US3798829A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Educational toy parachute
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-07-12
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Granted: 1974-03-26
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Expires: 1993-07-12
Abstract
Abstract An educational toy missile capsule which preferably takes the form of a missile of the Apollo series and has an upper internal compartment which houses a parachute sail on a platform. The platform is slidably mounted in a pair of grooves inside the capsule and is generally locked in its lower position. A helical spring is attached to the platform so that it provides torsion that urges the platform into locking notches when the platform is in its lower position and biases the platform toward its upper, parachute releasing position so that it slides upward in its guiding grooves to force the parachute sail out the top of the missile capsule when it is released from the locking notches while itself being retained in the capsule by a retaining shoulder in the missile body. A timing motor is fixed in the lower internal compartment of the missile body, and the lower portion of the missile is fixed to the rotatable time setting shaft of the timing motor so that it is rotatable relative to the rest of the capsule and determines the time of release of the parachute sail after the timing motor is set in motion. The parachute ejecting platform is provided with a pair of tangs or ears which protrude into the lower compartment, and the lower rotatable part of the missile body is provided with a pair of protruding lugs that extend up into the lower compartment to engage the platform tangs and rotate the platform out of the locked position when the timing motor has run down so that the spring bias forces the platform to its ''''up'''' position, thereby forcing the parachute out of the missile body.
Inventors
- 👤 R Worley
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 03:11
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63H; A63H33/00; A63H33/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
161 words
An educational toy missile capsule having a housing, a parachute sail portion enclosed within said housing, a plurality of flexible guy lines each having one end attached to said sail portion at points spaced around its periphery and the opposite ends thereof each attached to a portion of said body at intervals whereby said sail portion supports said housing in a balanced manner when said sail is filled with air, retaining means positively to retain said sail portion in said housing, ejector means forcibly to eject said sail portion whereby air is captured in said sail portion thereby to spread said sail portion, timing means for activating said ejector means, and means for preselecting a time over a range of times at which said timing means activates said ejector means thereby providing for selection of the time lapse after launching at which the said sail portion is ejected thereby selecting the time during missile flight when said sail portion becomes effective.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
161 words
An educational toy missile capsule having a housing, a parachute sail portion enclosed within said housing, a plurality of flexible guy lines each having one end attached to said sail portion at points spaced around its periphery and the opposite ends thereof each attached to a portion of said body at intervals whereby said sail portion supports said housing in a balanced manner when said sail is filled with air, retaining means positively to retain said sail portion in said housing, ejector means forcibly to eject said sail portion whereby air is captured in said sail portion thereby to spread said sail portion, timing means for activating said ejector means, and means for preselecting a time over a range of times at which said timing means activates said ejector means thereby providing for selection of the time lapse after launching at which the said sail portion is ejected thereby selecting the time during missile flight when said sail portion becomes effective.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
127 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing comprises a hollow upper portion defining a cup-like cavity to receive said parachute sail and guy lines and a cap portion attached to the said sail portion releasably held over the said cavity to enclose said parachute sail; and a lower housing portion mounted for rotation substantially in a plane orthogonal to the vertical axis of said housing whereby rotation in one sense sets the said timing means, the degree of rotation determines the time lapse to activation of the said ejector and rotation to the end of travel in the opposite sense activates the said ejector means whereby the said sail portion and said attached cap are forcibly ejected at the time set.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
113 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 2 wherein said ejection means included a platform member mounted in the said cavity defined in the upper portion of said housing for slidable motion along the vertical axis thereof and a spring member biasing said platform toward the top of said housing, said retaining means holding said platform down and said spring member in its biased condition when said timing means is set whereby said sail portion is retained in said body and said spring member forces said platform member upward in said housing whEn said retaining means is released whereby said platform member forces said sail and cap portion to be ejected.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
118 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 2 wherein said timing means includes a timer motor rigidly mounted to the bottom of said upper housing portion and having a rotary shaft for setting the time lapse of said timer, the shaft of said timer motor being essentially aligned with the vertical axis of said upper housing body, said lower housing portion rigidly mounted on the said shaft of said timer motor whereby rotation of said lower housing portion rotates said timer motor shaft and rotation of said timer motor shaft rotates said lower housing portion and key means for locking and releasing the position of said lower housing portion with respect to said upper housing portion.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
118 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 3 wherein said timing means includes a timer motor rigidly mounted to the bottom of said upper housing portion and having a rotary shaft for setting the time lapse of said timer, the shaft of said timer motor being essentially aligned with the vertical axis of said upper housing body, said lower housing portion rigidly mounted on the said shaft of said timer motor whereby rotation of said lower housing portion rotates said timer motor shaft and rotation of said timer motor shaft rotates said lower housing portion and key means for locking and releasing the position of said lower housing portion with respect to said upper housing portion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
145 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 4 wherein said retaining means includes ear-like tangs protruding outwardly from the periphery of said platform, tang mating recess means located around the lower internal portion of the said cavity in the upper housing portion and the said spring member which biases said platform upward, said spring member comprising a tapered helical spring retained between the bottom of said platform and the bottom of said upper housing portion and secured to both to rotatably bias said platform by said tangs are spring biased into the said tang mating recess means, said internal cavity of said upper housing portion having shoulders defining vertical guides offset from but open to said tang mating recess means whereby said platform freely rises under the said spring bias when said tangs are rotated from said recesses to the said guide grooves.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
134 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 5 wherein said retaining means include ear-like tangs protruding outwardly from the periphery of said platform, tang mating recess means located around the lower internal portion of the said cavity in the upper housing portion and the said spring member which biases said platform upward, said spring member comprising a tapered helical spring retained between the bottom of said platform and the bottom of said platform by said tangs are spring biased into the said tang mating recess means, said internal cavity of said upper housing portion having shoulders defining vertical guides offset from but open to said tang mating recess means whereby said platform freely rises under the said spring bias when said tangs are rotated from said recesses to the said guide grooves.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
101 words
An educational toy missile capsule as defined in claim 7 wherein said ejector means includes lugs on said platform extending into the said lower housing portion and matching tabs on the inside of said lower housing portion which engage said lug when the said timing motor shaft rotates the said lower housing portion to the end of the preselected time period such that said platform is rotated to the extent necessary to move the said tangs from said mating recesses to the said grooves whereby said platform is forced upward in said upper housing portion thereby to eject said parachute sail.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-03-25 | 1977-09-24 | 1978-03-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-03-25 | 1981-09-24 | 1982-03-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-03-25 | 1985-09-24 | 1986-03-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |