US3478464A - Toy toll booth - Google Patents

Description

M. APPEL TOY TOLL BOOTH I Nov. 18, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 5. 1967 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. MEL APPEL FIG. 6

Nov. 18, 1969 M. APPEL 3,

TOY TOLL BOOTH Filed Sept. 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 FIG. 5

12 F 1 as 76 14 I Q 36 5s 1e 1e 34 98 mo 30 I04 I30 F 9 INVENTOR. I

MEL APPEL United States Patent O" 3,478,464 TOY TOLL BOOTH Mel Appel, Livingston, N.J., assignor to Buddy L Corp., East Moline, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 665,555

Int. Cl. A63h 29/22 US. Cl. 46-12 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The toy is useful alone or in sets as an accessory or adjunct to the use of well known types of scale-model toys, particularly automobiles, motor trucks, etc. and enables the simulation of turnpikes, toll roads and other traflic and travel conditions rendered possible by the relatively widespread manufacture and sale of scalemodel vehicles, most of which substantially faithfully represent their full-size counterparts and add realism to the play environment. Known prior art seems to be represented -by manually operated devices or such electr cal units as crossing gates and the like found in association with model railroads. These and variations thereof have been found unsuitable for present purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a support in the form of a toll booth or house adapted to rest on the floor or ground adjacent to a path over which toy trafiic 1s to travel, and the booth includes associated structure which mounts a toll gate for vertical swinging between pathblocking and path-unblocking positions and return. Electrically powered drive mechanism operates the gate thru a cycle including the aforesaid swinging and return of the gate, a delay interval being automatically incorporated when the gate is extended or raised so as to allow the passage of trafiic before the gate descends. The unit is equipped with both visual and audible signals that function during gate movement. The device may be selectively energized by either a manual means such as a control button or by insertion of a toll coin. One cycle of operation occurs each time the drive mechanism is energized and means is provided for automatically deenergizing the unit at the completion of each cycle. The structure is compactly designed and encloses all electrical and driving parts, it may be easily and inexpensively constructed of well known toy materials, such as metal, plastic or a combination of the two, and lends'itself to attractive colors and configurations so as to result in a highly attractive, useful and durable toy.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the toy;

FIG. 2 is a view of one end of the same;

FIG. 3 is a view of the opposite end;

FIG. 4 is a rear view;

FIG. 5 is a section substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a section substantially along the line 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section along the line 77 of FIG. 5;

3,478,464 Patented Nov. 18, 1969 ice FIG. 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of FIG. 5; and FIG. 9 is a schematic incorporating a wiring diagram.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The toy comprises a basic support 10 adapted to rest upon the ground or floor in adjacent relationship to a simulated traffic path or road and includes a base 12 and three housing portions 14, 16 and 18, the portion 14 being in the form of a typical toll booth or house, the portion 18 being in the nature of a standard and the portion 16 serving to interconnect the two portions 14 and 18. These housing portions are all hollow and enclosed to house the working components of the unit, as will be described later. The toy is made to a somewhat small scale, being on the order of nine inches in height, eight inches in length and a little less than four inches in depth. Its use with similarly scaled toys will be readily apparent without further illustration or description and the presence of a toll road, turnpike and toy traffic thereon can be readily assumed. To further enhance the attractiveness and realism of the toy, the booth portion 14 may include simulated windows 20, 22 and 24; a roof sign 26, bearing any suitable designation as suggested in the drawings; and a selectively settable rotatable traffio-condition-indicating sign 28 rotatably carried in a box extension 30 integral with the booth 14.

The roof sign 26 is preferably hinged at 32 for folding to facilitate packaging of the toy for shipment. The condition sign 28 may be of rectangular section to bear four diiferent warnings, only one of which is suggested in FIG. 2, and may be turned and set by a hand knob 34. The entire toy may be constructed of well-known toy manufacturing materials such as sheet metal and plastic or a combination of the two and as such may be easily manufactured by conventional methods for low-cost distribution and sale.

The housing portion or standard 18 serves to mount, by means including a horizontal shaft 36, a toll gate 38 movable between an extended trafiic-blocking position and a retracted trafiic-unblocking position and return, the movement in this case being swinging about the axis of the gate shaft 36 so that the gate in its extended position projects horizontally across the traffic path (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) and the retracted position is a raised position in which the gate swings upwardly from its blocking position to an upright position, not shown but readily apparent. The standard also includes first and second visual signal means, here including an upper red or stop light 40 and a lower green or go light 42. As will be brought out below, during raising movement of the gate, the red light will flash, when the gate is up the green light will glow steadily, and as the gate is returning to its horizontal position the red light will fiash again while the green light shuts oif. Realism is further imparted by the provision on the front of the booth 14 of a coin collection box or basket 44. As best shown in FIG. 6, the gate may be of two-piece construction in which the longer part is separable from the remainder adjacent to the shaft 36 for again facilitating packaging. A representative snap connection is illustrated at 46. A stop 48 projecting externally from the standard 18 limits up and down movement of the gate.

The housing structure may be largely of one-piece molded plastic construction, at least as to the portions 14 and 16 and these are hollow and have an open back normally closed by a cover 50 removably secured in place by screws 52. As shown in FIG. 5, the both 14 has upper and lower compartments 54 and 56 and the intervening portion 16 provides a compartment 58. Separation of the booth compartments 54 and 56 is achieved by the floor of a battery'cage 60 having flanged edges slidably received in grooves in each of the opposed walls of the booth, one of which grooves is shown at 62. The cage 60 carries in typical fashion a pair of side-by-side conventional batteries 64 serving as the source of electrical energy for powering the working parts of the toy. When the cover 50 is in place, a hinged door 66 thereon, normally retained closed by a latch 68, is in register with the battery cage to permit removal and replacement of batteries.

Housed within the lower booth compartment 56 is drive mechanism 70 carried by a metal chassis 72 and including a small electric motor 74, having a drive pinion 76, and gear-reduction means 78 including an output shaft 80 extending toward the gate 38 and an auxiliary shaft 82 extending coaxially in the opposite direction. The battery cage has beneath it a buzzer 84, representative of an audible signal means coordinated with movement of the gate as will appear later. The red and green lights 40 and 42 are intermittently illuminated by small lamps 86 and 88 mounted in a supporting plate 90 secured within the standard 18 as by screws 92 threaded into appropriate bosses as shown (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7). The wires to the electrically operated parts have been omitted in all but the wiring diagram of FIG. 9, which will be explained later, in the interests of avoiding confusion among the mechanical parts.

A rotary drum structure 94, incorporating electrical switch means to be presently described, is rotatably journaled on a portion of the base 12 within the housing 16 coaxially with the drive mechanism shaft 80, the journaling being accomplished by suitable apertured ears 96 secured to and rising from the base (FIGS. and 6), and the drum 94 is coaxially and drivingly coupled to the shaft 80 by a coupling 98 so that the shaft 80 and drum rotate in unison in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 7.

The drum 94 includes a coaxial shaft extension 100 to which is affixed a crank arm 102. The gate shaft 36 projects interiorly of the housing standard 18 in upwardly spaced parallel relation to the shaft 100 and is journalled in the upper bifurcated ends of an upright support 104 fixed to and rising from the base 12. The inner end of the gate shaft 36 has afiixed thereto a crank arm 106 pivotally connected to the upper end of a link 108. The lower end of the link i connected to the crank arm 102 by lostmotion means including a pin 112 and slot 114. A light tension spring 116 is connected between the link and the base as shown and exerts a downward force on the link and thus on the arm 106 so as to bias the gate shaft in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 7. These force and motion characteristics are of course consistent with raising of the gate and the spring 116 therefore functions as means for biasing the gate to its raised or retracted condition. In the starting position of the parts, when the gate is horizontal or extended, the crank 102 is upright or substantially so and the top end of the slot 114 seats on the pin 112 in the crank 102 so that the spring force cannot raise the gate 38 by turning the gate shaft 36, because the motor 74 is not energized at this time and the spring force is not sufficient to overcome the stationary reduction gearing 78. Therefore the gate remains in its horizontal position until the motor 74 is energized.

When the motor is thus energized, by means to be later described, the crank pin 112 travels to the right and downwardly (clockwise) as seen in FIG. 7 and the spring 116 causes the link 108 to follow this pin, thus effectuating the force that raises the gate 38. As the pin 112 thus rotates farther in its clockwise direction it continues to be followed by the link 108 until, at about onefourth of its revolution, the pin is still at the top of the link slot but the movement is enough so that the spring 116 has raised the gate to its vertical position, the gate shaft crank 106 thus moving 90 and engaging a stop 118 on the support 104. While the spring 116 continues to hold the gate upright, the motor 74 continues to run and the crank pin 112 travels through about another onehalf revolution, at which time the pin increasingly moves away from and then back toward the top end of the link slot 114 until at about three-fourths of its total arcuate travel it again picks up the top end of the link slot and establishes a positive compression force in the link 108 between the crank pin 112 and the gate shaft crank 106, thus driving the gate shaft in a reverse or clockwise direction and thru back to its starting or horizontal position.

In brief, as the motor shafting drives through 360 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 7, the gate shaft turns first 90 in a counterclockwise direction to raise the gate, then delays while the gate is up and finally reverses through 90 to lower the gate. The time interval or delay between one-fourth and three-fourths of a revolution of the motor driven crank 102 and its pin 112 represents the time that the gate remains in its raised position, providing ample time for traffic to pass the raised gate before the gate returns to its lowered position. In other words the crank-link-slot mechanism provides delay means operative after raising of the gate so as to prevent its immediate return to its horizontal position while the motor 74 continues to run, this delay being effected by a combination of the spring 116 acting to bias and hold. the gate upwardly and the lost motion means at 112- 114 which enables the motor to continue to drive in the delay interval until the crank pin 112 eventually picks up the link 108 and gate shaft crank 106 to return the latter to its starting position against the bias of the spring, at which point the drive mechanism rests until re-energized, as will appear below.

One of the features of the invention resides in the provision of control means including a pair of selectively or alternatively actuable devices or switches for energizing the motor 74 and the allied electrical signals, together with means for automatically de-energizing the mechanism after each complete cycle in which the gate moves from its starting or extended position to its retracted or raised position and returns to its starting position, and this in combination with the delay means in which the result achieved is that, after a toll is paid, the gate remains up until the toll payer drives his vehicle past the raised gate, after which the gate lowers and blocks the next vehicle.

One of the control devices or elements is a manually operable or push button controlled switch 120 mounted on the box or basket 44, and the other of the devices or elements is actuated by a coin or similar metallic object so that realism is added to the toy and its operation. The coin switch is designated in its entirety by the numeral 122 and includes a semi-cup shaped metallic element 124 afiixed within the coin basket or box 44 and including a depending metallic spring leaf 126 in the path of the push button 120 (FIG. 8). The metallic auxiliary shaft 82, previously described as projecting from the gear box or reduction means 78, has a cranked end 128 to which is pivoted a metallic finger 130 that projects slidably through an aperture 132 in the front wall of the booth 14 and into close proximity to the depending metallic leaf 126 (FIG. 8). This finger is in electric circuit with the batteries, as is the leaf 126, so that two modes of operation are possible: First, if the button 120 is pressed inwardly, it engages the leaf 126 and presses it into electrical contact with the free or basket-proximate end of the finger 130, completing the circuit that energizes the motor 74 and the rest of the electrical components; second, if a coin or like metallic object is dropped into the basket or box 44, it bridges between the metal liner or element 124 and the finger 130 and likewise completes the motor circuit.

It will be seen that the finger 130, projecting almost all the way into the basket and just short of the leaf 126, divides the lateral width of the box 44 into two areas less than the diameter of the coin to be received (preferably a US. one-cent piece), and the spacing between the terminal ends of the finger 130 and the leaf 126 is less than the thickness of the coin. Thus, without more, the coin will be retained and will keep the circuit closed. However, this result is avoided and a means is provided to collect the paid tolls. This is accomplished as follows: As the motor 74 is energized to drive the gear reduction means 78, the shaft 82 is driven and its cranked or bent end 128 retracts the finger 130 from the leaf 126 so as to release the coin to a base-contained ramp 134 that leads to a receptacle 136 (FIG. 8) that is pivotally carried at 138 by the unit for rearward rocking to enable the tollkeeper to collect the deposited tolls.

To complete the operating mechanism and to accomplish automatic functioning, including de-energizing of the motor 74 after each complete cycle of the gate, as well as appropriate operation of the signal means 84, 86 and 88, the rotary switching means including the drum 94 is brought into play. The drum preferably comprises a one-piece member constructed of suitable nOnconducting plastic material affixed to the drum shaft 102 and including four axially spaced cams or actuators 140, 142, 144 and 146 associated respectively with normally biased-open switch means 148, 150, 152 and 154, connected into the electrical circuit as shown in FIG. 9', the details of which will be apparent without further description. The means 140-148 comprises the motor control means; the means 142-150 controls the red or stop lamp 86; the means 144-152 control the green or go lamp 88; and the means 146-154 serves the buzzer 84.

The cams 140, 142, 144 and 146 respectively have notches or low areas 156. 158, 160 and 162 to assure that the respective switches 148, 150, 152 and 154 are open in the starting position of the unit, at which time the motor 74 is de-energized and the toll gate 38 is in its horizontal or blocking position. The red light cam 142 has sets of teeth 164 intervening between the notch 1'58 and an arcuate low area 166 of substantial extent. The green light cam 144 has a high area 168 substantially 180 from its low area 160. The buzzer cam 146 has sets of teeth 170 at both sides of its notch 1-62 and an arcuate high area 172 intervening between these teeth.

OPERATION As previously stated, the starting condition of the toy occurs when the gate 38 is in its down or blocking position and the motor 74 de-energized. All switches are open (FIG. 9). Initially, the motor 74 may be energized by either the manual switch 120 or the coin switch 122, and the result is the same; i.e., the motor 74 begins to drive and the drum 94 is rotated, whereupon the motor cam 140 closes the sustaining switch 148 so that the circuit to the motor remains closed even though the switch 120 (or 122) is released. In the case of coin operation via the switch 122, the coin bridging the contacts represented by the leaf 126 and finger 130 will be released to the ramp 134 and receptacle or collector 138 as soon as the motor 74 starts to turn the shaft 82 enough to retract the finger 130. In either event, the cam 140 will now be running with its high area closing the switch 148 and the motor will drive thru one complete revolution until the notch 156 in the motor cam 140 again allows the switch 148 to open, thus de-energizing the mechanism. During the one-revolution cycle of operation, the gate 38 will raise, will remain raised for a significant predetermined interval established by the design of the lost-motion means 102, 108, 112, 114, 116 etc., and will lower to again block traffic. As the gate starts to raise because of driving of the motor 74, the drum 94 of course turns and the red light cam 142 presents one set of its teeth to the red light switch 150, causing the latter to rapidly make and break to effect flashing of the red lamp 86. At the same time, one set of teeth 170 on the buzzer cam 146 will sound the buzzer 84 intermittently, warning that the gate situation is such that passage is not clear. At about one-fourth of a revolution, when the gate 38 becomes raised according to the linkage means previously described, the red light cam presents its low area 166 and the red light switch is opened. At the same time, the green light cam 144, previously running on its low area 160, now presents its high area 168 to close the switch 152 and the green lamp 88 glows steadily while the gate 38 remains in its up or retracted position; and the buzzer cam 146 simultaneously presents its high area 172 to hold the switch 154 closed so that the intermittent sound of the buzzer now becomes steady, signalling the go condition.

After the requisite delay of the gate in its up position, allowing the toll-paying vehicle to pass, the cams operate as follows: The green light cam again presents its low are to the green light switch 152 so that the green light goes 01f; the red light cam 142 presents its other set of teeth 164 to the switch 150 so as to flash the red light as the gate descends; the buzzer 84 again sounds intermittently because the buzzer cam 146 presents its other set of teeth to the switch 154 as the high area 172 ends, and the motor cam 140 approaches the condition in which its notch 156 finally causes biased opening of the motor switch 148. Each cycle of operation is based upon the same pattern and each cycle involves one revolution of the motor shaft 80.

I claim:

1. A toy for simulating the toll regulation of toy traflic along a path, comprising a support adapted to rest on the ground adjacent to such path, a toll gate, means mounting the gate on the support for movement between extended and retracted positions respectively blocking and unblocking the path, support-carriedpoweroperated drive mechanism normally dc-energized in a starting position with the gate in its extended position and energizable to operate continuously through a full cycle to leave and return to said starting position, drive means for moving the gate from its extended position to its retracted position and return to said extended position during each cycle of said drive mechanism, said drive means including delay means for retaining the gate in its retracted position for a predetermined significant interval while the drive mechanism continues through its full cycle and for incurring return of the gate to its extended position as the drive mechanism returns to its starting position, control means for energizing the drive mechanism to operate through one full cycle and thereby to move the gate from its extended position, and means for automatically deenergizing the drive mechanism upon completion of said cycle.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the support includes housing means enclosing the drive mechamsm.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the housing is in the form of a simulated toll house.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the means mounting the gate on the support includes a horizontal shaft carrying the gate for upward and downward swinging between its extended and retracted positions and having a crank arm thereon, the drive mechanism includes a drive shaft parallel to the gate shaft and having a crank arm, and the delay means includes a link having pivotal connections respectively to the crank arms, one of said connections including a slot enabling continued rotation of the drive shaft and delayed rotation of the gate shaft.

5. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the drive mechanism includes an electric motor connectible to a source of energy and the control means includes switch means electrically connectible and disconnectible between the motor and the source of energy.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, in which the switch means includes a pair of normally open contacts and a control element movable to close the contacts.

7. The invention defined in claim 5, in which the switch means includes a pair of normally open contacts and means for receiving a metal object and for causing said object to bridge and close said contacts.

8. The invention defined in claim 5, in which the switch means includes a pair of normally open contacts and a control element movable to close the contacts and means operative alternately with said element for receiving a metal object and for causing said object to bridge and close said contacts.

9. The invention defined in claim 5, including first electric signal means operative in response to retraction of the gate, second electric signal means operative in response to return extension of the gate, and actuating means for causing alternate operation of the two signal means respectively according to the aforesaid movements of the gate and for deenergizing both signal means when the gate is in its extended position.

10. The invention defined in claim 9, in which the actuating means includes a rotary drum having a plurality of cam means thereon and auxiliary electric switches operated respectively by the cam means.

11. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the drive mechanism includes an electric motor connectible to a source of energy, the control means includes switch means electrically connectible and disconnectible between the motor and the source of energy and the means for automatically deenergizing the drive mechanism includes rotary normally open electrical switch means driven by the motor and adapted to close upon starting of the motor by the control means, to remain closed during the gate cycle and to re-open when the gate cycle is completed.

12. The invention defined in claim 5, in which the support includes a housing containing the drive mechanism and battery means is contained within the housing as the source of electrical energy.

13. The invention defined in claim 12, in which the housing is provided with separate compartments respectively for the drive mechanism and battery means.

14. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the drive mechanism includes an electric motor connectible to a source of energy and the control means includes switch means electrically connectible and disconnectible between the motor and the source of energy, said control means including a pair of normally open contacts, means for receiving a metal object and for causing said object to bridge and close said contacts, and means driven by the motor for releasing said object from the contacts after the motor is energized.

15. The invention defined in claim 14, including receptacle means for collecting the released object.

16. The invention defined in claim 15, in which the receptacle is movably carried by the support to permit access to the collected object.

17. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the drive mechanism includes an electric motor connectible to a source of energy, the control means includes switch means electrically connectible and disconnectible between the motor and the source of energy, first visual electric signal means operative in response to retraction of the gate, second visual electric signal means operative in response to return extension of the gate, third audible signal means operative during movement of the gate, and actuating means for causing operation of the audible signal means during extension and retraction of the gate, for causing alternate operation of the two visual signal means respectively according to the aforesaid movements of the gate and for deenergizing all three signal means when the gate is in its extended position.

18. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the control means includes a pair of selectively operable control devices, one of said devices being coin-operated.

19. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the delay means includes biasing means operative to move the gate to its retracted position, means driven by the drive mechanism for allowing the biasing means to move the gate to said retracted position and including lost-motion means enabling retention of said gate in said retracted position for the aforesaid interval and operative following said interval to return the gate to its extended position against the force of said biasing means.

20. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the support includes a base, a first housing mounted on the base and simulating a toll booth, and a second housing mounted on the base in spaced relation to the booth and including the mounting means for the gate, said second housing further carrying signal means correlated with movement of the gate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,637,920 5/1953 Stratt0n 49-35 2,842,876 7/1958 Chicoine et a1. 4935 3,117,395 1/1964 Einfalt 46202 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

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