US1582937A - Radio questioner amusement apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 4 1926. 1,582,937

, A. A. SILVERMAN' ET AL RADIO QUESTIONER AMUSEMENT KPPABATUS Filed April 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1" Jan 9152' Zvermen fi ATTORNEY WITNESS:

May 4,1926. v 1,582,937 I I A. A. SILVERMAN ET AL RADIO QUESTIONER AMUSEMENT APPARAIUS v Filed April 4, 1925 2.Sheets -Sheet 2 4'7 v AA Silverware JanieJi/vermar mvumn WITNESS:

Patented May 4, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,582,333 PATENT OFFlCE.

ALBERT A. SILVERMAN AND DANIEL SILVERMAN, 6F ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

RADIO QUESTIONER AMUSEIYIENT APPARATUS.

Application filed April 4, 1925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT A. Srnvnre MAN and DANIEL Srnvnmrazv, citizens of the United States, residing at Asheville, in the county oft Buncombe and State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful 11rprovements in Radio Questioner Amusement Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

his invention relates to amusement apparatus, particularly to question and answer devices, and has for its object the provision or a novel apparatus constructed to resemble a radio receiving set and so arranged that various questions may be asked and the answers tl ereto accurately obtained.

An important and more specific object is the provision of an apparatus of this cha acter constructed in cabinet form and pro vided with a panel upon which are mounted dials resembling the dials employed in radio receiving sets, one dial being so arranged as to be rotated and to point to a selected question and the other dial being correspondingly rotatable in order to ascertain the answer, the ob ,ining of the correct answer being indicated by illumination of a lamp wi hin the device and the operation of a buzzer.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character which is electrically controlled or operated, the questioning and answering dials forming part of switches, the respective contacts or" which are connected so that the two switches will act in effect in the same manner as the combination on a commutation lock, it being absolutely necessary that both switches be in corresponding positions in order that the correct answer to a certain question will be had.

Yet another object is the provision of a device of this character in which the current utilized may be taken from an ordinary flashlight cell easily removably mounted in place so as to be capable of replacement when such is necessary for any reason.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this character which will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, easy to operate, instructive as well as amusing, positive in action, eflicient and durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

lVith the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter Serial No. 20,774.

more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section looking at the back of the front panel and showing the entire electrical system,

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken substantially along the center of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the complete device,

Figure 4 is an elevation of oneof the question bearing disks,

l igure 5 is an elevation of one of the ansi T61 bearing disks,

Figures 6 and 7 are similar views or" other uislts, and

igure 8 is detail view illustrating a modification.

Referring more particularly to the drawings I have shown the device as enclosed within a suitable cabinet 10 provided at its trout with a panel 11 and so constructed and arranged as to resemble a radio receivp, liotatably mounted on the panel dials 12 and 13 having pointers 12 and 12 thereon having operating knobs l l and constructed in exactly the same manner as the dials and knobs used in radio sets, the

dials being here shown as carrying shanks 1 5 journaled through bearings 16 in the rear side of the panel and equipped with springs 1? acting to hold the dials snugly to they panel for preventing wabbling while in use. Above the dial 12 the panel is inscribed with the legend Questions and above the dial with the legend Answers. The panel is provided with a series of openings 18 between these two legends for a purpose to be described. The lower portion of the panel may be utilized. for the inscription of advertising matter and the like and the representation of other parts of a radio apparatus may be applied it such is desired. .Vhile it is not essential the openings 18 above referred to may be hushed or provided with internal ferrules 19 as shown in order to improve the appearance.

The dial shanks carry switch arms 20 and 21 respectively movable over two series o1 contacts 22 and 23 respectively, the corresponding contacts being connected by conductors 41 in manner well illustrated in Figure 1. It is immaterial which of the contacts 22 are connected with the contacts 23 except that they should run in sequence. In the-present. instance the topmost contact or m) all) 22 is shown as connected with the lowermost, contact 23 but this is an arbitrary arrangement. ldounted on the bottom of the cabinet a suitable supporting bracket 25 which is of metal and which constitutes a common ground for the various elements of the mechanism, and mounted upon this bracket are upstanding contacts 26 and 27, the former of which is in electrical connection therewith and the other of which is insulated therefrom, and also mounted on the bracket is a springclip adapted to receive and hold a dry cell 29 of the type used in flashlights. A. contact screw 30 is carried by the contact 26 and is adapted to engage the central terminal 31 ot the cell. 'lhreaded through the contact n'ien'iber a screw 32 designed to hear clan'ipingly against the adjacent end of the cell.

lllounted within the cabinet back of the openings 18 therein is a reflector 33 formed with a socket portion Set within which is owed or otherwise held an incandescent lamp 35 01" the single contact type having its shell grounded on the reflector and having its contact 86 engaging cont-act 37 secured upon and insulated from the reflector. The contact 37 has connected therewith a conductor 38 connected with the contact 2?, and connected with the reflector 33 is a conductor 39 connected with the bracket 16 sociated with the dial 12. Connected with the bracket 16 associated with the dial 13 is a conductor 10 connected with the contact 26.

While it is not absolutely necessary, we prefer to provide a buzzer 41 of conventional. construction mounted at some convenient location, preferably on the bracket 25 and having one of its terminals connected with this bracket by a conductor 42. This buzzer includes the usual viorator structure 13 with which is connected a conductor 4i connected with the conductor 39.

In conjunction with the dials we proviso disks -il5 and *lfi both of which have open cen tral portions so as to encircle the dials 12 and 1.3 respectively when placed on the front of the panel. It is intended. that these disks bear questions and the corresponding answers as clearly indicated in Figures 1 and 5 and also in Figures 6 and 7, the questions and answers being of any character desired but not really intended to be absurd inasmuch as one of the primary purposes of the invention is to provide an instruction device. For this reason the questions and answers are represented as being hist rical though there is no limitation in this respect. The disks are shown as provided at their upper and lower edges with apertured edges a7 and 41-8 respectively adapted to be engaged upon hooks l9 and pins projecting from the front of the panel above and below the dials 12 and 13. By this arrangement it is evident that the clisl'seo a d ie a b moved and replaced by similar disks 45 and 46 which bear a dilterent series of questions and answers. It is a convenience that both sides of each disk have questions or answers thereon in order to increase the range of changes which may be made.

In the modification shown in Figure 8 the buzzer above described is replaced by a ratchet device including a ratchet wheel 51 carried by the shank oi the dial 13 and engaged by a spring pawl 52 so as to produce a clicking noise when the dial 13 is turned.

In the operation, the dial 12 is turned to bring; the pointer 12 thereon into-such position that it will point to any desired one of the questions on the disk 1-5. Obviously, when this is done, the switch arm 20 will be in engagement with one of the conductors 24. The operator then grasps the knob of the other dial 13 and turns it. lVhen the switch arm 21 controlled by the dial 13 is in such position that the pointer 1 thereon points to the proper answer on the disk 46 this switch arm 21 will be in engagement with the contact 23 connected with the contact 22 engaged by the switch arm 20. This obviously completes the circuit through the incandescent lamp 35 and also through the buzzer -11 so that a light will be displayed through the openings 18 and a sound will be given cit by the buzzer. hen this occurs it will indicate that this is the correct answer to the question asked.

In the modification disclosed in Figure 8 wherein the buzzer is omitted, it is obvious that whenever the dial 13 is turned the ratchet 51 coactin with the pawl will act to give a buzzing sound. However, in this form, this sound does not mean that the corrcct answer has been reached, this indication being given by the illumination of the incandescent lamp 355.

It will be observed that the disks 15 and 16 may be turned over so that the other sides thereof may be used and it is also quite clear that these disks may be removed and replaced by others such as those indicated in Figures 6 and 7 in order to provide a wide range of questions and answers. The peculiar manner of mounting these disks on the front of the panel is of particular advantage inasmuch as it permits ready removal and replacement without disturbing any of the apparatus.

From the foregoing and a study of thedrawings it will be apparent that we have thus provided a simply constructed, inexpensive and very amusing device which will have the great advantage of being instructive in its nature as well as entertaining. Owing to the simplicity of the construction it is apparent that there is very little to get out of order so that the device should have a long and satisfactory life.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that we reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, we claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, a plurality of interrupted circuits all connected with a common source of current and with a common indicator, means for closing a selected circuit at one of the interruptions therein, means indicating which circuit has had an interruption therein bridged, means for closing or bridging the other interruption in the selected circuit, and indicating means at last named means. 1

2. In a device of the character described, a cabinet, a panel mountedthereon, a pair of dials rotatably mounted on the panel and carrying pointers, a pair of disks on the panel arranged in surrounding relation to the dials, one disk carrying a series of questions and the other bearing a corresponding series of answers, an electric play responsive indicator within the cabinet, a source of current within the cabinet, and a pair of switches operated by movement of the dials and including movable arms and a series of contacts corresponding to the questions and answers respectively and connected in circuit with the source of current and the indicator.

In a device of the character described, a cabinet, a panel mounted thereon, a pair of dials rotatably mounted on the panel and carrying pointers, a pair of disks on the panel arranged in surrounding relation to the dials, one disk bearing a series of questions and the other bearing a corresponding series of answers, an electric play responsive indicator within the cabinet, a source of current within the cabinet, and a pair of switches operated by movement of the dials and including a movable arm and a series of contacts corresponding to the questions and answers, respectively, and connected in circuit with the source oi current and the indicator, the disks being removably mounted and having both sides similarly formed whereby to be capable of reversal.

In a device of the character described, a cabinet, a panel mounted thereon, a pair of dials rotatably mounted on the panel and carrying pointers, a pair of disks on the panel arranged in surrounding relation to the dials, one disk bearing a series of questions and the other bearing a corresponding series of answers, an electric play responsive indicator within the cabinet, a source of current within the cabinet, and a pair of switches operated by movement of the dials and including a movable arm and a series of contacts corresponding to the questions and answers, respectively, and connected in circuit with the source of current and the indicator, and means for detachably mounting the disks in place whereby selective disks may be employed.

5. In a device of the character described, a cabinet, a panel mounted thereon, a pair of dials rotatably mounted on the panel and carrying pointers, a pair of disks on the panel arranged in surrounding relation to the dials, one disk bearing a series of questions and the other bearing a corresponding series of answers, an electric play responsive indicator within the cabinet, a source of current within the cabinet, and a pair of switches operated by movement of the dials, and including a movable arm and a series of contacts corresponding to the questions and answers, respectively, and connected in circuit with the source out-current and the indicator, the disks being provided with apertured lugs, and retaining elements project ing from the panel and upon which the apertured lugs are engaged.

In testimony whereof we afliX our signatures.

ALBERT A. SILVER-MAN. DANIEL SILVERMAN.

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