US2793860A - Electric target toy - Google Patents

Description

y 1957 A. DE CRESCENZO 2 793360 ELECTRIC TARGET TOY Filed June 20, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR. ANTHONY DE CRESCENZO AMJHWE/ May 1957 A. DE CRESCENZO 2,793,860

ELECTRIC TARGET TOY Filed June 20, 1955 4 Sh eets-Sheet 2 M b "a A0? 9/ 88 I 86 I 1% 75 84L: Q W54 [OZ 56 76 100 M2 5 INVENTOR. ANTHONY DE CRESCENZO May 1957 A. DE CRESCENZO 7 2,793,860

' ELECTRIC TARGET TOY Filed June 20, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR. ANTHONY DE CREscE NZO May 28, 1957 A. DE cREscENzo ELECTRIC TARGET TOY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 20, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

ANTHONY DE CRESCENZO United States P n 2,793,860 ELECTRIC TARGET TOY Anthony De Crescenzo, Brooklyn, N. it. Application June 20, 1955, Serial No. 516,555 1 Claim. (Cl. ITS-95) This invention relates to a game-apparatus, so designed as to include a toy airplane, suspended above a base painted or otherwise designed to simulate a ground surface area as-it appears from the air. The apparatus, further, includes electrical means for causing the airplane to travel in a devious path above said ground surface area, simu lating a bombing run, and associated with the airplane and the means for imparting simulated flight thereto is electrical means controllable from a remote location for, at periodic intervals selected by the player, dropping from the airplane darts simulating aerial bombs.

An important object of the present invention is to provide game apparatus of the type referred to, which will develop considerable interest in the players, in thatthe players, from a remote location, can, as the airplane makesits bombing run, select targets marked on the base, such as a road junction, railroad bridge, munitions dump, and factories, and can, as the airplane passes over the targets, release one or more of the darts for free fall onto the selected target.

Another object of importance is to provide game ap-' paratus of the type referred to, which will be so designed as to provide a highly effective test of ones reflexes and ability to gauge the proper moment at which the darts should be released.

Still another'object of importance is to provide a game apparatus of the character referred to which will be adapted for use in amusement parks and the like, with a suitable coin-operated mechanism being employed under these circumstances for the'purpose of placing the airplane in motion and permitting the player to drop a selected number of darts.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a game apparatus formed according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the traveling carriage from which the airplane is suspended, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through said carriage, on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig.- 4 isa longitudinal sectional ivew through the toy airplane, taken on line- 4-4' of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the toy airplane, on line 5--5' ofFig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged detail sectional view on line 61-6-of'Fig; l.

Fig.7 is an enlarged'detail sectional view on line-7-7 of- Fig.1.

Fig.1 8 is an 'explodedperspective view'of carriage wheels and the associated hanger therefor:

one of the 2,793,860 Patented May 28, 1957 "ice Fig. 9*is a perspective viewofone of the leaf spring brushes of the carriage.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective view of one of the conductivetract elements.

Fig. 11 is anelectrical diagram showing'the circuit employed in the apparatus.

Designated at 10 is alarge, fiat, rectangular base having over its entire area a covering layer 12 of cork material. Overthe full surface'of the covering layer, there is depicted thereon a ground surface area as it would appear from a highelevation, with said area being pictorially represented to include various targets, such as a railroad 14, munitions'dump 16, a bridge 18 spanning a river, gun emplacements 20, aroad junction 22, and factories 24. The birds-eye view of the ground could, if desired, be printed upon a rectangular sheet correspond ing in area and outer configuration to the base 10 and cover layer 12,- with said sheet being adhesively attached to the covering layer 12;

T 0 light theseveral targets, there are provided spotlights 26, which couldbe connected in circuit and supplied with power, separately from the various electrical devices to be described hereinafter having to do with the motion of a toy airplane, and with the releasing of darts therefrom for free fall onto a selected one of the several targets described.

Secured at their lower ends to the several corners of "the base, and projecting upwardly a substantial distance from the base, are corner posts 28, 3t}, 32 and 34 supporting at their upper endsa top plate or table member of wood or other non-electrically conductive material, generally designated at36.

It is desirable that the top plate be maintained in a perfectly horizontal plane, and accordingly, a pair of levels 38, 40 are attached thereto. To permit adjustment ofthe top plate, the posts are each formed with internal threads (see Fig. 6) at their upper ends, receiving a screw 42 passing through a smooth-Walled corner opening 44 ofthe top plate. Threaded upon the respective screws are nuts 46, bearing against the underside of the top plate.

It will be seen that'the screws can be threaded inwardly or outwardly, as necessary, in respect to their associated corner posts, and the'nuts turnedhome against the underside of the top plate, so that the top plate can be adjusted upwardly or'downwardly at its several corners until it is perfectly level. v

The top plate is formed with an endless, devious trackway 48, the convolutionsor loops of which can take any desired course, to simulate the path taken by an airplane generally designated 50, during the making of a bombing run. The airplane is suspended from a carriage generally designated 52, mounted in the trackway' to travel therealong.

The trackway is formed as a slot in the top plate, extending fully from the top to the bottom surface of the top plate. Accordingly, since the slot is endless, and since as shown in Fig. 2 and described in full detail hereinafter, the airplane suspension means projects downwardly through the slot, it is necessary'that means he provided for holding the top plate portion 54 circumscribed by the ployed, and as many brackets will be employed as neces- V sary to fixedly connect the inner and outer portions 54, 56 of the top plate in a coplanar relationship to define therebetween the trackway 48.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, the opposite sidewalls of the trackway-defining slot are formed with confronting, right- angled recesses 64, 66. Engaged against the side wall of recess 64, and extending through the full length of the trackway without a break, is a thin, electrically conductive track element or strip 68. In the recess 66 is an electrically conductive strip 78, and this, unlike the strip 68, is secured not only against the side wall of the recess 66, but also against the bottom wall, and further, is formed with adepending flange 72 terminating in a lip 74 underlying the inner portion 54 of the top plate. At the opposite side of the trackway, that is, at the side having the strip 68, there is secured to the underside of the outer portion 56 a wide, flat, electrically conductive strip 76, coplanar with the lip 74. Strip 76 andlip 74, like their associated track elements 68, 70 respectively, are endless, that is, they extend continuously throughout the full length of the trackway.

Rollably mounted on the trackway is the carriage 52. This includes a rectangular housing 77 of non-electrically conductivematerial having a cover 78 attached by screws 80. Formed in the bottom of the housing are front and rear pairs of transversely aligned slots through which extend the upper ends of electrically conductive hangers 82, 84 having lateral projections Within the housing apertured to receive fastening elements 86 fixedly attaching the hangers to the housing bottom. Connected to the projections of the rear hangers are leads 88 extending to an electric motor 90 mounted on a pedestal 91 molded integrally with the housing bottom.

Rotatably mounted on the depending ends of the hangers are electrically conductive, flanged wheels 92, 94 rolling on the track shoulders defined by the angular recesses 64, 66 of the trackway. There are three of the wheels 92 and one wheel 94, this last being mounted on one of the hangers 84. The flange of wheel 94 has gear teeth, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, and constitutes a drive wheel, in a manner to be presently described.

Wheel 94 has an outer cylindrical portion 96 (Fig. 2) rolling on theshoulder defined by recess 66, the toothed flange previously mentioned, and a reduced, cylindrical stub axle 98 having an axial, threaded recess (Fig. 8)-

in which is engaged a headed screw 100, holding the stub axle against withdrawal from a bearing opening formed in the associated hanger. The wheels 92 are similarly formed except for the omission of the gear teeth.

To reduce friction between the wheels 94, 92 and their associated tracks, and to provide an electrical contact between the wheels and the track elements 70, 68 respectively, ball elements 102, 104 of electricallyconductive material are rotatably mounted in the outer end portions of the wheels in engagement with said track elements.

In mesh with the toothed flange of wheel 94 is a gear 106 secured to a shaft 108 extending out of a reduction gear box 110 having speed reduction gearing driven by the shaft 112 of motor 90. I

Molded on and depending from the housing bottom is the body portion of an airplane support block 114 including a non-electrically conductive extension block 116 secured to the body portion by a screw 118. To the opposite sides of the extension block there are attached electrically conductive leafspring brushes 120, 122 (Figs. 2 and 9) tensioned to engage at their free ends the strips 76, 74 respectively. Attached at their upper ends to the respective brushes are electrically conductive suspension wires 124, 126, diverging downwardly and attached to the tips of the Wings 128 of the airplane. A third suspension cord 127, which need not be electrically conductive, is connected between the block 114 and the tail of the airplane. I

The airplane (Figs- 4 and includes a hollow fuselage 130 of plastic or other non-electrically conductive material, provided intermediate its ends with longitudinally spaced partitions 132, 134 defining between them a dart compartment in which extends a shaft 136 journalled at its ends in the partitions. The dart compartment is open at its bottom as indicated at 138 to simulate a bomb bay and secured to the shaft are radially extending, elongated fins 140 angularly spaced 90 apart. Extending over the shaft and fins is an upper guide wall 142, and at one side of the compartment is a lower guide wall 144, the lower portion of which is arcuately formed, the fins Wiping thereover during rotation of the shaft. The Wall 144 at its upper end is inclined to one side of the fuselage, in parallelism with the upper guide, to define a chute 146 to which access is had by means of a door 148 hinged to the fuselage. A quantity of darts 150, simulating aerial bombs, are loaded in the dart compartment through the fuselage opening normally closed by the door, and gravitate within the chute into the lower portion of the dart compartment, each space defined between adjacent fins 1 40 holding a single dart.

The darts are formed with tapered bodies, and projecting from their larger ends are pointed tips 152, while fins are provided on the smaller ends thereof to guide. the darts in their free fall out of the outlet 138 to the base 10. The darts may be weighted at their noses to insure their being pointed straight downwardly at the time they reach the base, so that they will stick in the cork cover layer.

Within the dart compartment, a solenoid 154, mounted on a bracket attached to the fuselage, has a core 156 projecting, in the deenergized condition of the solenoid, in the path of the fins or blades 140. Leads 158, 160 extend from the terminals of the solenoid to the suspension wires 124, 126 respectively, throughthe wings 128 and are electrically connected to the suspension wires.

An electrically conductive arm 162 (Fig. 1) is secured at one end to post 28 and is extended over the trackway at an elevation suflicient to clear the carriage 52. Connected between the free end of the arm and the track element 70 is a lead 164.

Between the post 30 and the track element 68 (Figs. 1 and 11) there is connected a lead 166, while a lead 168 is connected between post 32 and the strip 76. A lead 170 is connected at one end to the lower end of post 32, and betweenits ends is provided with a switch 172 operable by a player to permit electrical current to fiow through the lead 170. At its other end, the lead 170 is connected to one end of the secondary winding of a transformer 174 mounted on base 10. Also connected to the secondary winding, at opposite ends thereof, are leads 176, 178 connectedto the lower ends of posts 28, 30 respectively. A cord 180 having a'plug engageable in a convenient outlet, not shown, is connected to the primary winding of the transformer. v I

When the plug of cord 180 is engaged in said outlet, current will flow (see Fig. 11) to energize'the motor, causing the carriage to be driven continuously along the tortuous trackway. The circuit may be traced as follows: from the secondary winding through lead 176, post 28, lead 164, track element 70, wheel, 94, hanger 84, one lead 88, motor 90, the other lead 88, hanger 82, wheel 92, track element 68, lead 166, post 30, and lead 178 back to the secondary transformer winding.

With the carriage in movement, the airplane will be carried'thereby, traveling along a tortuous path in simulation of a bombing run over enemy territory. When the user believes the plane is in proper position for bombing a selected, target, he depresses button 172 momentarily. This energizes the solenoid, and" when the core is retracted, the weight of the darts on one side of the paddle wheel 136, 149, will cause the same. to rotate clockwise in Fig. 5, causing one or more darts, depending on the length of time the switch is held closed, todrop out of the bomb bay. in following order and fall free to the target. 7 i

The circuit closed to release the darts is traced as follows: from one pole of the secondary winding, through lead 176, post 28, lead 164, track element 70, strip 74, brush 122, suspension wire 126, lead 160, the solenoid 154, lead 158, suspension wire 124, brush 120, strip 76, lead 168, post 32, lead 170, the switch 172, and the other pole of the secondary winding.

The apparatus can be used to advantage with coincontrolled mechanism in amusement parks and the like. Such mechanism, well known per se in the art, can be used to control the operation of a main switch, which though not shown, can be placed to control flow through the power supply cord 180. Under these circumstances, the capacity of the aircraft should be increased so that it will hold an ample supply of darts. Alternatively, instead of using darts, the aircraft may be equipped with a downwardly beamed photoelectric cell, which may energize light-sensitive cells in the several targets to close a circuit to a signal device showing that the target has been accurately bombed.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent An aerial bombing game apparatus comprising a base depicting a target area, posts extending upwardly therefrom, a top plate supported on the posts and including a trackway, a carriage rolling on the trackway, a miniature airplane suspended from the carriage below the top plate, a plurality of bomb-simulating objects carried by said airplane, said airplane having a discharge outlet for said objects, means for driving the carriage along the trackway, and means to at times release at least one of said objects for free fall from the airplane to said target area, the airplane having a pair of suspension wires connected between the motor and the airplane, said wires being electrically conductive, the trackway including condu-ctive strips having an electrical connection with the respective wires, said releasing means including a solenoid latch arranged to control release of said objects and connected in circuit with the respective wires, said releasing means further including a paddle wheel adjacent said outlet and having object-receiving spaces and being rotatable under the weight of the objects, for the discharge of said objects, the solenoid latch in its deenergized condition having a core extending in the path of rotation of the paddle wheel, the airplane having a chute-like space above said wheel adapted for gravitation of the objects, one at a time, into said spaces, said objects being formed with finned, tapering bodies and pointed tips on said bodies, the base having a cover layer penetrable by said tips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,619 Reiter June 8, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 129,555 Great Britain July 17, 1919 459,318 Italy Sept. 5, 1950

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