This invention relates to a toy, which is in the form of a tipping device intended to be used together with a toy vehicle, which has a body, wheels fixed to said body, and a load carrier supported by said body, in order to tip the vehicle about an axis parallel to its longitudinal axis, so as to tip a load off the load car¬ rier.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple tipping device especially intended for use in association with a toy railway in order to tip a load off a wagon in reliable fashion without overturning the wagon.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a tipping device which is of the above type and which is characterised by a frame, which has two end walls, and a tipping cradle, which has a roadway portion extending between the two end walls and which, about a rotational axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the road¬ way portion, is rotatable between an initial position, in which the roadway portion is facing substantially verti- cally upwards, and a tipping position, in which the road¬ way portion is facing obliquely downwards, said tipping cradle having a lateral flange which is substantially parallel to the roadway portion and extends sideways a certain distance in over the roadway portion so as to extend in over at least one wheel provided on one side of a toy vehicle driven into the roadway portion, thereby to retain the vehicle on the roadway portion during the rotation of the tipping cradle.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one frame end wall has a guide means, which extends lengthways a cer¬ tain distance in over the roadway portion in order, when a toy vehicle is driven into the roadway portion, to retain the load carrier on the body during the rotation of the tipping cradle, if the load carrier is loosely

placed on said body, and to prevent any tipping of the load carrier in relation to said body, if the load car¬ rier is so mounted thereon as to be tippable.

Conveniently, the tipping cradle has two end flanges, whose outer circumference describes at least part of a circle and which are rotatably mounted in the respective frame end walls. Preferably, at least one of the end flanges has a gearing, which extends over at least such an angular portion of the outer circumference of the end flange as corresponds to the angle of rotation of the tipping cradle between the initial position and the tipping position and which meshes with a gear wheel rotatably mounted on the corresponding frame end wall, so as to rotate the tipping cradle when the gear wheel is rotated.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is a side view of a tipping device according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a view of the left-hand end wall of the tipping device in Fig. 1, as seen in the direction indi¬ cated by the arrow II;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a guide and bearing member, which is fixed to the inside of the left-hand end wall;

Fig. 4, which is a section taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 1, shows the cradle of the tipping device in an ini¬ tial position, a toy-railway wagon of the type having a loosely arranged load carrier being placed in the tipping device;

Fig. 5, which is similar to Fig. 4, shows the cradle of the tipping device in a tipping position;

Fig. 6, which is a section taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 1, shows the cradle of the tipping device in the initial position, a toy-railway wagon of the type having a tippable load carrier being placed in the tipping device; and

Fig. 7, which is similar to Fig. 6, shows the cradle of the tipping device in the tipping position.

The tipping device shown in Fig. 1 comprises a frame 1, which consists of a wooden bottom plate 2, two wooden end walls 3 and 3' which are fixed to the bottom plate 2 by means of screws 4 and 4 ' , and a wooden top plate 5 which is fixed to the end walls 3 and 3' by means of screws 6 and 6' . On the outside, the end walls 3 and 3' support a wooden lug 7 and 7 ' , respectively, which is fixed to the associated end wall by means of screws 8 and 8', respectively. The two lugs 7 and 7' are each connect¬ ed to a wooden rail element 9 and 9', respectively, hav¬ ing two longitudinal grooves in its top surface and form¬ ing part of a toy railway. The left-hand lug 7 in Fig. 1 has a female connection element 10, which in known manner is releasably connected to a mating male connection ele¬ ment provided at the right end of the left-hand rail ele¬ ment 9. The right-hand lug 7 ¹ in Fig. 1 has a male con¬ nection element 10', which in known manner is releasably connected to a mating female connection element provided at the left end of the right-hand rail element 9'. In its top surface, each lug 7, 7' is formed with two grooves, which form extensions of the grooves in the respective rail elements 9, 9' . As appears from Fig. 1, the rail elements 9 and 9' form an on- and off-ramp at the tipping device.

The left-hand end wall 3 in Fig. 2 has a through opening 11 of such shape and size that the engine, car¬ riages and wagons of the toy railway may pass through it. Furthermore, the end wall 3 has a through bore 12 located beside the opening 11. The bore 12 is surrounded by a recess 13, which is formed on the inside of the end wall 3 and whose circumference describes a first circle that is concentric with the bore 12. At its lower portion, the opening 11 is surrounded by a recess 14, which is formed on the inside of the end wall 3 and whose circumference describes a second circle which has a diameter approxi-

mately twice the size of that of the first circle and whose centre is located on the vertical centre line of the opening 11 in horizontal line with the centre of the first circle. As shown in Fig. 2, the first circle and the second circle intersect, so that the two recesses 13 and 14 merge into each other.

A guide and bearing member 15 (Fig. 3) , which is made in one piece of plastic, is positioned in the bore 12 and the recesses 13 and 14. The outline of this member 15, which is delimited by an edge 16, follows the cir¬ cumferential walls of the two recesses 13 and 14. In the portion 16a which, as seen in Fig. 2, is located to the left of the vertical centre line of the opening 11, the edge 16 has a height corresponding to the depth of the recesses 13 and 14. In the portion 16b which, as seen in Fig. 2, is located to the right of this line, the edge 16 has such a height as to project inwards (to the right in Fig. 1) from the end wall 3 (see Fig. 1) . The latter por¬ tion 16b constitutes about 140° of the second circle men- tioned above.

As appears from Fig. 3, the guide and bearing member 15 further has a recess 17, which is of the same shape as the lower portion of the opening 11 and at the bottom is delimited by the "chord" portion of a guiding lug 18 hav- ing the shape of a segment of a circle whose centre coin¬ cides with the centre of the second circle mentioned above. The guide and bearing member 15 also has a tubular projection 19, which projects outwards (to the left in Fig. 1), whose outer diameter equals the diameter of the bore 12 and which is inserted in the bore 12 so as to form a shaft bearing, as will be described in more detail below.

The right-hand end wall 3' shown in Fig. 1 essen¬ tially is the mirror image of the left-hand end wall 3 described above and has a guide and bearing member 15' which likewise essentially is the mirror image of the guide and bearing member 15 described above. Therefore,

the end wall 3' and its guide and bearing member 15' will not be described in more detail here.

Moreover, the tipping device has a plastic tipping cradle 20, which is rotatable about a rotational axis extending through the centre of the second circle of the two end walls 3 and 3' . The tipping cradle 20 is rotat¬ able between an initial position (Figs 4 and 6) and a tipping position (Figs 5 and 7), which is separated from the initial position by about 130°. The tipping cradle 20 further comprises a roadway portion 21, which extends between the two end walls 3 and 3' and which is facing straight upwards, i.e. is in horizontal position, when the tipping cradle 20 is in the initial position (see Figs 4 and 6) , and is facing obliquely downwards when the tipping cradle is in the tipping position (see Figs 5 and 7) . The roadway portion 21 is formed with two longitudi¬ nal grooves 22 which, when the cradle 20 is in the ini¬ tial position, forms a bridging extension of the grooves formed in the top surface of the lugs 7 and 7 ' . Figs 4-7 show a toy-railway wagon 23 placed on the roadway portion 21 of the cradle 20. The wagon 23 has a body 24, four wheels 25 fixed to the body 24, and a load carrier 26 arranged on the body 24. In the example illu¬ strated in Figs 4 and 5, the load carrier 26 is a plat- form which is loosely placed on the body 24 and there merely is retained in the lateral direction by means of two pins 27 (Fig. 5) . In the example illustrated in Figs 6 and 7, the load carrier 26 is a container mounted on the body 24 and tippable about two pivot pins 28 which are aligned with each other and extend in the longitu¬ dinal direction of the wagon. When the wagon 23 is tra¬ velling on the toy railway, its wheels 25 naturally run in the grooves formed in the top surface of the rail ele¬ ments 9 and 9' and the lugs 7 and 7' and in the grooves 22 formed in the roadway portion 21 of the cradle 20. The grooves 22 may have depressions (not shown) , in which the wheels 25 of the wagon 23 are placed when the wagon is in

the correct tipping position on the roadway portion 21. It goes without saying that the distance between the end walls 3 and 3' is adapted to the length of the wagon 23. At the left-hand side in Figs 4-7, the roadway por- tion 21 is delimited by a side wall 29, which is vertical in the initial position of the cradle 20. At the right- hand side in Figs 4-7, the roadway portion 21 is deli¬ mited by a side wall 30, which is vertical in the initial position of the cradle 20 and which, at its upper end, has a horizontal flange 31 extending a certain distance in over the roadway portion 21 so as to engage the wheels 25 provided on the right-hand side of the wagon 23. When the wagon 23 is in the cradle 20, its two left-hand wheels 25 are applied against the side wall 29 and its two right-hand wheels 25 engage the flange 31 (see Figs 4-7) .

When the cradle 20 is rotated from the initial posi¬ tion (Figs 4 and 6) , the load carrier 26 of the wagon 23 engages the edge portions 16b and 16'b of the guide and bearing members 15 and 15', respectively, which retain the unattached platform (Figs 4 and 5) on the body 24 and prevent any tipping of the tippable container (Figs 6 and 7) in relation to the body 24. If the tippable container of the wagon 23 shown in Figs 6 and 7 could be tipped in relation to the body 24 during the rotation of the cradle 20, it might occupy a horizontal position during the entire rotation and would thus not be emptied of its load.

At each end, the cradle 20 has an end flange 32, which is connected to the roadway portion 21. The end flange 32 has a shape corresponding to that of the por¬ tion of the member 15 delimited by the portion of the edge 16 of the guide and bearing member 15 corresponding to the above-mentioned second circle, by the part-circu- lar portion of the guiding lug 18 and by the recess 17.

The end flange 32 is rotatably mounted in this portion of

the member 15 and is provided with a gearing 33 over part (about 140°) of its outer circumference.

An operating pin 34, which is made in one piece of plastic, extends through the two end walls 3 and 3' and is rotatably mounted in the tubular projections 19 of the two guide and bearing members 15 and 15'. At each end, the pin 34 has a knurled knob 35 projecting from the respective end walls. At each end, the pin 34 further has a gear wheel 36, which is located in the portion' of the respective guide and bearing members 15 and 15' placed in the recess 13 in the respective end walls 3 and 3' . The gear wheels 36 mesh with the gearings 33 of the respec¬ tive end flanges 32 in order to rotate the end flanges 32, and hence the cradle 20, when the pin 34 is rotated. The initial position and the tipping position of the cradle 20 are defined by the points on the end flanges 32 between which the gearing 33 extends (when the gearing 33 "ends", the cradle 20 cannot be rotated any further) .