Patent Publication Number: US-6042446-A

Title: Perking turkey paddle

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of toys and more particularly to toys that simulate pecking birds. 
     Zobrist, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,2834,151 describes a pecking bird toy which is actuated by a ball falling under the influence of gravity through a ladder-like device. Kuenz in U.S. Pat. No. 1,506,126 describes a paddle shaped toy having pecking birds on its top surface which is actuated by swinging a counter weight. Kuenz&#39; toy is difficult and possibly hazardous for small children to play with. Zobrist&#39;s toy is not based on a paddle and requires little skill to manipulate. 
     Development of a pecking bird toy which can be manipulated with a modicum of skill and yet be non-hazardous for small children represents a great improvement in the field of toys and satisfies a long felt need of parents and small children. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a pecking bird toy comprising: a hollow paddle portion, a pecking bird portion and a ball. The hollow paddle portion has a handle and an interior circular raceway. The pecking bird portion is mounted on the top of the hollow paddle. The pecking bird portion includes a body with a cavity in its lower portion, a head and neck part, and a mechanism which imparts a pecking motion to the head and neck part. The head and neck is pivotally mounted within the cavity. The mechanism is pivotally attached to the end of the head and neck part and includes an actuating pin, with a shallow head, extending through the top of the hollow handle portion into the raceway. The ball is trapped within the raceway as the hollow handle portion is assembled. The invention is designed so that the raceway has a width slightly larger than the diameter of the ball and the distance between the head and the bottom of the raceway is less than the diameter of the ball. 
     When the hollow paddle portion is tilted via the handle, the ball can be caused to circulate around the raceway causing the actuating pin to be periodically lifted. As the ball moves on, the actuating pin immediately falls under the influence of gravity. In consequence, the mechanism causes the pivoting head and neck part to simulate a pecking motion. 
     The head of the actuating pin is usually designed as a truss head. Thus the ball can lift the actuating pin whether it circulates in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Alternatively, one side of the head can be truncated which will allow the ball to lift the actuating pin from one direction only. 
     An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention and an understanding of it may be achieved by referring to the accompanying drawings and description of a preferred embodiment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a side view of the bird body of this invention. 
     FIG. 1B is a bottom of view of the bird body of this invention. 
     FIG. 1C is a front view of the bird body of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the bird neck of this invention. 
     FIG. 3A is a side view of the actuating pin of this invention. 
     FIG. 3B is a top view of the actuating pin of this invention. This view illustrates an alternate, truncated head version of the actuating pin. 
     FIG. 4A is a side view of the sleeve of this invention. 
     FIG. 4B is a top view of the sleeve of this invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembled pecking bird of this invention. 
     FIG. 6A is a top view of the bottom section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 6B is a side view of the bottom section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 7A is a top view of the top section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 7B is a side view of the top section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 8A is a top view of the middle section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 8B is a side view of the middle section of the paddle portion of this invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional view of the fully assembled invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view along the curved line 10--10 of FIG. 9. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     This invention 12 comprises three main parts: a pecking bird 74 (see FIGS. 1-5), a hollow paddle 138 (See FIGS. 6-9) and a ball 146 (see FIG. 10). FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate the bird body 10 of this invention 12. As shown on these Figures, the body 10 has a rectangular cavity 14 extending part way through it and open to the bottom 18. Holes 22 for accepting a pivot pin traverse the fingers 26 which remain on each side of the cavity 14. In these Figures, the bird body 10 is made to resemble a turkey. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the head and neck part 30 of this invention 12. The head and neck part 30 has said a stylized bird head 34 attached to an elongated arm 38. The arm 38 has several pivot holes, a first one 42 almost at the end 86 and a second one 46 part way along its length. 
     FIG. 3A is a side view of the actuating pin 50 of this invention 12. The actuating pin 50 has a shallow curved head 54 and a shank 58 with a clevis 62 at one end. A pivot hole 66 traverses the clevis 62. 
     FIG. 3B is a top view of the actuating pin 50 of this invention 12. This view illustrates an alternate, truncated head 56 version of the actuating pin 50. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the sleeve 70 of this invention 12. The sleeve 70 is essentially a short piece of tubing. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembled pecking bird 74 of this invention 12. The sleeve 70 is attached to the bottom 18 of the body 10. The head and neck part 30 is inserted into the cavity 14 where it is attached by a first pivot pin 78 inserted through the second hole 46 in the elongated arm 38 and the holes 22 through fingers 26 of the body 10. The actuating pin 50 is inserted through the sleeve 70 and the clevis 62 is attached to the end 82 of the elongated arm 38 by second pivot pin 86. It will be obvious that the bird&#39;s head 34 will pivot down as the actuating pin S0 is pushed up and then will elevate as the actuating pin 50 falls back down under the influence of gravity. By well known principles of physics, the mechanism 30, 50, 78, 86 that causes the bird 74 to peck is adjusted so that small movements in the actuating pin 50 cause large movements in the head 34. 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the bottom section 90 of the hollow paddle 138 (see FIG. 9 for assembly) of this invention 12. The bottom section 90 has a flat plate 94 with a circular wall 98 attached to its top surface 102. From the top, the flat plate 94 looks like disk with an appended tab. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the top section 106 of the hollow paddle 138 of this invention 12. The top section has a flat plate 108 with a number of support posts 110 attached to its top surface 114, in a circular pattern, close to its periphery 18. Inward of the posts 110 are a number of holes 122 of diameter larger than that of the actuating pin 50. The bottom flat plate 94 and the top flat plate 108 are the same size and shape. 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate of the middle section 126 of the hollow paddle 138 of this invention 12. The middle section 126 is essentially a circular wall 130 with an appended handle 134. When the top section 106 and bottom section 90 are fastened to the middle section 126, typically with screws, an annular race way (see FIG. 10) is formed within the hollow paddle 138. The wall 98 of the bottom section 90 and the wall 130 of the middle section 126 are the same height. 
     FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional view of the fully assembled invention 12. A pecking bird 74 is attached as shown to each support post 110. Each sleeve 70 is also attached to the top 1114. In this Figure, the hollow paddle 138 is shown fully assembled. 
     FIG. 10 illustrates how each actuating pin 50 passes through a hole 122 in the top flat plate 108. It can be seen that the head 56 of the actuating pin 50 extends part way in to the raceway 142. A ball 146 of the appropriate size and weight is introduced into the raceway 142 before the paddle section 138 is fully assembled. In this way, as the paddle section 138 is tilted by the handle 134, the ball 146 will roll around the race way 142. As the ball 146 passes under the head 56 of each actuating pin 50 the actuating pin 50 is lifted causing the bird 74 to peck. If desired, the head 56 of the actuating pin 50 can be truncated, as illustrated in FIG. 10, so that the actuating pin 50 can only be lifted as the ball rolls in one direction. 
     The dimensions of the various components of this invention are chosen so that: the race way 142 is only slightly wider than the diameter 148 of the ball 146, the distance 150 between the head 54 or 56 of the actuating pin 50 and the top 102 of the bottom flat plate 94 is less than the diameter 148 of the ball. 
     The following reference numerals are used on FIGS. 1 through 10: 
     10 Bird body 
     12 Pecking bird paddle toy 
     14 Cavity in bottom of bird body 
     18 Bottom of bird body 
     22 Pivot pin holes 
     26 Fingers 
     30 Bird head and neck part 
     34 Bird head 
     38 Elongated arm 
     42 First pivot hole in elongated arm 
     46 Second pivot hole in elongated arm 
     50 Actuating pin 
     54 Truss head of actuating pin 
     56 Alternate, truncated truss head of actuating pin 
     58 Shank of actuating pin 
     62 Clevis at end of actuating pin shank 
     66 Pivot pin holes through clevis at end of actuating pin shank 
     70 Sleeve 
     74 Pecking bird assembly 
     78 First pivot pin 
     82 End of elongated arm 
     86 Second pivot pin 
     90 Bottom section of hollow paddle 
     94 Bottom flat plate 
     98 Annular wall of bottom section 
     102 Top of bottom flat plate 
     106 Top section of paddle portion 
     108 Top flat plate 
     110 Support post 
     114 Top of top flat plate 
     118 Periphery of top flat plate 
     122 Holes through top flat plate for accommodating sleeves 
     126 Middle section of hollow paddle 
     130 Circular wall of middle section 
     134 Handle of middle section 
     138 Hollow paddle portion of invention 
     142 Race way 
     146 Ball 
     148 Diameter of ball 
     150 Distance between head of actuating pin and top of bottom flat plate 
     The pecking bird paddle toy 12 has been described with reference to a particular embodiment. Other modifications and enhancements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.