Magnetically coupled toy

A toy has a housing with a surface therein. Located underneath the surface is a pivot member which carries a carriage member thereon. The pivot member rotates about an axis of rotation, and the carriage member slides on the pivot member so as to move radially inwardly and outwardly from the axis of rotation. The carriage member carries a first magnet. An object carrying a second magnet is located on the top of the surface. Movement of the first magnet underneath the surface is communicated to the object on top of the surface via magnetic coupling between the two magnets. The combination of the rotational movement of the pivot member and the linear radial movement of the carriage member, results in complex movement of the object on the surface of the housing.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
This invention is directed to a toy wherein an object is magnetically 
coupled across a surface to a carriage which is movable both 
circumferentially and radially with respect to an axis of rotation. The 
invention utilizes a transfer member capable of transferring motion for 
radial movement of the carriage across the axis of rotation irrespective 
of the circumferential movement of the carriage. 
A variety of toys are known which utilize a first magnet located below a 
surface to move a second magnet or other magnetically susceptible material 
across the top of the surface. Normally the second magnet would be located 
within the object, such as a vehicle or the like, such that the vehicle or 
the like is seemingly moved across the surface without any visual coupling 
or controlling means for the vehicle. 
The earliest of these games simply had the first magnet below the surface 
move in a constant repetitive pathway. Recognizing the limitations of such 
repetitive movement, others have sought to sophisticate these toys 
allowing for movement in a more complex manner. In this regard, a variety 
of toys are known which utilize movement in both an X and Y direction 
which is accomplished by attaching the magnet to a support which is 
movable along mutually perpendicular axes by two control means. A first of 
these control means moves the support across the Y axis, and the second 
across the X axis. This dual control requires a great deal of coordination 
for the user of the toy, and as such, this type of toy is generally not 
suitable for use by young children. 
Other magnetically coupled toys have utilized tracks of complex shapes. The 
magnet located below the surface follows these complex shaped tracks. 
These, however, also are fixed with regard to the pattern of movement. A 
very similar type of toy utilizes a magnet attached to a flexible belt. 
The flexible belt can, of course, move through a variety of convolutions. 
But, as with tracks and the earlier toys, again, the pathway of movement 
is fixed. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the above, it is the broad object of this invention to provide a 
toy which utilizes a magnetic couple for movement of an object across a 
surface with the movement being directed via a moving carriage below the 
surface. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a 
magnetically coupled toy which allows for circumferential movement around 
an axis of rotation coupled with radial movement toward and away from the 
same axis of rotation. Additionally, it is an object of this invention to 
provide a toy which, because of the engineering principles incorporated 
therein, is susceptible to simple, efficient and economic construction and 
assembly, while still durable in use and economical in manufacture. 
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a toy which can 
provide for many hours of enjoyable use by the operator of the same. 
These and other objects, as will become evident from the remainder of this 
specification, are achieved in a toy which comprises a housing, said 
housing including a surface, said surface having an upper side and a lower 
side; at least one object, said object freely positionable on the upper 
side of said surface, said object including a first mangetic couple means, 
said first magnetic couple means for magnetically coupling with a further 
magnetic couple means; a pivot means rotatably mounted on said housing in 
association with said lower side of said surface, said pivot means 
rotatable about an axis of rotation below the lower side of said surface; 
pivot means control means located on said housing in operative association 
with said pivot means, said pivot means control means for rotating said 
pivot means about said axis of rotation; carriage means movably mounted on 
said pivot means so as to rotate with said pivot means and to move 
linearly along a path which is essentially radial with respect to said 
axis of rotation; carriage means control means operatively associated with 
said carriage means, said carriage means control means for linearly moving 
said carriage means on said pivot means; and said carriage means including 
a second magnetic couple means magnetically coupling with said first 
magnetic couple means through said surface whereby said object moves 
across the upper side of said surface in response to movement of said 
carriage means across said lower side of said surface, said object moving 
circumferentially in response to rotation of said pivot means about said 
axis of rotation and said object moving radially with respect to said axis 
of rotation in response to movement of said carriage means on said pivot 
means. 
Further, these objects are achieved, as are outlined in the preceding 
paragraph, when augmented by said pivot means control means including a 
pivot support member, at least a portion of said pivot support member 
being cylindrical in shape and positioned coaxial with said axis of 
rotation; said carriage means control means including a hollow cylindrical 
transfer member, said transfer member positioned around said cylindrical 
portion of said pivot support member and movable axially with respect to 
said axis of rotation; said carriage means control means further including 
a gear train means, said gear train means for transferring motion; said 
transfer member including a plurality of circular gear teeth 
circumferentially extending around the cylindrical surface of said 
transfer member and axially spaced with respect to one another; and said 
teeth on said transfer member operatively associated with said gear train 
so as to be movable by said gear train.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In FIG. 1 a toy 10 is shown. The toy 10 is generally flat in nature and 
sits on a table or the like. It includes a support surface 12 on which 
rests an object 14 shaped, for instance, like a truck. The truck 14 is 
magnetically coupled to other components, hereinafter explained, which are 
positioned below the surface 12. 
The operator of the toy 10 utilizes three controls during play with the toy 
10. These include a control wheel 16, a shifting knob 18, and a wind-up 
knob 20. Additionally, there are other fixed items located on the surface 
12 which are utilized in conjunction with the truck 14 during play. These, 
however, do not form a part of the invention, and as such, are not 
described. 
The wind-up knob 20 is utilized to energize a small spring wound motor 22 
seen in FIG. 6. The motor 22 is of standard construction and as such, a 
detailed explanation of it is not necessary for the understanding of this 
invention. It is simply the type of motor which can be wound by twisting 
its appropriate wind-up knob 20 so as to produce a rotary output at its 
output shaft 24. 
The shifting knob 18 has three positions. The central of these positions 
wherein a shifting knob 18 is essentially located vertically, is an off 
position. As hereinafter explained, when the shifting knob 18 is in this 
position, the output from the motor 22 is locked, and as such, during this 
time the motor 22 will not wind down or otherwise impart any motion to the 
truck 14. When the shifting lever 18 is pushed forward, the truck 14 will 
go counterclockwise around the surface 12. And when the shifting lever 18 
is pulled backward toward the operator of the toy, the truck 14 will go 
clockwise around the surface 12. 
The control wheel 16 is utilized for radially positioning the truck 14 away 
from and toward the center of the surface 12. If, for instance, the truck 
14 is going around in a clockwise direction close to the center abutment 
26 and the child playing with the toy 10 desires to move the truck 14 
outwardly toward the edge of the playing surface 12, the control wheel 16 
is turned clockwise, and in response thereto, the truck 14 moves outwardly 
from the center abutment 26. To move the truck 14 back toward the center 
abutment 26, as it goes around the center abutment either clockwise or 
counterclockwise, the control wheel 16 is moved in the opposite direction. 
In playing with the toy 10, the child first winds the motor 22 utilizing 
the wind-up knob 20. This is best done when the shift lever 18 is in the 
vertical or locked position. As explained previously, to move the truck 14 
inwardly or outwardly, radially from the center abutment 26, the control 
wheel 16 is turned. To change direction of the truck 14 from a clockwise 
to a counterclockwise, or vice versa, the shift lever 18 is utilized, 
either pushing it forward or pulling it backward. To stop movement of the 
truck 14 anytime, the shift lever 18 is simply positioned in the central 
or stop position. 
The truck 14 has a small magnet 28 located centrally in its undercarriage 
in line with the front wheel of the truck 14. This can be seen in FIG. 5. 
A second magnet, magnet 30, which is shown in both FIGS. 2 and 5, is 
located underneath the surface 12 within the interior of housing 32 of the 
toy 10. The surface 12 is formed of a magnetic transparent material such 
as plastic or the like. This allows the lines of force from the magnet 30 
to interact with the magnet 28 so as to magnetically couple the magnet 28 
to the magnet 30. Because of this, the magnet 28 will follow the movement 
of the magnet 30 and the truck 14 will be moved over the upper side of the 
surface 12 in response to movement of the magnet 30 adjacent to the lower 
side of the surface 12. 
The magnet 30 is located on one end of an elongated carriage member 34. In 
turn, the carriage member 34 is carried on a pivot member 36. The pivot 
member 36 rotates about an axis of rotation which is located below the 
center abutment 26. The carriage member 34 moves linearly back and forth 
on the pivot member 36. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the carriage member 34 
is located just in front of the center line which would constitute the 
axis of rotation. The carriage member 34 does not move directly, radially, 
right through the center line, but, in fact, is slightly displaced off 
center to this center line. For all practical purposes, however, movement 
of the carriage member 34 linearly back and forth across the pivot member 
36 would be considered as radial to the axis of rotation of the pivot 
member 36. 
A small boss 38 is formed in the bottom surface of the housing 32. A 
central shaft 40 fits within this boss 38 and is supported by the boss 38. 
Fitting around the shaft 40 is a pivot support member 42. The pivot 
support member 42 has a crown gear 44 intrically formed at its bottommost 
component. It includes a cylindrical collar 46 which fits around the shaft 
40. The top of the cylindrical collar 46 is notched so as to mate with a 
cylindrical extension 48 which extends downwardly from pivot member cap 
50. 
The pivot member 36 is attached to the pivot member cap 50 by appropriate 
screws (not separately shown or numbered) which pass through the cap and 
then into the pivot member 36. Thus, the pivot member 36 is suspended from 
the cap 50 with the cap 50 resting via the cylindrical extension 48 on 
through the pivot member 42. Because of the interlocking of the end of the 
cylindrical extension 48, with the top of the cylindrical collar 46, 
rotation of the pivot support member 42 is transferred to the cap 50, 
which in turn transfers it to the pivot member 36. 
As seen in FIG. 6, a crown gear 52 is attached to the motor output shaft 
24. An elongated pinon 54 is fixed to a shaft 56 which is journalled 
within the housing 32. Fixed to the other end of shaft 56 is an elongated 
pinon 58. The elongated pinon 58 meshes with the crown gear 44 formed on 
the pivot support member 42. 
Fixed to the shaft 56, inbetween the pinons 54 and 58, is a bushing 60. The 
bushing 60 fits within a small bearing case 62 which is formed as an 
extension of a slide member 64. Also, formed as a part of the slide member 
64 is a spring arm 66, the end of which engages a convoluted web 68 which 
extends upwardly from the bottom of the housing 32. There are three 
convolutions in the web 68 corresponding to the clockwise, the lock, and 
the counterclockwise positions of the shifting lever 18. 
The shifting lever 18 extends downwardly toward the slide member 64. The 
shifting lever 18 is a first class lever, and is journalled near its 
center on axle 70(?). The bottom end of shifting lever 18 engages the 
slide member 64. If the exposed portion of the shifting lever 18, which is 
viewable in FIG. 1, is pushed forward, rotation of the shifting lever 18 
about the axle 70 is transferred to the slide member 64 so as to pull the 
slide member 64 backward (to the left as seen in FIG. 2). This moves the 
bearing case 62 backward and it, in turn, engages the bushing 60 so as to 
slide the bushing 60 and the shaft 56, to which it is attached, also to 
the left in FIG. 2. If the exposed end of the shifting lever 18 is pulled 
back toward the operator of the toy, as seen in FIG. 1, its bottom end 
moves forward. This causes the slide member 64 to move, as seen in FIG. 2, 
to the right hand most notch in the web 68. In turn, this movement is 
communicated via the bearing case 62 to the bushing 60 and the shaft 56. 
When the shifting lever 18 is vertical, the slide member 64 is positioned 
as seen in FIG. 2. 
The output of the motor 22 is in a constant direction. As the shaft 56 is 
slid to the left and right as seen in FIG. 2, because of movement of the 
bushing 60, it positions the pinon 54 such that it engages either the 
right hand side of crown gear 52 as seen in solid line in FIG. 6, engages 
both the right and left hand sides of the crown gear 52 when the pinon 54 
straddles the crown gear 52, or engages the left hand side of the crown 
gear 52 as seen in phantom line in FIG. 6. Because the pinon 58 is 
elongated, irrespective of the position of the pinon 54, pinon 58 is 
always engaged with the crown gear 44. As seen in solid line in FIG. 6, 
positioning of the pinon 54 would result in rotation of the crown gear 44 
and the pivot member 36, ultimately attached thereto, in one direction. 
And position of the pinon 54, in phantom line, would result in rotation of 
the pivot member 36 in the opposite direction. Positioning of the pinon 54 
so it engages both sides of the crown gear 52, locks the crown gear 52, 
which in turn locks the motor 22 to prevent it from unwinding. 
In response to rotation of the motor 22, motion is transferred via the gear 
train (comprised of the crown gear 52, the pinon 54, the shaft 56, the 
pinon 58, and the crown gear 44) to rotate the pivot member 36 and the 
carriage member 34, which is carried by the pivot member 36. A small wheel 
72, which is journalled to the pivot member 36, rides across the underside 
of the surface 12 contributing to smooth rotation of the pivot member 32 
below the surface 12. 
Movement of the carriage member 34 across the pivot member 36 is effected 
as follows. As seen in FIG. 4, the control wheel 16 is journalled in the 
housing 32 and includes a crown gear 74 as its lower most component. The 
crown gear 74 meshes with a pinon 76 which is carried on a shaft 78. A 
bushing 80 fixed to the shaft 78, and a second bushing 82, also fixed to 
the shaft 78, have the pinon 76 and a spring 84 located between them. The 
spring 84, pushing against the bushing 80, drives the pinon 76 against the 
bushing 82 to provide a frictional engagement between the pinon 76 and the 
bushing 82 such that the rotation of the pinon 76 by the control wheel 16 
is transferred to the shaft 78 to rotate the same. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, on the end of shaft 78 is a further pinon 
86. The pinon 86 is positioned so as to engage a transfer member 88. The 
transfer member 88 is formed as a hollow elongated cylinder and fits 
around the cylindrical collar 46 and the cylindrical extension 48 of the 
pivot support member 42 and the pivot cap member 50 respectively. The 
transfer member 88, while fitting around the cylindrical collar 46 and the 
cylindrical extension 48, does not rotate in conjunction with it. The fit 
between these components is a loose fit such that movement of the transfer 
member 88 is not communicated to the cylindrical collar 46 or the 
cylindrical extension 48, and vice versa. 
The transfer member 88 has a plurality of circular extending gear teeth, 
collectively identified by the numeral 90. Each of the teeth 90 is 
independent, that is, there is not one continuous thread as with a worm 
gear, but, instead, a plurality of independent circular extending ridges 
on the transfer member 88 forming the individual gear teeth 90. The pinon 
86 meshes with the gear teeth 90. Rotation of the pinon 86, whether it be 
clockwise or counterclockwise, depending upon the direction of rotation of 
the control wheel 16, raises and lowers the transfer member 88. Since the 
gear teeth 90 are each independently existing ridges on the transfer 
member 88, even if the transfer member 88 was rotated by any kind of 
frictional engagement between it and the cylindrical collar 46 and the 
cylindrical extension 48, its vertical placement, as determined by 
rotation of the pinon 86, would remain constant, in that the same gear 
tooth 90 would ride at all times within its appropriate gear teeth on the 
pinon 86. Because of this, the pivot member 36 can rotate around the 
transfer member 88 with the rotation of the pivot member 36 and its 
rotational displacement with respect to the surface 12 totally independent 
of the vertical positioning of the transfer member 88. 
A pinon 92, formed intrically with a spur gear 94, is journalled within the 
pivot member 36 such that the pinon 92 meshes with the transfer member 88. 
As the transfer member 88 is raised or lowered depending upon rotation of 
the pinon 86, ultimately determined by the rotation of the control wheel 
16, the pinon 92 and the spur gear 94 are rotated. The spur gear 94 meshes 
with a pinon 96 which is fixed to a shaft 98. On the other end of the 
shaft 98 is a spur gear 100. 
The carriage member 34 includes a rack of gears 102 on its upper surface. 
The spur gear 100 meshes with the rack of gears 102. In response to 
rotation of the spur gear 100, the carriage member 34 is slid backward and 
forward on the pivot member 36. Thus, in response to rotation of the 
control wheel 16, the pinon 86 ultimately raises or lowers the transfer 
member 88, and it, in turn, rotates the gear train composed of gears 92, 
94, 96, and 98, to move the gear rack 102 and to slide the carriage member 
34. 
The pivot member 36 includes two side flanges, collectively identified by 
the numeral 104, which fit over the carriage member 36. This, in 
conjunction with an upstanding web 106, holds the slide member 64 in 
position, allowing it to slide backward and forward across the horizontal 
extension 108 of the pivot member 36. The horizontal extension 108 and the 
side flanges 104 and the web 106 serve as a track for the linear back and 
forth sliding of the carriage member 34 on the pivot member 36. 
It is evident that since the pivot member 36 rotates independent of the 
sliding action on it of the carriage member 34, the magnet 30 can be 
simultaneously rotated about the axis of rotation passing through the 
shaft 40, as well as radially moved toward and away from it. The pivot 
member 36 can be rotated without sliding movement of the carriage member 
34 and vice versa. The carriage member 34 can be slid on the pivot member 
36 without rotation of the pivot member 36. Alternately, both of these can 
move simultaneously. This allows for a complex movement of the truck 14 
across the surface 12. The truck 14 can either go in a circle, or move 
directly radially outward, from or toward the center abutment 26, or it 
can move in a helical manner utilizing both the radial and the circular 
movement simultaneously.