US1403951A - Amusement device - Google Patents

Description

W. C. HADLEY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPucATloN FILED ,we zo, 1920.

1,403,951; 4 Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

` WALTERGHAULEY l LA; el 'l 6V M I ATTORNEYS W. C. HADLEY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLlcAnoN man Aue.2o. 1920.

Patented Jan.v 17, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/N VE N TOI? MLTEfaH/WLEY WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER C. HADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGN ORTO CENTRAL TALKING MACHINE vSH01?, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

Specification of Letters-Patent.

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

Application led August 20, 1920. SeralNo. 404,973.

To all whomy t may concer-n:

Be it known that I, WALTER C. HADLEY, a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city and county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Amusement Devices, of which the following is a full and complete description.

The invention relates to amusement devices and more particularlyto a device for use in connection with. the keys of an automatic piano.

The object of the invention is to provide an amusement device combining a representation of a row of heads and iiexible tongues associated therewith so that when placed upon the white keys of a piano, the movement of the keys raises and permits the lowering of the tongues so as to simulate the opening of the mouths of the heads, the whole so formed that it can be cheaply constructed and readily collapsed for packing and shipping, and at the same time quickly set up in operative form.

jTo the above ends the invention may be said to consist of a body portion foldable along a longitudinal line and provided along its marginal edges with foldable overlapping aps, with a row of heads on one face of the body portion, the mouth portions of the heads coinciding with the foldable joint between the body portion and one of the flaps. It further consists of a body portion provided along one edge with independent tongues to cog-operate with the row of heads, and it also further consists of the devices and combinations of devices which will hereinafter be described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

`Figure 1 shows the device in front elevation and in position on the white keys of a piano, and also shows some of the white keys depressed illustrating the operation of the device;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section of the lower portion of a modified form;

Figure 5 illustrates a portion of the blank from which the form shown in Fig. 4 is produced;

Figure 6 shows a portion of the blank from which the form 3, 7 and '8 is produced;

lFigure 7 shows the device folded or collapsed, ready for shipment; and

Figure 8 shows an end view ofthe form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 set up and ready to be placed on the white keys of a. piano.

Similar reference characters will be ernployed to designate corresponding parts.

In the preferred form of the invention, it comprises a body portion 1 foldable along a longitudinal median line 2, and also along parallel lines 3 and 4 adjacent the opposite edges, and when folded, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 7 and 8, produces the converging sides 5 and 6 and the over-lapping flaps 7 and 8. The iaps 7 and 8 are relatively narrower than the converging sides 5 and 6 and they are substantially as wide as the distance the white keys 9 of the piano project beyond the black keys 10, so that when the overlapping flaps 7 and 8 are overlapped as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and 8, the device may rest upon and be supported by the pro jecting ends of the white keys of the piano.

Upon its Outer face, the side 5 is provided with a pictorial representation of a plurality of heads 11, which heads, at the mouth portion at least, will be substantially the width of the white keys of a piano, and the mouth portions 12 substantially on a line with the foldable joint 3, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1, so that when positioned on the white keys of a piano, the open mout-h of each head may be placed directly over a white key.

The structure is made of any suitable shown in Figs. l, 2,

lflexible material having suicient strength and elasticity, preferably of card-board; and in the preferred form the body portion will be formed of relatively stiffer card-board than the tongue strip, and the device will be of indefinite length extending over a plurality of white keys of a piano.

The tongue strip 13 is adhesively secured to the flap 8 and it is slot-ted, as shown at 14, the slots being set inwardly from the edge 15 forming a protective strip 16. This is the form in vwhich the device will be packed for shipping, but in use the protective strip will be cut off along the line 17 which intersects the outer ends of independently movable flexible tongues 18 (see Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4). The tongues 18 will l extending forwardly. device for use, the flap ping flaps may correspond in width to the mouth portion of the heads, or preferably they will be slightly narrower and therefore slightly narrower than the width of the white keys of a piano. Preferably the upper surface of the tongues will be colored red and the forward ends adjacent the line of severance 17 will be decorated to indicate the lower jaw and teeth, as shown at 19, and project slightly in front of the lower edge 3 of side 5.V

The tongue st-rip 13 is foldable as at 20 about the edge of the flap 8 and forwardly beneath the iap, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8.

ln Figures 4 and 5, the device is substantially the same as has been described, the only difference being that the tongues 18 are formed integrally with the body portion and not as, a separate strij This is indicated clearly in Figure 5. For shipping purposes the device is collapsed or flattened, as indicated in Fig. 7 wherein the flap 7 and the side 6 are beneath the other elements and the flap 8 turned rearwardly beneath the side 5 with the tongues or tongue strip 1n' setting up the 7 will be turned inwardly as indicated in Fig. 8 and will overlie the flap 8 of the tongue strip 13, with the tongues 18 extending forwardly beneath the flap 8. It has been found that there is sutticient elasticity and strength in the device to hold it when set up in operative Y position.

lt may be desired, however, to permanently fix the device in set-up operative position and for this purpose the overlapbe secured by a suitable adhesive.

In operation, the device is placed upon the projecting ends of the white keys of a piano immediately in front of the black keys, as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, with a head and tongue directly over each key. |The movement of the keys, as indicated in Fig. 1, permits the tongues to drop as the keys drop, and they willbe raised as theL keys return, thus simulating the opening of the mouths of the heads, creating an amusing diversion.

claim is 1. An amusement device, comprising a body portion foldable along a longitudinal line, and provided alongjits marginal edges with foldable overlapping flaps, and a row 'of heads on one face of the body portion with the mouthsof the heads on a line `with thefoldable joint between one of the flaps' andthe body portion, said heads being ar-V ranged in close'juxtaposition and of awidth A heads on line with the foldable joint between one of the liaps and the body portion, said heads being arranged in close juxtaposition and of a width substantially that of the white keys of a piano, and flexible tongues projecting from one of the foldable flaps, said tongues being positioned with relation to the row of heads and foldable with relation to the iiap, so as toV be positioned beneath the heads.

8. An amusement device, comprising a body portion of flexible material foldable along a longitudinal line, and provided along its marginal edges with foldableoverlapping flaps, a row of heads on one face of the body portion, with the mouths of the heads on a linewith the foldable joint between one of the flaps and the body portion, said heads being arranged in close juxtaposition and of a width substantially that of the white keys of a piano, a strip of `flexible material secured to the foldable flap Y adjacent the row of heads and projecting longitudinal and parallel lines to provide.- upwardly extending sides and overlapping flaps,l a tongue lstrip extending along one marginal edge beyond the flap along that edge, said tongue strip being slotted trans-v versely, and a protecting strip at theV outer ends of the tongues, said tongue strip being foldable aboutl the marginal edge of the Hap.

' 5. .An amusement device,l comprising a flexible bodypo-rtion foldable upon a longitudinal line, and provided along its edges Y I with foldable overlapping flaps, said flaps Having described myinvention, what I 'upon one face a row of heads adjacent one of the foldable flaps, and a row of tongues projecting from the foldable flap adjacent the row ofV heads, said tongues'being substantially the width of the heads and arranged to be projected Ybeyond the foldable ap and positioned beneath the row of heads.

`wiimna o. HADLEY.

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