Abstract:
A sound generating attachment for a slide of the type having an inclined sliding surface, a pair of raised sidewalls at opposite sides of said surface and a handrail extending up from one of the sidewalls. The attachment includes a weather-resistant housing having a top wall, a bottom wall and an end wall and a clamp for releasably attaching the housing to a slide sidewall. An electronic sound generator in the housing emits a plurality of different sound message a rotatable and depressable control knob projecting from the housing top wall is turned and pressed by a child using the slide.

Description:
This invention relates to children&#39;s slides. It relates more particularly to a slide attachment in the nature of an electronic sound generator which can be activated by a child using the slide. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As is well known, a children&#39;s slide comprises an elongated sliding surface having one end which is supported well above the ground and a second end located close to the ground. A child may climb to the elevated end and slide down the sliding surface in a s sitting, prone or supine position, exiting the slide at ground level. Frequently, such slides are incorporated into children&#39;s gym sets, swing sets and the like. 
     Over time, some children become bored because of the repetitiveness of this play activity. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to introduce an element of variety into the act of sliding down a children&#39;s slide in order to maintain the child&#39;s interest. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sound generator attachment for a children&#39;s slide which can be activated by a child using a slide to maintain the child&#39;s level of interest during repeated uses of the slide. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide such an attachment which can be controlled by the child to produce a wide variety of different sounds as the child slides down the slide. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a sound generator attachment such as this which is easy to operate even by small children. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a sound generator attachment for a children&#39;s slide which is completely self-contained and weatherproof. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a battery-operated sound generator of this type which can be retrofit to many existing children&#39;s slides. 
     Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter. 
     The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 
     Briefly, the electronic sound generator attachment comprises a rigid, weather-resistant housing which can be releasably attached to the hand rail at the top of a typical children&#39;s slide. The housing is shaped to rest on a slide sidewall away from the sliding surface so that it does not interfere with a child using the slide. Yet, the attachment is readily accessible to that child so that he/she can easily activate the device at the beginning of each slide run. 
     A large control knob projects from the top of the housing. This knob may be pushed by a child to activate an electronic sound generator or voice box within the housing so that a voice message and/or sound emanates from the housing. The knob can also be turned between a plurality of set positions to select between a number of different message and/or sounds stored by the electronic voice box. Thus, by rotating the control knob to a selected angular position and depressing the knob, the attachment can be caused to emit a selected voice message and/or sound as the child launches him/herself down the slide. 
     As will be seen presently, the sound generator attachment is relatively simple to make and to assemble and the electronic components of the device are well protected by the housing from rain, wind and weather. Therefore, the sound generator attachment should have a relatively long useful life. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a children&#39;s slide incorporating the electronic sound generator attachment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view on a much larger scale with parts broken away showing the internal components of the FIG. 1 sound generator in greater detail, and 
     FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the sound generator. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 shows the subject sound generator attachment generally at  10  installed on a typical children&#39;s slide  12  having a sliding surface  12   a , bounded at its opposite sides by raised sidewalls  12   b  outfitted with hand rails  14  which project up from the sidewalls  12   b  at the top of the slide. As shown in FIG. 1, the sound generator attachment  10  is releasably clamped to the leg of one of the hand rails  14  so that the device rests horizontally on the top of the corresponding sidewall  12   b  away from the sliding surface  12   a  of the slide. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, attachment  10  comprises an elongated, rigid, weatherproof resistant plastic housing  20  having a top wall  20   a , a bottom wall  20   b , a relatively straight sidewall  20   c  and a curved sidewall  20   d . Top wall  20   a  is provided with a large circular opening  22  which is surrounded by a raised rib  24 . The bottom wall  20   b  is formed with a depending cup-like protuberance  26  adjacent to one end of the bottom wall. That protuberance defines a well  28  inside the housing. Vertical slots  32  are formed in the sidewall of protuberance  26  all around the protuberance. 
     Housing bottom wall  20   b  also contains a generally rectangular opening  34  which provides access to a recessed battery compartment  36  formed in bottom wall  20   b . That opening  34  is closed by a removable cover  38  which may be secured in the closed position by a fastener  42  as is well known from conventional, battery-operated toys, games, etc. 
     If desired, the housing bottom wall  20   b  may be separable from the remainder of the housing to provide access to the interior of the housing in order to assemble and/or repair various internal components of the attachment  10 . 
     Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the end of housing  20  remote from the protuberance  26  is provided with an end wall  20   e  which is inwardly curved semicylindrically in order to wrap part way around a leg of hand rail  14  (FIG.  1 ). This allows attachment  10  to be positioned on the underlying sidewall  12   b  of the slide  12  as shown in FIG. 1 so that the housing end wall  20   e  butts up against the leg of the hand rail  14 . The recess  44  is oriented and the protuberance  26  is dimensioned so that when the attachment is so positioned on the slide wall  12   b , the housing top wall  20   a  is more or less horizontal as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     The housing  20  may be releasably attached to the hand rail  14  by a bracket  46  having a semi-cylindrical recess  48  which is a mirror-image of recess  44  thereby allowing the bracket to wrap around the hand rail and mate with the housing endwall  20   e . The bracket may be releasably secured to housing  20  by a pair of fasteners  52  which extend through recessed openings  54  in the retainer on opposite sides of the hand rail leg and are turned down into threaded holes in the housing endwall  20   e.    
     Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawing, housing  20  contains a printed circuit board  62  which is spaced below housing top wall  20   a  by stand-offs  64  to which it is secured by threaded fasteners  66 . The circuit board contains a small circular hole  68  which is centered below the opening  22  in the housing top wall  20   a . Hole  68  is designed to receive the stem  72   a  of a large control knob  72  which projects up through the opening  22  in the housing top wall. A coil spring  74  encircles stem  72   a  and is compressed between the underside of the control knob  72  and circuit board  62  thereby urging the control button along an axis A away from the circuit board. A peripheral flange  72   b  at the lower edge of knob  72  limits the upward motion of the control knob. 
     As best seen in FIG. 2, an arm  76  extends radially out from the control knob stem  72   a  between the underside of the control knob and printed circuit board  62 . When the control knob is in its stable extended or raised position shown in FIG. 2, arm  76  is spaced away from printed circuit board  62 . On the other hand, when control knob  72  is depressed in opposition to the bias of spring  74 , the arm  76  is located closer to circuit board  62 . In addition to its ability to be moved vertically along axis A, the control knob  72  can be rotated about that axis A so that its arm  76  can be rotated to various selected positions about the axis A. If desired, these various angular positions can be predetermined by providing a circular array of interfitting radial ribs on the top of the button flange  72   b  and on the underside of housing top wall  20   a  around opening  22  therein (not shown). 
     Also contained in housing  20  is a control circuit  82  in the form of a printed circuit board supported on standoffs  84  by the top wall of the battery receptacle  36  and a small audio speaker  88  mounted to the underside of the circuit board  62  such that the speaker cone  88   a  projects down into the well  28  defined by the protuberance  26 . A suitable speaker is a 2½ inch speaker adapted for outdoor applications. 
     The various electrical components of the sound generator attachment are energized by current from batteries  92  in the battery receptacle  36  which may be accessed by removing door  38  as described above. Typically, attachment  10  utilizes three C-type batteries. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the printed circuit board  62  carries a plurality of switches  94  disposed in a circle about the hole  68  in the circuit board. In the illustrated attachment, there are five switches  94  located at switch positions bearing the numbers 1 to 5. Each switch comprises a stationary contact  94   a  connected by a common conductor  95  to control circuit  82  and a leaf spring-type moving contact  94   b  having a free end overlying the contact  94   a  and a fixed end connected by a conductor  96  to control circuit  82 . Normally, the free end of the contact  94   b  of each switch  94  is spaced above the corresponding fixed contact  94   a . However, when the control knob  72  is turned to position its arm  76  above that switch  94  and the knob  72  is depressed, the arm  76  will push contact  94   b  into engagement with the underlying contact  94   a  thereby completing a circuit between the two conductors  95  and  96  associated with that activated switch  94 . 
     Control circuit  82  receives power from batteries  92  via positive and negative contacts  102  and  104 , respectively, in the battery receptacle  36 , those contacts being connected to control circuit  82  by electrical conductors  108  and  110 , respectively. 
     Control circuit  82  is basically a printed circuit card or board of a known type incorporated into talking toys. In other words, it contains the necessary memory chip  82   a , D/A converter  82   b  and the other supporting electrical components to deliver audio signals to the speaker  88  so that the speaker emits voice messages and/or sounds corresponding to the data stored by the chip. In the present attachment  10 , control circuit  82  can produce five different sounds or messages depending upon which one of the switches  94  is closed by the control knob  72 . For example, when the control button  72  is turned to switch position No.  1  and depressed to close the associated switch  94 , control circuit  82  may deliver audio signals to speaker  88  causing the speaker to sound the message “3-2-1 . . . Blast Off” accompanied by the roar of a rocket engine which fades over time. On the other hand, when the control knob is turned to switch position No.  2  and depressed, the sound-generator attachment may sound “On Your Mark . . . Get Set . . . Go . . . ” accompanied by a cheering noise which fades over time. Activating the attachment at switch position No.  3  may produce a cartoon-like whistle with ascending frequency followed by a “Boing” sound. Other possibilities are the sound of race cars approaching, passing and departing, a jet plane doing a slow fly-by, police/fire sirens approaching, passing and fading away. The illustrated attachment  10  produces voice/sound messages at a frequency of 22 kHz for about 6 seconds at a decibel rating of about 115 dB. 
     The sound-generating attachment described herein should prove to be a very marketable toy item. It adds to the enjoyment of children using a slide. Also, it is a relatively easy and inexpensive device to make in quantity and should operate reliably for a prolonged period, even when exposed to the weather. In this connection, it should be noted that normally the control knob  72  is in its raised position illustrated in FIG.  2 . Therefore, rain or moisture is prevented from entering the housing  20  through the opening  22  because the knob lip  72   d  presses up against the underside of the housing top wall  20   a  providing a sliding seal all around the button opening  22 . However, if rainwater should enter the housing  20 , it would drop down into the housing well  28  and drain therefrom through the slots  32 . 
     It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above description, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein.