US 4,280,266 AGranted

Automatic bead threading toy

AssigneeTakara Co., Ltd.

InventorsTohru Tomita, Shinya Saitoh, Kazuo Hirakata

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A toy device adapted for threading beads upon a thread or line is disclosed. A container for beads is mounted to a preferably transparent chassis. The container has an outlet port or hole in a lower part thereof through which beads may fall out of the container one-by-one. A first end of the guide wire or like member is mounted substantially in the center of the outlet port. The container is continuously shaken through a hand actuated crank and ratchet gear assembly. As a result of the shaking, the beads undergo a random motion which eventually causes the beads to fall one-by-one through the outlet port onto the guide wire with the guide wire substantially centered in the central aperture of each bead. A bead advancing assembly which comprises two rotatable members having cut-away portions to capture the beads, is operatively associated with an intermediate portion of the guidewire. The beads are one-by-one advanced over the intermediate portion of the guide wire, from where they slide toward a second end of the guide wire. From the second end of the guide wire the beads slide to a thread or line which is removably attached to the second end of the guide wire.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A toy device for threading a plurality of small objects on a thread and the like, the device comprising:

a chassis;
a container moveably mounted relative to the chassis and adapted for holding the plurality of small objects, each of the small objects having a substantially straight aperture penetrating through a portion of the small object, the container having an outlet port adapted for allowing passage under the force of gravity of only one of the small objects at a time through the port;
an elongated thin guide member mounted to the chassis and having a first and a second end, the first end of the guide member being disposed in operative relationship with the outlet port of the container, the second end of the guide member being adapted for operative connection to the thread and the like, the guide member being sufficiently thin so as to allow each of the small objects to pass from the first end of the guide member to the second end of the guide member with the guide member penetrating through the aperture of the small object;
first means mounted relative to the chassis for shaking the container, the shaking motion being of such magnitude to generate random positioning of the small objects relative to the port and the first end of the guide member, the small objects as a result of the varying random positioning capable of falling through the outlet port with the guide member being disposed in their respective aperture, whereby the toy device is capable of passing the small objects from the container onto the thread and the like.

1 more element

A toy device adapted for threading beads onto an elongated support member such as a thread, the device comprising:

a chassis;
a container adapted for holding a plurality of beads, each bead having an aperture, the container being mounted to the chassis and including a bottom having an outlet hole through which beads may fall under the force of gravity, the hole being dimensioned to allow only one bead to fall through the hole at one time;
a wire mounted to the chassis having a first end, a second end, and an intermediate portion, the first end of the wire being disposed in the outlet hole in substantial coaxial alignment with the hole and the second end of the wire being adapted for attachment to a thread upon which the beads may be threaded;
first means adapted for advancing the beads towards the second end of the wire, the first means being operatively associated with the intermediate portion of the wire, and
second means adapted for causing the beads in the container to undergo a motion whereby the beads will sequentially fall into the outlet hole and orient themselves with their respective aperture situated in substantial coaxial alignment with the first end of the wire and slip on the wire to be further advanced by the first means on the wire towards the second end of the wire.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/112,395Filed 15 Jan 1980
Priority: JP 54-7740[U]26 Jan 1979
Granted: 28 Jul 1981
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

A63F 11/0002
Game accessories of general use: dispensing or collecting devices for tokens or chips
D04D 1/04
Ropes or like decorative or ornamental elongated trimmings made from filamentary material: by threading or stringing pearls or beads on…
A63F 2007/4081
Balls or other moving playing bodies, e.g. pinballs, discs: ball with a hole sliding over a guide
Y10T 29/53696
Means to assemble or disassemble: means to string