US 5,178,576 A · Apparatus and method for manupulating a spring toy

Abstract

A pair of platform devices used for interaction with a flexible coil spring toy have a plurality of flat step-like surfaces separated vertically and horizontally corresponding to the periodic step-walking motion of the flexible coil spring toy. The platform devices are manipulated in an alternating sequence in cooperation with the motion of the flexible coil spring toy to give the appearance that the toy is walking down a set of stairs. In the preferred embodiment, the platform devices have a handle and are held and manipulated by a human operator. The spring momentum transfers the coils of the spring from one surface of the device to the next lowermost surface of the device as the spring's adjacent coils successively sweep through the path of an arc. When a certain amount of coils have been moved to the lower surface, the momentum causes the trailing coils to move over the center of mass of the flexible coil spring and land onto another lower surface to give the appearance that the flexible coil spring toy is walking down a set of stairs. When the spring toy reaches the lowermost surface of one of the devices, the other device is placed in position to enable the spring toy to land on its uppermost surface. The manipulation of the devices is continued to repeatedly transfer the spring toy from one device to the other for amusement.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A manually manipulated platform amusement device for use in cooperation with an existing flexible coil helical spring toy of the type capable of transferring its coils in an arcuate end-over-end step-like waling motion, the platform amusement device comprising;

a first and second manually manipulative platform device each having a plurality of flat step-like surfaces spaced vertically and horizontally relative to one another corresponding to the periodic step-walking motion of the coils of the flexible coil spring toy to form a descending path for the toy, and
each said platform device configured to be manually manipulated relative to one another in an alternating sequence in cooperation with the coils of the flexible coil spring toy to transfer the coils of the flexible coil spring toy in a motion descending successively-presented step-like surfaces to give the appearance that the flexible coil spring toy is walking down an endless set of stairs.

A hand-held amusement device comprising;

a first and second manually manipulative hand-held platform device each having hand grip means for receiving the hand of a human operator and a plurality of flat step-like surfaces connected with said hand grip means and spaced vertically and horizontally relative to one another to form a descending path, and
a flexible coil helical spring toy having substantially no lateral force between turns in closed position when no external force is acting, in which in the position of rest each coil contacts an adjacent one, in which the spring cross section is of a shape which has essentially lower torsional stiffness for a given cross sectional area than a square to produce a low natural frequency,
each said platform device being gripped and manually manipulated relative to one another in an alternating sequence by a human operator in cooperation with the coils of said flexible coil spring toy to transfer the coils of the flexible coil spring toy in an arcuate end-over-end motion descending successively-presented step-like surfaces to give the appearance that the flexible coil spring toy is walking down an endless set of stairs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for manupulating a spring toy

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for manupulating a spring toy

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14