receive.therethrough fiat headed pins. 26, 27 and 28 carried,by, the actuator member 22. Coaction of the. pins and slots limits relative endwise.movement of the actuator member on the frame.

The rear axle assembly is mounted on the frame, by means, of a sub-frame 29. As best;shown,in. Figures 3 andi 4,., the ..sub-frame is,, box-like, ini appearance and is mounted, directly over, the actuator .member 22.

Journalled in the., side, walls, of .the ,sub-fram.e. is. the rear, axle 1-5-and other shafts which carry,, gears and pinions connecting a flywheel 30 to the rear axle for driving, the. same. The,flywheel ismounted on one end, of a shaft .31 with, a .pinion 32'.on,the opposite end thereof. A first idler shaft 33: has mounted,on an, end,thereof -a compound gear having a gear portion 34 and a pinion por-. tion 35. The gear portion 34 is in constant meshing engagement with-the Pinion 32.-.

An actuator. shaft: ,3 6 is journalled- in. the sideπηττρα , r.i_B uuouiic ux _a v_Cxxxvx&lt;&gt; , walls of the. sub-frame in.spaced- relation to-the? Figure 2 is a-bottom plan view of the toy shown ²⁵ idler shaft 33. One end of the shaft. 36 extends ⁸ beyond the sub-frame; is.journalled m an actuator support 37, and. has fixedly -mounted thereon a gear 38 positioned between the support 37 and rne.rnxzin xu.Hu.r^-.xuxx the nearest: sidewall of the sub-frame. As best

Figure 4-is a similar’view showing the relative. 30 shown in. Figure 5,the support 37 h^s a bottom position of operating parts when the reversing ^{n n1v fits} withm. emde slots 39 mechanism has been actuated, to change the. direction of movement of thetoy-; and

Figure 5 is a. horizontal cross-sectional view, with- parts in elevation, taken along the line;5—l of Figure 3.

The improvements embodied in this invention are shown in the drawings, by way of example, in association with a wheeled toy vehicle. It is to be understood, however, that this, invention may be used with other toys, whether driven by a propeller or other means.

In the present instance, the invention is shown in Figure- 1 applied to an automobile having a. body- 10 illustrated by dotted-lines, and a chassis I I illustrated in full lines. The chassis includes a frame 12 mounted on a front axle 13 having wheels 14, 14 thereon and a rear axle 15 similarly equipped, with wheels 16, 16. The front axle assembly is connected to the frame 12 by means of a truck 17 the sides 18 and 19 of which are apertured to loosely receive therethrough· the - I 3'

It will be- noted-that the-side edges 20 and 21 of the frame 12 are upturned slightly to provide a shallow trough. This permits an actuator memleg 31a which slidably fits, within, guide, slots 39 and 40 in. the sidewalls, of the. sub-frame; This permits the support to be shifted in a horizontal, ,.,. direction in. which; the upright leg,37 b is.movable &gt;•35 toward-and away;from.the ;sub-frame,. The hub4.1 of the gfiar.3.8 is peripherally grooved adjacent its.outer .end; :to, receive; therein- the·,.forked end? 37b; of . the actuator, support. Such air ;arrange.ment permits the actuator:toshift..-tijep.shaft:3,6) 40 in. an axial endwise direction while permitting rotation; of the shaft.

It.'WilLbe. notedcthatthe pinion:35 insufficiently wide; to permit the gear 38 to be shifted laterally': with; shaft :36 ,while;maintaining;constant:;meshr 45 ing. engagement therebetween;... TheTimits.of .the;;

shifting of the;.gear..38ion;the pinionxlBiis^oww? in Figures .3 and 4.

A second idler shaft 42 is positioned between and slightly below shafts 33 and 36. A compound 50 pinion.. on the shaft, has spaced toothed portions 43· and 4.4 with; a connecting; hub :45.:-. It will bev noted in.. Figure 4 that the hub 45;:is; wider than a pinion-46 carried by the actuator shaft 36.. This^: is for a purpose to be more fully described here⁵⁵ inafter.

A third idler shaft 47 (Figure 5) is journalled

2,625,831 in the sidewalls of the sub-frame and has a wide pinion 48 thereon adjacent one end. This pinion is between and in constant meshing engagement with the pinion 43 and a driving pinion 49 mounted on the vehicle rear axle 15. 5

The actuator support 37 is shifted laterally of the vehicle frame by movement of the actuator member 22 in a lengthwise direction. As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, the actuator member is provided with a slot 50 which is disposed generally in an angular direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the actuator member. A headed pinion 5 i is carried by the leg 37α of the actuator support 37 and the shank of the pin seats within the slot 50.

During movement of the vehicle, should the rear bumper 52 or the front bumper 53 encounter any obstruction such as a wall, a piece of furniture, or the like, the force of the impact moves the actuator member backward. As seen in Figures 2 and 3, movement of the actuator member forwardly on the vehicle moves pin 5i to the rear end of the slot 50 and thereby displaces the pin to one side of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle frame. This displacement of the pin simultaneously effects a lateral movement of the actuator support 37. In Figure 3 is shown the lateral movement of the actuator support in one direction and in Figure 4 lateral movement thereof in the opposite direction.

When the actuating member 22 is moved forward (Figure 3) the actuator support 37 is shifted to the right which brings pinions 44 and 46 into meshing engagement. Motion of the flywheel 30 is transmitted to the rear wheels 16, 16 of the vehicle successively through pinion 32, gear 34, pinion 35, gear 38, and pinions 46, 44, 43, 48 and 49. Rotation of the flywheel in a clockwise direction effects forward movement of the vehicle.

On contact of the front bumper 53 with an obstruction, the actuating member is moved to the rear and by cooperation of the slot 50 and pin 5i the actuator support 37 is moved to the left or toward the sub-frame. In this relative position, the pinion 46 is moved out of engagement with pinion 44 and into engagement with pinion 48. This eliminates the pinion 44 from the chain of power transmission thereby effecting a reversal of rotation of the vehicle wheels and a change in direction of movement of the vehicle.

On contact with the rear bumper 52 with an obstruction, reversal of movement of the vehicle is automatically effected. It will be obvious that movement of the vehicle in backward and forward directions will continue so long as rotation of the flywheel is sustained.

Rotation at high speed of the flywheel is accomplished by pushing the vehicle rapidly in relatively short strokes several times over a surface such as a floor. As the vehicle is pushed more rapidly with each stroke, a faster spin is Number Name Date imparted to the flywheel through the gear train. 367,420 Luchs_______________Aug. 2, 1887

The inertia of the flywheel weighted at its pe- 55 694,028 Protheroe__________Feb. 25* 1902 riphery tends to maintain and prolong move- 768,268 Clark_____________2 Aug. 23’ 1904 ment of the vehicle over a floor or other sur- 819,812 Schutze__________May 1906 face. 991,275 Clark_______________May 2’ 1911

Although the toy described herein is a wheeled 1,101,060 Clark_____________June 23’ 1914 vehicle, it is apparent that the reversing mech- 70 1,388,113 Huth__________™ Aug 16 ’ 1921 anism can equally well be applied to a toy driven 1,547,517 Neff________July 28 1925 by a propeller, such as an airplane or boat. 1,603,261 Ariams _____________ Oct. 19,’ 1926

The invention has been described herein more 2,149,180 Muller______Feb. 28* 1939 or less precisely as to details, yet it is to be un- ' ’ derstood that the invention is not limited thereby, as changes may be made in the arrangement and proportion of parts and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.