Spaceship type toy

A spaceship type toy is disclosed employing a lower base assembly, a duct, and a generally spherical toy space capsule closely received by the tube. A fan assembly within the base provides air pressure to the lower portion of the duct which, when sufficiently great, causes the toy capsule to translate within the tube, thus simulating space travel over a limited distance. By providing an adjustable electrical power supply to the fan assembly, the position of the capsule within the tube can be controlled by the user. In accordance with another feature of this invention, within the capsule is a seat which supports a toy astronaut figure. This seat can be rotated between two positions, which causes an electrical switching action upon a visual display within the spacecraft. The toy astronaut figure chair is further movable to expose a battery compartment within the spacecraft. Additional embodiments of this invention include a modified tube structure enabling a pair of base and fan assemblies to be connected at each end, thereby providing control over the movement of the capsule from one point to another.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a toy, and particularly, to a fantasy toy 
simulating a spaceship. 
Toys are often used by children and adults as a means of occupying leisure 
time, to develop creativity, and as teaching aids. Certain types of toys 
may be termed fantasy toys since they permit the user to enact situations 
which they otherwise could not (or should not) partake in, such as outer 
space, western or warfare adventures. For these types of toys, it is 
desirable to provide a central object with which toy figures are used. It 
is further desirable to provide some type of activity, such as movement or 
visual displays to further interest the user. 
In view of the foregoing, it is a principal object of this invention to 
provide a spaceship type toy which employs a toy space capsule which is 
controllably movable. It is a further object of this invention to provide 
a toy space capsule which includes an internally positioned toy astronaut 
figure and a number of visual displays simulating an operational 
spaceship. It is another object of this invention to provide a means for 
controlling the movement of the toy space capsule. It is yet another 
object of this invention to provide a spaceship type toy assembly which 
can be compactly packaged, thereby providing good shipping and storage 
efficiency. 
The above principal aspects of this invention are provided by a spaceship 
type toy having a generally spherical toy space capsule which is closely 
received by an elongated transparent tube. The tube has an enclosed lower 
end where it is attached to a base assembly. Within the base assembly is a 
fan assembly which provides positive air pressure to the lower end of the 
tube, thus causing the space capsule to become suspended within the tube. 
The fan assembly is energized by a variable output power supply, enabling 
the user to control the position of the capsule within the tube. In 
accordance with alternate embodiments of this invention, the tube 
structure can be elongated and formed into loops or other configurations 
with base assemblies positioned at each end. When both of the fan 
assemblies are independently controlled, the position of the capsule can 
be controlled by the users. 
Additional features of this invention include a novel configuration for a 
toy space capsule having a toy astronaut seat which, when moved between 
two positions, controls a visual display. The toy astronaut seat is 
further movable to provide access to a battery compartment within the 
capsule. 
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become 
apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from 
the subsequent description of the preferred embodiments of this invention 
and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying 
drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
A spaceship type toy according to this invention is shown particularly by 
FIG. 1 and is generally designated by reference character 10. The toy 
comprises a central assembly surrounded by platform 12 which includes a 
plurality of legs 14 and circumferntially oriented rails 16. Ladder 18 is 
positioned near platform 12 so that toy figures (not shown) may be caused 
to climb the ladder and may be positioned on platform 12 during use of the 
toy. The central assembly is shown particularly by FIG. 2 and includes 
base assembly 20 having upper base portion 22 and lower base portion 24. 
An elongated cylindrical transparent tube 26 is attached to upper base 
portion 24 by flange 28. A substantially spherical shaped spacecraft 30 is 
inserted within tube 26 and normally resides in the lower position 
illustrated by solid lines in FIG. 2. FIG. 3, which is a top view of upper 
base portion 22, shows outlet screen 32 fixed to the upper base portion. 
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the base assembly 20 and shows inlet screen 34, 
foot pegs 35 and power supply lead 36. 
The internal components of base assembly 20 are shown particularly by FIG. 
5. Within lower base portion 24 is bottom panel 38 which supports foot 
pegs 35 and defines central aperture 40. Upper and lower base portions 22 
and 24 are formed from inverted half-spheres which are joined by collar 42 
and define a central aperture 44. Disposed between apertures 40 and 44 is 
fan duct assembly 46. Fan duct assembly 46 is made up of two telescopingly 
interfitting duct portions, upper duct portion 48 and lower duct portion 
50. Within duct portion 50 is disposed fan assembly 52 comprising electric 
motor 54 which is positioned by supports 56 and which is connected to 
axial flow fan 58 by shaft 60. Supports 56 are preferably designed such as 
not to impose a significant airflow restriction within the annular cavity 
around electric motor 54. Fan assembly 52, as shown, is of the type 
normally used within currently available portable electric hair dryers. 
Upper duct portion 48 telescopes within lower duct portion 50 such that 
fan duct assembly 46 extends between apertures 50 and 44. At each end of 
fan duct assembly 46 are screens which prevent ingestion of large 
particles and prevent access to the moving fan. Outlet screen 32 is 
located at the upper end of fan duct assembly 46, whereas inlet screen 34 
is disposed at the bottom portion of the fan duct assembly. Power supply 
leads 36 provide electrical current to motor 54. Motor 54 is preferably of 
the universal variety which may be speed modulated by providing a variable 
voltage DC power supply. 
In operation, rotation of axial flow fan 58 causes air to flow into inlet 
screen 34 and out from outlet screen 32, thus increasing the air pressure 
in upper base portion 22. When sufficient air pressure is provided, toy 
space capsule 30 is caused to translate vertically upward. This motion 
occurs when the difference in air pressure between the upper and lower 
portions of the capsule, which when acting on the cross-sectional area of 
the capsule, produces a force which exceeds the weight of the capsule. As 
shown in FIG. 2, capsule 30 may be caused to rise within tube 26 until the 
position shown in phantom lines is reached. Unless fan assembly 52 has an 
extremely high air flow capability, the upper position of capsule 36 shown 
by FIG. 2 is the highest position which the capsule can rise to, since the 
output of the blower assembly is no longer confined above the end of tube 
26. A small annular gap is preferably provided between capsule 30 and the 
inner diameter of tube 26. This annular gap provides a degree of 
controlled air leakage which enables control over the vertical position of 
capsule 30. 
It is within the scope of this invention to provide alternate means for 
providing air pressure to upper base portion 22. For example, a manually 
energized fan assembly could be installed within base assembly 20. For 
such a design, modulation of air pressure could be achieved by the speed 
at which a crank handle is rotated. 
Details of construction of toy space capsule 30 are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 
Capsule 30 is formed by two half-sphere shell portions 62 and 64 which may 
be connected by hinge 65. These shell portions are held together by a 
flange fitting (not shown) therebetween. Upper space capsule portion 62 is 
preferably made of a transparent material so that components within the 
capsule are visible. Lower capsule portion 64 includes bulkhead panel 66. 
Bulkhead panel 66 is decorated to resemble the interior of a spacecraft, 
including a number of gauge readouts and simulated instrumentation. A 
number of visual display light panels are provided, 68, 70 and 72, which, 
when activated, preferably cause a number of lights to blink 
intermittently or provide a random display output. Light display panels 68 
and 70 preferably include a number of individual light bulbs 69 and are 
controlled by switches 76 and 78, which are preferably of the push-type 
and which are decorated with simulated laser or projectile guns. 
Supported by lower spacecraft portion 64 is toy astronaut figure 80 
positioned within seat 82. Seat 82 is hinged for rotation with respect to 
bulkhead panel 66 about pivot pin 84. Beneath seat 82 is battery 
compartment 86 which provides a location for mounting of conventional 
batteries. The position of seat 82 is established by latch 88 which 
permits the seat to be moved between two positions. Movement between these 
two positions also causes current flow to display panel 72 to be supplied 
or interrupted as desired. The switching feature results from the location 
of electrical contacts 90 and 92, such that when the seat is in its 
lowermost position, the contacts cause the electric circuit with display 
panel 72 to be closed, thereby activating visual display 72. Latch 88 
includes a protruding engaging portion 94 which fits within notch 96 of 
seat 82. By slightly deflecting latch 88, thereby withdrawing engaging 
portion 94 from notch 96, the seat may be moved to a new rotated position 
where the latch engages notch 97 and electrical contacts 90 and 92 become 
separated. Thus, movement of seat 82 between positions wherein engaging 
portion 94 engages notch 96 or 97 produces a switching effect upon visual 
display 72. By rotating seat 82 as full as possible to the position 
indicated by phantom lines in FIG. 7, access to battery compartment 86 is 
provided, thereby permitting removal and replacement of battery 87. In 
order to ensure that capsule 30 assumes the desired positioning within 
tube 26, such that upper spacecraft portion 62 is normally above lower 
spacecraft portion 64, it is necessary to orient the components within 
capsule 30 in such a way that the center of gravity of the capsule is 
located below the plane separating the upper and lower capsule portions. 
FIG. 8 provides a schematic diagram of variable power supply system 99 
preferably employed to energize electric motor 54. An AC power source 98 
is conducted through stepdown transformer 100 to full wave bridge 
rectifier 102. The output of rectifier 102 is varied by passing it through 
variable resistance reostat 104. This arrangement provides a means for 
adjusting the electrical energy and consequently the air pressure acting 
upon capsule 30 to be adjustable. Numerous other types of power supplies 
could, of course, be used. 
FIG. 9 illustrates a preferred orientation of the components of toy 10 for 
most efficient packaging. As shown, base assembly 20 is first inverted and 
tube 26 is slid over the base assembly. In order that tube 26 may 
accommodate base assembly 20 in this manner, it is necessary to design 
lower base portion 24 so that its outside diameter is less than the inside 
diameter of the tube. Next, capsule 30 is positioned to rest on foot pegs 
35. Sufficient space is provided around foot pegs 35 to allow power supply 
lead 36 to be coiled in that area. Platform 12 is then placed around tube 
26 and may be inverted as shown by FIG. 9. Improvements in packaging 
efficiency results from designing legs 14 so that they are retractable or 
detachable. 
Another form of this invention is shown by FIG. 10. This second embodiment 
employs another configuration for tube 126. This tube 126 forms an 
inverted "U" configuration permitting a pair of base assemblies 20 to be 
used to control the position of the spacecraft 30. Movement of capsule 30 
results when the air pressure exerted by one fan assembly 52 exceed that 
exerted by the other. This configuration permits the users to enact 
situations wherein a toy astronaut travels from one "space station" to 
another. For this embodiment, tube 126 is fabricated by attaching a number 
of tube segments together. Due to this construction, various shapes of 
tube layouts could be assembled. 
FIG. 11 illustrates another means for attaching tube 126 to upper base 
portion 22. As illustrated, a resilient latch 106 is attached to tube 126 
by mechanical fasteners 108. By deflecting latch 106, engaging portion 110 
is caused to be withdrawn from bore 112 of upper base portion 22, enabling 
the tube to be slid with respect to base assembly 20. 
While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiments of the 
present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is 
susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from 
the proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims.