Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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TITLE: TOY SIMULATING STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A toy steam locomotive is described which has
the capability of producing sounds simulating both
the steam locomotive itself and the whistle soun~
associated with old-time steam locomotives. Also
included is a simulated firebox which has the visual
appearance of having a fire located therein.
A multiplicity of toys are known where it is
considered advantageous to incorporate in the toy
a mechanism producing an audible stimulation.
Equally important in toys is, of course, the visual
appearance of the toy to the child. In the category
combining both visual and audio stimulation, there
are, of course, talking dolls and toy cars which
produce internal combustion engine sounds.
In 1). S. Patent 3,286,396 some of the problems
associated with the mimicking of a natural sound
are described. In this particular U. S. patent
the inventors sought to mimick the sound of an
automobile engine and associated sounds such as
sirens and the like.
Old-time steam locomotives had particular
sounds associated with them wllic}l were unique to
them and served to identify the steam locomotive
simply by the sounds. rhe wilistle of the locomotive
had a characteristic sound which was produced by the
use of high pressure steam. Normally whell the loco-
motive was in motion the whistle was a~fected by the
I)oppler effect caused by either the ~pproach or
retreat of the steam engine from the position of
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the observer. The sound the steam locomotive made
when moving was also quite characteristic and in
effect sounded like "chugga chugga, chugga chugga".
Certain electric trains and the like powered
via a transformer and running on a track incorporate
mechanisms which mimick the whistling sound of a
steam locomotive. These trains, however, are pro-
pelled by electric motors and therefore do not
mimick the chugga chugga sound of the steam loco-
motive. Further, prior ar~ devices are not known
which have the ability to sirnulate both a slow
moving and a fast moving steam locomotive unless
these prior art devices are extremely sophisticated
and as such, not practical for incorporation into
pre-school type toys.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF TH~ INVENIION
It is an object of th~s invention to produce
a toy adapted for use by pre-school children which
simulates a steam locomotive using both a visual
and audio mode. Included in the audio portion of
this is an apparatus for producing a sound mimicking
a steam locomotive while it is moving, as well as
an apparatus for mimicking the whistling sound made
by a steam locomotive. It is an additional object
to produce a toy which is capable of both visually
and audibly mimicking a steam locomotive yet which
is simple in construction and thus easy to manufacture
and economic to the consumer.
rnese and other objects are achieved in a toy
steam locomotive which comprises means for producing
a sound simulating a steam locomotive; means for
producing a sound simulating a steam locomotive
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whistle; means for producing a visual simulation
of a fire in a steam locomotive firebox; powcr
means operatively connected to said means for
producing a sound simulating a steam locomotive,
S said means for producing a sound simulating a
steam locomotive whistle, and said means for pro-
ducing a visual simulation of a fire; switch means
connected to said power means for turning said
power means off and on; first control means oper-
atively connected to said means for producing asound simulating a steam locomotive whistle and
capable of controlling said means for producing a
sound simulating a steam locomotive whistle between
an on position wherein said whistle sound is heard
and an off position wherein said whistle sound is
not heard; second control means operatively connected
to said means for producing a sound simulating a
steam locomotive for controlling the velocity of
said simulated steam locomotive sound.
The apparatus of the toy Eor producing a sound
mimicking a steam locomotive comprises a resonator
means located in said toy such that a portion of
said resonator means is free to vibrate producing
a sound audible outside of said toy; an activator
means located in said toy and including a power
means for continuously activating said activator
means; a variable vibration means operatively
associated with said resonator means SUCil that
vibration can be transferred from said variable
vibration means to said resonator means Eor procIucing
said sound; cycling means attaching to said variable
vibration means and capable of cyclically associating
and disassociating said variable vibration means
with said activator means such that vibrations are
induced in said variable vibration means when said
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variable vibration means is associated with said
activator means and said vibrations are allowed to
dissipate when said variable vibration means is
disassociated from said activator means.
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The apparatus of the toy for mimicking the
whistling sound produced by a steam locomotive
comprises a chamber having an air inlet and an air
outlet, a fan means located in said chamber; a
whistle means associated with said air outlet of
said chamber; an inlet closure means associated
with said air inlet and including a closure member
capable of sealing said air inlet to ingress of air
into said chamber, control means operatively connected
to said closure member and capable of moving said
closure member with respect to said chamber allowing
air to ingress into said chamber and be propelled
from said chamber by said fan means through said
outlet into said whistle means.
The apparatus of the toy for mimicking the fire
in the firebox of a steam locomotive comprises a
housing having an opening simulating the opening of
a firebox in a steam locomotive; a transparent
member located in said opening in said housing,
said transparent member including a first surEace
exposed through said opening in said housing and a
second surface spaced from said first surface, said
first surface containing a plurality of ridges, each
member of said plurality of ridges lying essentially
parallel to the other member of said plurality of
ridges, said second surface comprising a f]at planar
surface; a movable member located adjacent to said
transparent member and including a flat planar surface
located adjacent to and coplanar with said second
surface of said transparent member, said movable
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member movably mounted on said housing such that
it is capable of oscillating bac~ and forth with
respect to said transparent member, said movable
member including indicia located on said flat planar
surface of said movable member, said indicia com-
prising at least two colors corresponding to different
colors of a flame; means for oscillating said movable
member with respect to said transparent member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T~IE DRAWINGS
This invention will be better understood when
taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is an isometric view o~ the toy steam
locomotive of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the toy
steam locomotive shown in Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a side elevational view in partial
section about the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a si~e elevational view about the
line 4-4 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view about the line
5-5 of Fig, 4;
Fig. 6 is an isometric view of certain of the
components within the interior of the toy steam
locomotive which are adjacent to the right-han~
wheel shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 7 is an exploded view of certain of the
internal components of the toy steam locomotive
including certain parts also shown in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is an isometric view of certain of the
internal components of the toy steam locomotive of
Fig. 1 which are located in the cab portion of the
housing;
Fig. 9 is a top plan view showing certain of
the components also seen in Fig. 7 and inclu~es one
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of the components shown in one spatial relationship
in solid lines and a second spatial relationship
shown in phantom lines;
Fig. 10 is an isometric view of the back side
of the firebox viewable in Fig. 2;
Fig. ll is a plan view in section taken about
the line 11-11 of Fig. 10; and
Fig. 12 is a side elevational view in partial
section of certain of the components shown in Fig.
10 9.
The invention described in this specification
and illustrated in the drawings utilizes certain
principles and/or concepts which are set forth in
the claims appended to this specification. Those
skilled in the toy arts to which this invention
pertains will realize that these principles and/or
concepts could be used with a number of differently
appearing embodiments without departing from the
spirit and scope as set forth by the claims. For
these reasons this invention is to be construed in
light of the claims and is not to be construed as
being limited only to those embodiments described
in the specification and depicted in the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The toy 10 shaped as a steam locomotive has a
plurality of outside and internal housing parts, the
exact description of which need not be described in
order to understand this invention. For this reason
only certain of the housing parts will be nllmbered
and described.
A child playing with the toy 10 has a multi-
plicity of controls to operate allowing the child
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to simulate ringing of the bell of the locomotive,
blowing the whistle of a locomotive, starting and
stopping the locomotive with regard to movement
along a surface, having the locomotive emit a chugga
chugga sound, and being able to vary the speed or
velocity of this chugga chugga sound.
The toy 10 is rollably mounted via a set of
front wheels, only one wheel 12 wllich is viewable
in ~he drawings, and a set of rear wheels 14 and 16.
Rear wheel 16 includes a rubber strip 18 around its
circumference which engages the surface on which the
toy 10 is located to propel the toy 10 forward. The
driving mechanism of the toy as hereinafter explained
drives rear wheel 16.
The controls for the different functions of
the toy 10 are located at the rear 20 of the toy 10
as best seen in Fig. 2. The lower left-most
control 22 is the off and on control. The right
rear-most control 24 is the stop and go control.
The upper left control 26 is the bell control and
the upper right control 28 is the whistle control.
A further control as hereinafter described controls
the speed of the locomotive sound. These are all
exposed for easy manipulation by a young child's
finger.
Referring now to Fig. 8 the bell 30 of the toy
10 is shown appropriately mounted on a housing
component. A boss 32 projects outwardly from the
inside of cabin panel 34 of the toy 10. A member
36 having two 90-degree bends includes a bearing
38 on one of its ends which slips over the end of
boss 32. A flat-headed screw 40 retains the bearing
38 on the boss 32. A spring 42 is attached to the
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other end of the member 36 and includes a bell
clanger 44 on its end. A spring 46 extends between
a projection 48 located on a different portion of
the housing of the toy 10 and a projection 50 located
on member 36. The spring 46 biases member 36 downwardly
away from the bell 30.
An axle 52 extends between two identical
projections collectively numbered by the numeral
54 extending outwardly from cabin panel 34. One of
these projections is seen in Fig. 8 while the other
is seen in Fig. 4. Pivotally mounted on axle 52 is
bell control 26. End 56 of bell control 26 fits
underneath member 36. When the other end of the
bell control 26 is depressed by the user of the toy
10 the end 56 pivots member 36 upwardly about the
bearing 38 against the bias of spring 46. This
causes contact betwcen bell clanger 44 and the bell
30 causing the bcll 30 to ring.
Aside from the bell 30 the other functions of
the toy 10 are all powered by a small electric motor
58 located within the interior o~ the toy 10. The
motor 58 is powered by batteries not seen in the
figures, but located near the bottom of the toy 10,
but shown as electrical symbol 60 in Fig. 3. Off
and on control 22 slides against the back surface
of cabin panel 34. The off and on control 22
includes a projection 6Z on its surface whic}l inter-
acts with a flexible metal contact 64. When the off
and on control 22 is depressed, the projection 62
pushes a portion of metal contact 64 ~oward a seconcl
metal contact 66 until electrical contact between
the two contacts 64 and 66 -is made cornpletill~ the
electrical circuit to the motor 58 causing the same
to rotate.
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Attaching to the motor shaft 68 is a pinion
70. Pinion 70 meshes with spur gear 72 which is
appropriately rotatably mounted within the interior
of the toy 10. Integrally formed on the surface of
spur gear 72 is a pinion 74. A disk 76 mounted on
an axle 78 includes a spur gear ~0 integrally formed
on its lower surface. Spur gear 80 meshes with
pinion 74 and thus the disk 76 is rotated by the
motor 58.
A pinion 82 is located on axle 78 above disk
76. Pinion 82 inter alia, engages crown gear 84.
Referring now to Fig. 6, crown gear 84 is seen
fixedly attached to the end of axle 86. The axle
86 is appropriately journaled within the toy 10 on
housing components,not shown in the drawings for
the sake of simplicity of this specification.
Other axles as hereinbefore and hereinafter des-
cribed are also similarly journaled in housing
members, also not shown or described for this same
reason.
Fixedly located on axle 86 is a pinion 88
which engages with a pinion 90 fixedly located on
axle 92. A second pinion 94 fixedly mounted on
axle 92 is capable of engaging with gear teeth 96
extending around the periphery of rear wheel 16.
Interspaced between pinions 90 and 94 and fixedly
located on axle 92 is a disk 98. A spring 100
located around axle 92 biases disk 98 away frorn a
housing component (not shown in Fig. 6) located
between pinion 94 and spring 100. This biases axle
92 and therefore pinion 94 away from rear wheel 16
disrupting the engagement between pinion 94 and
gear teeth 96.
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Stop-go control 24 is pivotally mounted to
housing components (not shown) by axle 102. As
seen in Figs. 4 and 6, the stop-go control member
24 has an extension 104 which goes below both a~les
86 and 92 and the gears located thereon, and includes
a wedge 106 on its end. Wedge 106 is positioned to
interact with disk 98. When the operator end of
stop-go control 24 is depressed, the wedge 106 is
elevated against the surface of disk 98 pressing
the dis~ 98 and the axle 92 attached to it against
the bias of spring 100. This moves pinion 94 into
engagement with gear teeth 96 turning the rear wheel
16 to drive the toy 10 forward across a surface.
When the stop-go control 24 is again raised, the
lS wedge 106 descends from its engagement disk 98
allowin~ the spring 100 to disengage pinion 94
from gear teeth 96 discontinuing the forward movement
of the toy.
As seen in Fig. 7, a second pinion 108 is also
located on axle 78. Referring now to igures 10
and 11 pinion 108 engages spur gear 110. Integrally
formed on the upper surface of spur gear 110 is an
upstanding hollow cylinder 112. The cylinder 112
is not centered on spur gear 110, but is eccentrically
located thereon. Spur gear 110 is located about boss
114 on a housing component (not shown or numbered)
such that it can be rotated about boss 114 by pinion
108, When spur gear 110 rotates cylinder 112 moves
in an eccentric manner about the boss 114.
A movable member 116 is rotatably mounted on
the inside of cabin panel 34 by a flat-head screw
118. The portion of movable member 116 located
below screw 118 includes two lugs collectively
identified by the numeral 120. These lugs 120 fit
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about cylinder 112. As cylinder 112 eccentrically
rotates, it firsc presses against one of the lugs
120 rotating movable member 116 about screw 118 in
one direction and then presses against the other o~
the lugs 120 rotating the movable member 116 in the
opposite direction. The net effect of this is that
the upper rounded portion 122 of movable member 116
oscillates back and forth.
Rounded portion 122 of movable member 116 has
a flat sur~ace 124 which projects toward the cabin
panel 34. As seen in Fig. 2 the surface 124 has a
flame pattern on it. This flame pattern is composed
of at least two colors, and preferredly three. Thus,
the bottom 126 of the pattern is yellow, the midportion
128 is red, and the upper portion 130 is black.
These represent three different heat zones within
a flame.
Mounted within an opening 132 in cabin yanel
34 is a transparent member 134. Transparent member
134 has a rear surface 136 which is flat and is
coplanar with surface 124 on movable member 116.
The other surface of transparent member 134--the
exposed surface 138--has a plurality of semi-
cylindrical ridges 140 on it. As the rounded
portion 122 of movable member 116 oscillates back
and forth behind the transparent member 134 the
ridges 140 distort the colors 126, 128 and 130 on
surface 124 giving the appearance of a flickering
flame within the firebox 142 of the toy 10. A
firebox cover 144 is appropriately hinged to cabin
panel 34 and can be closed over the firebox 142
inhibiting the view of the flickering flame therein,
or opened to allow the user of the toy to view the
simulated fire within the firebox 142.
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As seen in Fig. 5, motor 58 sits upon housing
component 146. The shaft 68 of the motor 58 extends
through the housing component 146 and into the
center of fan disk 148. Fan disk 148 is located
immediately below pinion 70 and is fixedly located
on the motor shaft 68. ~oth the fan disk 148 and
the pinion 70 are continually rotated whenever the
motor 58 is energized. A plurality of fan blades
collectively identi~ied by the numeral 150 project
downwardly and perpendicular to the fan disk 148.
The fan blades 150 extend from the periphery of fan
disk 148 toward the center of fan disk 148; however,
they terminate before they reach the center leaving
a central section 152 which is void of any fan blade
lS 150.
An upstanding wall 154 projecting downwardly
~rom housing component 146 orms almost a complete
circle around the fan disk 148. The housing component
146, the wall 154 and a cover component 156 form a
fan chamber 158. The fan chamber 158 includes an
air ingress hole 160 located in cover component 156
directly over the center of fan disk 148 and an air
egress hole 162 which essentially lies on a tangent
to fan disk 148. Located adjacent to egress hole
162 is a whistle 164 having outlet holes 166. The
whistle 164 includes appropriate baffles~ chambers,
etc. as is common with whistles an~ need not be
described in detail to understand the invention.
A closure member 168 is pivotally hlnged to
cover component 156 by the interaction oJ an axle
170 with hinge members collectively iden1:ified by
the numeral 172. An extension 174 of closure member
168 extends beyond axle 170. Extensicn 174 includes
a key 176 which fits into hole 178 located in member
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180. Whistle control 28 is pivotally mounted
about axle 52 in a manner similar to that described
for bell control 26. Member 180 pivotally attaches
to whistle control 28 via axle 182 projecting from
the whistle control 28. A spring 184 biases member
180 downwardly closing closure member 168 over
ingress hole 160 in co~er component 154. When
whistle control 28 is depressed, it pivots about
axle 52 lifting member 180 against the bias of
spring 184 moYing closure member 168 away from
ingress hole 160.
As long as the off-on control 22 is positioned
in the "on" mode such that motor 58 is turning, fan
disk 148 and fan blades 150 are spinning. Normally
closure member 168 seals ingress hole 160. The
rotary movement of the fan blades 150 within the
fan chamber 158 inhibits air movement within the
chamber 158. Since ingress hole 160 is closed
insufficient air to sound whistle 164 is moved
through the fan chamber 158 and out egress hole 162
into the whistle 164. When the closure member 168
moves from its sealing position with ingress hole
160, sufficient air is allowed to flow through the
fan chamber 158 into the whistle 164. The air
flow to the whistle 164 builds up from near zero
to a constant velocity governed by the siz~ of
ingress hole 160. This causes the whistle 164 to
go from a very low pitch to a higher pitch as the
closure member 168 moves away from the ingress hole
160. The net result is a whistle sounding very
much like a steam locomotive whistle as modified by
a Doppler effect.
A rubber disk 186 is located on the surface of
disk 76. A support member 188 extends across the
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surface o disk 76 but does not touch it. Support
member 188 includes a journal 190 on its end. An
axle 192 is rounded at one end such that it fits
into and can rotate in journal 190. Fixedly attached
on the other end of axle 192 is a pinion lg4 which
also includes a bearing surface 196 on it. Bearing
surface 196 is appropriately journaled in a housing
component (not shown~ in Fig. 7. A wheel 198 has
a square hole (not separately numbered) allowing it
to slidably fit on axle 192. Because of the square
hole, any rotation of the wheel 198 is thus trans-
ferred to axle 192. Wheel 198, however, is not fixed
to axle 192 but is free to slide along axle 192.
A compression spring 200 located underneath
disk 76 biases disk 76, axle 78 and the pinion gears
attached thereto in an upward direction. The limit
of upward travel of disk 76 is governed by interaction
between rubber disk 186 and wheel 198. Thus, wheel
198 frictionally engages disk 76. As a result of
this, rotation of disk 76 is transferred to axle
192.
A shifting arm 202 is fixedly attached to shaft
204. Shifting arm 202 includes a slot 206 which
engages about wheel 198. Shaft 204 is appropriately
journaled in the housing of the toy 10 and its
upper end is fixed to segment 208. Segment 20~
includes a gear rack 210 on its periphery. A speed
control 212 extends out of cabin panel 34 as seen
in Fig. 2. As seen in Fig. 7 the speed control 212
is mounted to the housing of the toy 10. Integrally
formed with speed control 212 and centered about
bearing surface 214 is a spur gear 216 which engages
gear rack 210. Arcuate movement of the speed
control 212 is therefore transferred via segment
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208 to shaft 204 to shifting arm 202. This causes
wheel 198 to move along a radial line toward and
away from the center of rubber disk 186. Depending
on the location of wheel 198 on rubber disk 186
wheel 198 will spin faster or slower relative to
movement of axle 78 and thus motor shaft 68. These
components therefore comprise a power transfer means.
As noted before, pinion 194 is attached to
axle 192. Pinion 194 engages crown gear 218 which
is mounted on axle 220. The speed of rotation of
axle 220 with respect to the speed of rotation of
motor shaft 68 is governed by the location of wheel
198 on rubber disk 186. The operator of the toy
therefore can control the speed of axle 220 and the
components attached thereto as hereinafter explained
by movement of the speed control 212.
Referring now to Figs. 9 and 12, certain of
the components as hereinbefore explained are view-
able from a different angle than that shown in Fig.
7. A small pinion 222 appropriately journaled
interacts with a pinion 224 attaching to axle 220.
Pinion 222 also interacts with crank disk 226.
Crank disk 226 is mounted on axle 228 allowing it
to spin with respect to motion conveyed in the
preceding paragraphs. A crank pin 230 projects
from the surface of crank disk 226.
A vibration transfer member 232 is appropriately
mounted within the interior of the toy lO. A spring
234 connects to both vibration transfer member 232
and crank pin 230. In the ~osition shown in solid
lines in Fig. 9 the spring 234 is force~ against
pinion 82 which serves as a striker means ~o cause
spring 234 to vibrate. The vibrations of spring 234
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are propagated along spring 234 and transferred to
vibrational transfer member 232. In the position
shown in phantom lines in Fig. 9 the crank disk 226
and therefore the crank pin 230 have been rotated
180 degrees. In this position the spring 234 no
longer is engaged against the surface of pinion 82
and therefore is not caused to vibrate in respect
to rotary motion of pinion 82. In this positiun
any vibrational energy still stored in spring 234
is allowed to dissipate.
A resonator cone 236 is appropriately mounted
in the interior of the toy 10 about its periphery
238. The apex 240 of resonator cone 236 makes
contact with vibrational transfer member 232. As
such,vibrations from spring 234 are transferred
to vibration transfer member 232 and then to resonator
cone 236. This causes resonator cone 236 to emit
a sound in response to the vibrations. A resonator
chamber 242 fits over the resonator cone 236 and
serves to amplify the sounds emitted by the resonator
cone 236.
By the gearing as heretofore described crank
disk 226 is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise
direction. Pinion 82 rotates in a clockwise direction.
As such, pinion 82 engages spring 234,or in reality
, the individual coil turns or loops of the spring 234,
and pushes them toward the vibration transfer member
232. As the individual surfaces Oll the pinion 82
are freed from the individual coils of the spring
234 the spring is allowed to recoil back toward the
crank disk 226. This recoil movement is stopped as
soon as the next tooth of the pinion 82 engages one
of the coils of the spring 234.
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When spring 234 is in contact with pinion 82,
as the crank disk 226 rotates counterclockwise it
shortens and relaxes the spring 234 con~inually
cnanging the harmonics of the spring 234. As spring
234 shortens,its individual coils are brought closer
together. Since the pinion 82 is rotating at a
constant speed the shortening of the space between
the individual coils of the spring 234 increases
the number of individual coils with which each
individual gear tooth on pinion 82 can theoretically
contact per unit of length of the spring 234. When
the spring 234 is stretched and tensed each gear
tooth may only strike one coil as it rotates past
the spring 234, but as the spring is shortene~ and
relaxed each individual gear tooth may strike more
than one coil. The vibrations in the spring 234
are therefore quite compound and complex because of
the frequency of striking of the individual coils
by the ~ear teeth of the pinion 82 in conjunction
with the changing harmonics of the spring 234
brought about by the shortening and relaxing of
the sprlng 234.
As the crank disk 226 rotates counterclockwise
the spring 234 as shown in solid lines in Fig. 9
is engaged against the pinion 82. When the crank
pin 230 is closest to the vibrational transfer member
232 the spring 234 is only loosely held against the
surface of pinion 82. Whell the crank pin 230
approaches a position adjacent to the oEf-on control
22 as seen in Fig. 9 the spring 234 once again
engages pinion 82. However, it is IIOW elOrlgated
and tense. The rotation oE crank disk 22~ tllere~ore
serves to cyclically engage and disengage spring
234 with its striker means pinion 82.
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The sound emitted from the toy 10 caused by
the interaction of spring 234 with pinion 82 as
modified by the movement of crank disk 226 results
in a variable sound simulating the chugga chugga
like sound of a steam locomotive. The child can
increase or decrease the speed of this sound via
speed control 212.
