Abstract
A musical toy includes a wheel with a cylindrical face comprised of a magnetic sheet layer, a printed graphic and a top perforated layer such that when combined they form a radial array of rows of receiving recesses each preceded by a sequence indicator such as a number. These recesses are positioned to receive metal note balls by means of an upper housing containing lettered slots that correspond to the lettered columns of the musical analog in the songbook. The tubes of the upper housing are kept in alignment with the receiving recesses by a ratchet system that allows for controlled sequential advancement of the wheel. When the note balls are placed at predetermined locations corresponding with the locations of notes on the represented staff, they fall down a tube and are guided and into the corresponding lettered recess for that position on the wheel face. The note balls are retained by the magnetic attraction provided by the magnet sheet in the wheel assembly. When a motor is engaged to rotate the wheel assembly, switch operators extending down from upper housing contact the note balls to play the music so represented by their location in the staff and note configuration. A magnetic wand is provided for quick, convenient removal of the note balls to reset the toy for another song assembly.
Claims
1. A musical toy comprising: a) a wheel assembly having two side faces and supported in a manner as to rotate on its central axis; b) a musical instrument having a plurality of transversely arrayed operators actuable to produce corresponding musical notes, the musical instrument held by a housing to expose the operators adjacent to the said wheel assembly; c) a plurality of note balls for activating the operators, the note balls constructed of ferrous metal and capable of attraction to a magnet; d) a cylindrical carrier face connecting the side faces of the wheel assembly and aligned with the musical instrument, the carrier face having a magnet sheet surface and further having a plurality receiving recesses to releasably receive the note balls held in magnetic engagement at different transverse locations so that the note balls may activate the operators of the musical instrument when the wheel assembly rotates.
2. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein the receiving recesses of the carrier face are arranged in circumferentially spaced rows to correspond to the beats of measures of a standard musical staff.
3. The musical toy of claim 2 wherein the rows of receiving recesses are identified by an ascending number sequence.
4. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein the receiving recesses of the carrier face are arranged in transverse columns to correspond to the notes of a standard musical staff.
5. The musical toy of claim 1 further including a note ball assembly system comprising a housing suspended in close proximity to the carrier face having a series guide paths for placing the note balls, the guide paths having a funnel slot fir receiving the note balls and funnel tubes ending in alignment with the receiving recesses on the carrier face, the guide paths further being identified with indicia to distinguish their location.
6. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 wherein the indicia to distinguish the individual funnel slot locations is representative of notes on a musical staff.
7. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 wherein the funnel slots are stacked in two rows and their guide paths lead to the funnel tubes, the funnel tubes arranged in a single row between the two stacked rows of funnel slots.
8. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 further including a through window allowing for viewing an individual number of the ascending number sequence of claim 3.
9. A ratchet locating system comprising: a) an actuable plunger depressed to engage one of a series of raised features in general alignment with the rows of receiving recesses on the wheel assembly and advance the carrier face; b) a retractable ratchet ball that when place into compressed engagement with one of a series of features in general alignment with the rows of receiving recesses and the plunger is depressed, the wheel rotates and the carrier face is indexed in a controlled manner to the subsequent row of receiving recesses on the carrier face;
10. The ratchet locating system of claim 9 wherein the plunger and ratchet ball features are substantially in alignment with the number row of claim 3.
11. The ratchet locating system of claim 9 wherein one of more of the features are located in the musical instrument housing of claim 1.
12. The musical toy of claim 1 further including a printed diagram depicting the carrier face with note balls positioned to correspond with the arrangement the notes of a song.
13. The printed diagram of claim 12 wherein the carrier face diagram is depicted as ascending numerical rows and lettered transverse column headings.
14. The lettered transverse column headings of claim 12 wherein the letters comprise the notes of a musical staff
15. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein a magnetic wand is provided to remove metal note balls.
16. The magnetic wand of claim 15 wherein the wand is an elongated magnet rod that can he located parallel to the carrier face such that when the note balls rotate near the wand, they are pulled from the receiving recesses.
17. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of injection molding of thermoplastics.
18. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of vacuum thermo forming.
19. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of stamping or extrusion.
20. A musical toy comprising: a) a wheel assembly having two side faces and supported in a manner as to rotate on its central axis; b) a musical instrument having a plurality of transversely arrayed operators actuable to produce corresponding musical notes, the musical instrument held by a housing to expose the operators adjacent to the said wheel assembly; c) a plurality of note balls for activating the operators, the note balls being magnetized and capable of attraction to a metal surface; d) a cylindrical carrier face connecting the side faces of the wheel assembly and aligned with the musical instrument, the carrier face having a metal surface and further having a plurality receiving recesses to releasably receive the note balls held in magnetic engagement at different transverse locations so that the note balls may activate the operators of the musical instrument when the wheel assembly rotates.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the toy of the present invention including a wheel assembly comprised of a two side faces that rotate on a central axis which is suspended by two side supports. The outer carrier face of the wheel assembly is comprised of a magnetic sheet covered with a printed graphic viewable from the exterior through receiving recesses in the exterior carrier surface. The upper housing contains musical instrument and is comprised of a series of funnel slots for placing the note balls in transverse positions on the carrier face of the Wheel assembly and a number window opening for viewing the number column of the carrier face. A tone output button, motor power button, indexing plunger and ratchet lever are also shown;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the musical instrument housing of FIG. 1 now showing the letterers of the musical scale in each of the several transverse funnel openings. The view shows the two row stacking of the funnel openings, thus allowing them to be closely arranged adjacent to one another. The number window is visible and shows the alignment of numbered rows with the receiving recesses of the lettered columns that carry the note balls when placed. The motor power button is also shown;
[0031] FIG. 3 is a front section view through the center of the upper housing of FIG. 2 showing the adjacent relationship of the funnel tubes, both side-by-side to each other and aligned vertically to the receiving recesses of the carrier surface on the wheel assembly. The number window is shown on the left aligned with the printed number of the number column in the carrier surface. The magnetic sheet is also shown;
[0032] FIG. 4 is a side section view of FIG. 3 through the first A-Note funnel slot showing the path that delivers the note ball to the transvers receiving recess locations on the carrier face;
[0033] FIG. 5 is a side section view of FIG. 3 through the number column showing the number indexing plunger on the left and the ratchet lever on the right that retains the round drum keeping the receiving recess in alignment with the funnel tubes;
[0034] FIG. 6 is a lower back perspective view showing the tempo and volume controls;
[0035] FIG. 7 is a lower front perspective view showing the note ball storage bin and the removal wand with two wand placement positions.
[0036] FIG. 8 is a sample songbook graphic showing a pictorial representation of the relationship between numbered rows and lettered note columns and indicating the transverse placement of the note balls into the funnel slots and thus into the receiving recesses on the carrier face of the wheel assembly to compose a song.
TABLE-US-00001 1 Musical Toy 2 Side Face 3 Carrier Face (3a - Carrier Face Graphic) 4 Upper Housing 5 Lettered Music Notes (5a -Printed Music Notes) 6 Wheel Assembly 7 Storage Bin 8 Removal Wand 9 Speaker 10 Numbered Note Rows (10a - Num Note) 11 Receiving Recesses (11a -Recess Graphic) 12 Note Balls (12a - Note Ball Graphic) 13 Funnel Slots 14 Power Button 15 Printed Number 16 Ratchet Lever 17 Number Window 18 Indexing Plunger 19a Storing Position 19b Removal Position 20 Operators 21 Side Support 22 Funnel Tubes 23 Magnetic Sheet 24 Ratchet Ball 25 Spring 26 Tempo Dial 27 Volume Dial 28 Song Sheet 29 Song Title 30 Tone Output Button 31 Base 32 Perimeter Wall 33 Plunger Face
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Background Design
[0037] Referring now to FIG. 1, a musical toy 1 of the present invention includes a wheel assembly 6 generally in the form of a cylinder whose cylinder bases are comprised of two circular side faces 2 connected therebetween by a transverse carrier face 3 and suspended on a central axis by two radially extending side supports 21 that pass upwardly and downwardly from the central axis, The downwardly extending side support 21 is to a base 31 adapted to support the musical toy 1 on a horizontal surface such as a desk or table. Arranged in transverse rows spaced about the carrier face 3 at regular angular intervals across the carrier face 3 are a series of receiving recesses 11 (here, fifteen tranverse recess locations) designed to carry metal note balls 12. Supended above the carrier face 3 and between the two upwardly extending side supports 21 is an upper housing 4. Said side supports 21 have a round opening in line with the central axis of the side face 2 that holds a sound speaker 9. A power button 14 exposed on the upper surface of the upper housing 4 is toggled to engage and disengage a motor drive mechanism onto the wheel assembly 6 and also turn on and off the motor that rotates the wheel assembly 6. In this way the wheel assembly 6 is free to rotate when the motor is not running.
[0038] Referring now to FIG. 8, the song sheet 28 shown here is the well known song 29 with the title Do-Re-Mi. The song sheet 28 is a printed diagram of the musical composition with the vertical columns of printed music notes 5a representing the notes on a musical staff (here two octaves) and the printed numbered note rows 10a representing the beats of musical measures. The receiving recesses 11 of the carrier face 3 are represented as a receiving recess graphic 11a. A pattern of black and white squares provides a means of better referencing the correct location of the metal note balls 12 on the carrier face 3. The metal note balls 12 are here represented as a spherical note ball graphic 12a and placed in proper compositional location in line with its corresponding printed music note graphic 5a and printed number row 10a. Thus the visual arrangement of note ball graphics 12a by numerical order and in proper note position on the song sheet 28 provides a guide for placing the actual metal note balls 12 onto the carrier face 3 of the musical toy 1.
[0039] Referring now to FIG. 2, an upper surface of the upper housing 4 provides a set of staggered openings of funnel slots leading downwardly to narrow outlets. A top view of the musical toy 1 shows the lettered music notes 5 debossed within the funnel slots 13. Using the Section “A” line as a reference, this location ascribes a centerline through the carrier face 3 at the center of one of the many numbered rows 10 (here, row number 3). Said funnel slots 13 are stacked in two rows with one row above the Section “A” cutting plane (per the depiction of FIG. 2) and the row of alternating funnel slots 13 below the Section A cutting plane. The printed number 15 for each numbered note row 10 appears on the carrier face 3 and is viewable through the number window 17 of the upper housing 4. This printed number 15 precedes the series of fifteen transverse receiving recesses 11, thus indicating what row of the musical composition 28 is currently positioned for assembly of note balls 12.
[0040] Referring now to FIG. 3, Section “A” is a front section view showing the upper housing 4 and fifteen note balls 11 resting side-by-side in their receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3. The funnel tubes 22 are an open path from the funnel slots 13 and are aligned with the row of receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3, and accordingly the number window 17 (located at the Section “NUMBERS” cutting plan on the left) is in line with the printed number 15 of the numbered note row 10 and visible through the opening of the number window 17. Thus, the note balls 12 can be assembled into the proper receiving recesses 11 of the carrier face 3 by matching the printed numbered note row 10a of the song sheet 28 and the printed number 15 of the note row 10 on the carrier face 3. The note balls 12 are manufactured using a ferromagnetic metal and have a diameter of less than one quarter of an inch. In a preferred embodiment, the note balls 12 have no magnetization and insufficient magnetization to suspend themselves from an un-magnetized ferromagnetic surface. When the wheel assembly 6 rotates, the note balls 12 are retained in their receiving recesss 11 by an attractive magnetic three provided by the magnet sheet 23 that resides within the carrier face 3. The magnet sheet 23 is a flexible polymer material containing magnetic particles with transverse stripes of north-south-north polarity commercially available through a variety of sources.
[0041] It can be observed that the funnel slots 13 of FIG. 2 are much larger in width than the funnel tubes 22 of FIG. 3 that open up to the receiving recesses 11, thus allowing for a larger placement target when the child inserts the note balls 12 into the funnel slots 13. It will be further noted that by stacking the funnel slots 13 in the aforementioned manner, the funnel tubes 22 and their related receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3 can be placed in very close proximity, minimizing the width of the carrier face 3 and thus the overall size of the musical toy 1.
[0042] Referring now also to FIG. 4, the Section “G” is a side section view through the upper housing 4 in line with the first G-Note funnel tube 22 and funnel slot 13 and receiving recess 11. It is again apparent that during the assembly of a the note balls 12, the receiving recess 11 and the funnel tube 22 must be substantially aligned so the note ball 12 may fall into its proper position on the carrier face 3. The funnel slot 13 extends away from the funnel tube 22 and the surface angles upward so the note ball 12 will fall into the funnel tube 22. Again, the design allows for a greater area of the funnel slot 13 opening and thus a larger target fur placing the metal note balls 12.
[0043] Referring now also to FIG. 5, the Section “NUM” is another side section view through the upper housing 4, now aligned with the number indexing plunger 18 and ratchet lever 16 which reside in the upper housing 4. The ratchet lever 16 is articulated downward and a connecting spring 25 compresses the ratchet ball 24 into a recess in the numbered row 10. While the ratchet ball 24 is in this assembly mode, a second spring-loaded indexing plunger 18 is presssed inward toward the center of the upper housing 4 against the force of the spring (not shown). The plunger face 33 engages a feature on the carrier face 3 of the wheel assembly 6 (in this design, the perimeter wall 32 of the numbered note row 10 recess) and thus the carrier face 3 rotates. As the carrier face 3 rotates the trailing perimeter wall 32 of a second numbered row 10 recess raises the spring-loaded ratchet ball 24 until the ratchet ball 24 passes over the peak of the trailing perimeter wall 32, at which point the spring pressure pushes the ratchet ball 24 into the next sequential numbered note row 10 recess. This aligns the next printed number 15 with the number window 17 (the number 3 as shown in the example of FIG. 2) which is also in line with both the funnel tubes 22 and the receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3. When a song 29 is complete and ready for play back, the ratchet lever 16 is retracted raising the ratchet ball 24 and leaving the wheel assembly 6 free to rotate. This is one exampe of a mechanism whose features are designed work in unison to sequentially index the carrier face 3 into position to control the alignment of the funnel tubes 22 with the receiving recesses 11 and the number window 17 with the printed number 15 during placement of the note balls 12.
[0044] Referring again to FIG. 4, a row of operators 20 are positioned in line with each of the funnel tubes 22 and thus in line with the lettered music note columns 5 of the carrier face 3. The operators 20 are switches that connect to the sound generating electronic device. When the motor wheel is engaged to rotate the wheel assembly 6, the note balls 12 on the carrier face 3 are advanced beneath the upper housing 4 and engage the operators 20. The speaker 9 then outputs the appropriate note or set of notes for each note ball 12 in the numbered note row 10 in position on the carrier face 3. Thus a playback of the assembled song 29 is generated.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 6, the musical toy has a “Tempo” dial 26 to allow the child to change the speed of rotation of the carrier face, and thus the output rate or tempo of the musical playback. The device also has a “Volume” dial 27 to change the volume of the speaker sound output.
[0046] Referring now to FIG. 7, a storage bin 7 for retaining the loose unused note balls is part of the base 6. The removal wand 8 contains a magnetic bar which is powerful enough to pull the note balls 12 off the magnet sheet 23 within the carrier face 3. In this respect, the net magnetic force at the surface of the removal wand 18 exceeds the magnetic force between the note balls and the underlying magnetic sheet, both being a function of magnetic strength and distance. When playing a song 29, the removal wand 8 is placed in position 19a of the storage bin 7, sufficiently far away from the note balls 12 so that they do not attract and fall off the carrier face 3. To easily clear the note balls 12 and reset the toy 1 for a new song, the removal wand 8 is moved to removal position 19b and the wheel assembly 6 is set in motion. As the carrier face 3 advances, the note balls 12 encounter the magnet bar in the removal wand 8 and are pulled off the receiving recess 11 and onto the face of the removal wand 8. Now free to roll and influenced by gravity, the note balls 12 roll off the face of the removal wand 8 and fall into the storage bin 7, ready for assembly of another song.
[0047] Referring again to FIG. 1, the speaker 9 is held in the side support 21 and aligned with the center of the wheel assembly 6. An opening in the side face 2 of the wheel assembly 6 allows the speaker 9 to provide enhanced acoustic resonance of the sound.
[0048] Generally then the invention can provide a musical toy that is a wheel mounted on an axle with numbered rows of receiving recesses at equal angular intervals on its radial carrier face. In the columnar direction relative to the carrier face, the recesses relate to lettered notes on the musical scale. A series of funnel tubes are positioned in a housing above the receving recesses on the music wheel allows for organized and aligned placement of metal note balls in their proper recess locations on the carrier face. These columnar lettered funnel locations correspond to music note positions relative to the musical scale, The songbook is a graphical analog of the rows and columns on the radial face of the music wheel toy. A window opening in the housing is positioned to align with the sequentially numbered note rows on the carrier surface. When assembling a song, a plunger allows for controlled indexing and aligning of the receiving recesses with with funnel tubes from one numbered row to the next by means of a ratchet indexing system. A series of switch operators linked to a musical instrument are positioned near the carrier face and aligned with the note balls in the receiving recesses of the lettered note columns. When the motor is engaged the carrier face rotates and the metal note balls trigger the operators and the musical instrument produces the proper music note output for that lettered column. The sound tone can be changed to output various common instruments. By locating the notes in the song book to depict the matching notes on the carrier face of the toy, children can compose music. To begin assembling a new song, a magnetic removal wand is provided that quickly removes the metal note balls. This toy would allow for programming and then playing many songs. The lettered notes of the musical scale depicted in both the upper housing of the toy and the column headings of the songbook reveal a visual analog to the musical staff. The note spacing and general arrangment of each song provide a visual conception of musical measures and the basic numerical nature of musical time. Thus the toy would be an entertaining and useful musical teaching tool.
[0049] The above description has been that of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it will occur to those that practice the art that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. A number of different types of musical instruments may be employed including mechanical equivalents to the electronic device described herein. It will be recognized that the mechanically actuated electrical switches described may be substituted by other sensing mechanisms including photodiodes detecting reflected light or magnetic or eddy current-type detection systems as are well known in the art. In order to apprise the public of the various embodiments that may fall within the scope of the invention, the following claims are made.
