Transfer mechanism intended for use with movable figurines

Claim 2

A transfer mechanism for use in transferring articles from one location to another location which includes: a support structure provided with transfer platforms which are spaced from one another, a wheel having front and back sides located vertically so that said back side of said wheel is located adjacent to said platforms, means rotatably mounting said wheel for rotation relative to said support structure about a horizontal axis, said wheel having at least one opening extending between said front and back sides of a shape approximating the shape of an article to be transferred using said transfer mechanism and sufficiently large so that such an article may be moved through said opening, a carrier pivotally mounted on the front side of said wheel adjacent to said opening, said carrier having an entrance adjacent to said front side of said wheel of a shape and dimension corresponding to that of said opening, said carrier being sufficiently heavy so as to pivot relative to said wheel by the action of gravity during the rotation of said wheel, said carrier being located on said wheel in a position in which said wheel closes off said entrance to said carrier when said wheel and said carrier are in positions other than adjacent to said platform.

Claim 3

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: in one position of said wheel said entrance to said carrier is aligned with said opening when said opening is adjacent to one of said platforms, in another position of said wheel said carrier extends outwardly from the periphery of said wheel to a position in which said entrance to said carrier is adjacent to the other of said platforms.

Claim 4

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein: said wheel includes a notch located so as to be adjacent to and aligned with the entrance to said carrier when said carrier is adjacent to the other of said platforms.

Claim 5

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including: a first ramp leading downwardly to one of said platforms and a second ramp leading downwardly from the other of said platforms, and said carrier has a sloping bottom which slopes downwardly towards said front of said wheel.

Claim 6

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: there are a plurality of said openings in said wheel, and there are a plurality of said carriers pivotally mounted on said wheel, each of said carriers being mounted adjacent to one of said openings.

Claim 7

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including: a first ramp leading downwardly from one of said platforms, a second ramp leading downwardly from the other of said platforms, and vehicle means for receiving an article transferred to said second ramp from said first ramp as the result of rotation of said wheel and the pivoting of said carrier on said wheel and for transporting the article, latch means for holding said vehicle means adjacent to said second ramp, drive means mechanically connecting said wheel and said vehicle means so that as said vehicle means is held by said latch means said vehicle means serves to turn said wheel.

Claim 8

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 6 wherein: said latch means is responsive to the presence of an article which has been transferred using said transfer mechanism to release said vehicle means from any connection with said transfer mechanism when an article transferred by said transfer mechanism is present on said vehicle means.

Claim 9

A transfer mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: a first ramp leading downwardly from one of said platforms, a second ramp leading downwardly from the other of said platforms, and vehicle means for receiving an article transferred to said second ramp from said first ramp as the result of rotation of said wheel and the pivoting of said carrier on said wheel and for transporting the article, latch means for holding said vehicle means adjacent to said second ramp, drive means mechanically connecting said wheel and said vehicle means so that as said vehicle means is held by said latch means said vehicle means serves to turn said wheel, said latch means is responsive to the presence of an article which has been transferred using said transfer mechanism to release said vehicle means from any connection with said transfer mechanism when an article transferred by said transfer mechanism is present on said vehicle means, there are a plurality of said openings in said wheel, and there are a plurality of said carriers pivotally mounted on said wheel, each of said carriers being mounted adjacent to one of said openings, in one position of said wheel the entrance to one of said carriers is aligned with its adjacent one of said openings and is aligned with one of said platforms while another of said carriers extends outwardly from the periphery of said wheel to a position in which the entrance to such carrier is adjacent to the other of said platforms, said wheel includes a plurality of notches each of said notches being located so as to be adjacent to and aligned with the entrance to the carrier with which it is associated when such carrier is adjacent to the other of said platforms.