Programmable Cylinder Musical Toy

Abstract

A musical toy includes a wheel with a cylindrical face comprised of a magnetic sheet layer, a printed graphic and a top perforated layer such that when combined they form a radial array of rows of receiving recesses each preceded by a sequence indicator such as a number. These recesses are positioned to receive metal note balls by means of an upper housing containing lettered slots that correspond to the lettered columns of the musical analog in the songbook. The tubes of the upper housing are kept in alignment with the receiving recesses by a ratchet system that allows for controlled sequential advancement of the wheel. When the note balls are placed at predetermined locations corresponding with the locations of notes on the represented staff, they fall down a tube and are guided and into the corresponding lettered recess for that position on the wheel face. The note balls are retained by the magnetic attraction provided by the magnet sheet in the wheel assembly. When a motor is engaged to rotate the wheel assembly, switch operators extending down from upper housing contact the note balls to play the music so represented by their location in the staff and note configuration. A magnetic wand is provided for quick, convenient removal of the note balls to reset the toy for another song assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional 62/246,585 filed Sep. 21, 2021, and hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to musical toys and in particular to a musical wheel assembly having a cylindrical carrier face with an array of transverse rows of holes representing the standard musical staff onto which metal note triggers may be magnetically placed by following a numerical sequence to compose a given song which can then be played back as the wheel assembly rotates and the note balls trigger operators of a musical instrument.

Toys that play music when they run are well known in the art. Spring or battery powered music boxes or the like play a tune as they rotate. Different tunes may be played by replacing a portion of the music box such as the disk or drum holding pins which engage a sound producing mechanism. Such musical playback devices provide limited play value insofar as the songs are either fixed or selected from a fairly narrow repertoire.

In order to increase the toy play value, an alternative design may be adopted which guides the child in the simple placement of note triggering elements so they may compose songs that the wheel plays back as it rotates around. South Korean patent number KR101522176B1, for example, describes one such music wheel in which the note triggers are attachable and. removable such that a variety of songs are programmable. However, the attachment means requires that each note trigger element is itself a neodynium magnet. Given the number of note triggers required to assemble the most elementary of songs (as many as 100 individual units), such magnets would seem prohibitively expensive to provide in a toy. In addition, such a strong attachment to the rotating drum would be a challenge to remove when starting a new song. Finally, such magnets are considered hazardous for children's playthings. Importantly, there is no assembly guide system provided to easily index from row to row on the drum and logically locate and place the plurality of note elements required for a given song.

What is needed is a toy that provides the groundwork for early exposure to musical composition by providing a simple and intuitive means of assembling songs having locating features that visually guide the placement of each note by a secure means that is also easy for children to remove and repeat the composition process.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a musical wheel, with a plurality of rows each row beginning with a number followed by a series of transvers holes Detachable note balls may be loaded into the holes at different transverse positions on the drum approximating the position of notes on the staff. The note balls may be spaced out by skipping rows to control the apparent duration of each note. Thus, when all the notes are assembled, the music wheel plays the notes according to their transverse position (columns) and their circumferential spacing (numbered rows).

Specifically, the present invention provides a musical toy having a wheel assembly with a cylindrical face comprised of a magnetic sheet layer, a printed graphic and a top perforated layer such that when combined they form a circumferentially spaced array of numbered rows of transverse receiving recesses. These recesses are positioned to receive ferromagnetic note balls by means of an upper housing containing lettered funnel slots that have outlets that correspond to the positions of the lettered transverse columns of the musical analog depicted in the song book. When the note balls are placed into the proper funnel location, they fall down a tube and arc guided and into the corresponding lettered recess for that position on the carrier face. The note balls are retained by the magnetic attraction provided by the magnet sheet in the wheel assembly.

Thus, it is one object of the invention to provide a housing with funnel slots that provides convenient placement of the note balls in proper alignment with the receiving transverse recesses on the wheel.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the funnel slots are marked with note lettering that matches the lettered column location on the carrier face of the wheel assembly.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the note balls arc retained on the carrier face by magnetic attraction between the note balls and the magnetic sheet in the wheel assembly.

The upper housing also has a number viewing slot that aligns with the numbered row position to provide a clear indicator of which row of the song is in line with the funnel tubes in the upper housing. By activating an alignment feature, such as a spring-loaded ratchet ball or detent that engages a feature in each row on carrier face, the funnel tubes and the lettered note columns on the wheel remain in line with each other. While programming a song an indexing lever is pushed to initiate the rotation to the next numbered row, and the ratched ball feature jumps to the recess in the next row. One means of achieving this is to align the ratchet ball with the number column on the wheel and use recessed or raised features of this column as a catch point for advancing the carrier face of the wheel. This ratchet ball feature can be moved forward to assemble a song and then retracted to play the song.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the numbered row location which is in line with the lettered funnel tubes is made apparent.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the alignment between the upper housing and the wheel is maintained by a physical alignment feature such as a spring loaded ratchet feature.

Thus it is another object of the invention at the wheel is capable of indexed from one row to the next by means of a lever mechanism.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the ratchet ball mechanism is placed in line with the number slot window.

The song book is a visual depiction of the elements on the carrier face of the music wheel. Used as a guide to place the metal note balls, each song has a set of numbered rows and lettered columns that match the layout of the music wheel. For the present example, the 15 lettered note columns are 2 octaves from G-note to G-note. Colored graphics having a spherical appearance represent the note balls and show the child where to place an actual metal note ball in the funnel slots of the toy.
By placing the note balls from each numbered row of the songbook into the proper location on the carrier face of the wheel, the song is composed in its entirety. Both the song book and the printed graphic on the music wheel have a matching black and white pattern as a visual cue to ensure that each note ball is places in the proper location, or to help debug a song when it is completed. To create original songs, blank music sheets are provided as a. means of recording the composition.

Thus it is another object of the invention that a songbook is provided as a visual guide to placing the note balls.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the metal note balls are represented by colored graphical indicators on the song sheet.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the song book contains lettered columns that match the notes on the musical scale to assist with location of the note balls.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the song book contains numbered rows that represent the beats of musical time to assist with the location of the note balls.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the song book number and column layout has a visual pattern that matches the graphic on the carrier face of the music wheel to assist with the location of the note balls.

The upper housing is designed so that the lettered slots are stacked in two rows. This allows each adjacent funnel slot outlet to be tightly aligned at the bottom exit from the tube, but two times larger in the upper slot opening (in the transverse direction) where the note ball is placed and arbitrarily longer in a direction tangential to the cylindrical wheel.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the funnel slots are stacked in two rows to minimize the spacing between the rows on the music wheel.

When a song is fully assembled, the ratchet feature is retracted and a drive mechanism such as a motor is engaged to rotate the wheel assembly. As the wheel rotates, the metal note balls pass by the musical instrument in the housing which has a series of operators each of which is also in line with the receiving recesses of the carrier face. As the carrier face rotates, and a metal note ball engages an operator, such as a spring loaded the proper musical note for that lettered note position is played. Thus, the assembled song can be played back in a loop. The motor has a speed control dial that varies the tempo of the song, and the motor can be reversed to play the song backwards. A tone control button is provided to choose various tone output options of the musical instrument, such as piano, harp, flute, bells, etc.

Thus it is another object of the invention that a drive mechanism is provided to rotate the music wheel to advance the note balls on the carrier face.

Thus it is another object of the invention that, as the carrier face rotates, the note balls contact operators that trigger the sound output of notes of the musical instrument.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the drive mechanism for the music wheel has variable speed control to change the music tempo.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the music wheel rotation can be reversed to play the song backward.

Thus it is another object of the invention that the sound output tone can be varied.

When it is desired to start over and make a new song, a magnetic wand is provided to pull the note balls off the carrier face of the music wheel. The magnet in the wand is sufficiently stronger than the magnetic sheet of the wheel assembly. When the wand is placed near the carrier face the metal balls are retained on the end of the wand. Alternatively, a magnetic rod could be moved parallel and in close proximity to the face of the music wheel. In this position, as the wheel rotates the note balls are pulled from their position on the drum by the magnetic bar. As the metal balls roll down the face of the bar, their inertia and gravity pulls them off and they fall into a storage bin at the base of the toy.

Thus it is another object of the invention that a magnetic wand is provided to allow for easy removal of the metal note balls to begin composing a new song.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessary represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference must be made to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the toy of the present invention including a wheel assembly comprised of a two side faces that rotate on a central axis which is suspended by two side supports. The outer carrier face of the wheel assembly is comprised of a magnetic sheet covered with a printed graphic viewable from the exterior through receiving recesses in the exterior carrier surface. The upper housing contains musical instrument and is comprised of a series of funnel slots for placing the note balls in transverse positions on the carrier face of the Wheel assembly and a number window opening for viewing the number column of the carrier face. A tone output button, motor power button, indexing plunger and ratchet lever are also shown;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the musical instrument housing of FIG. 1 now showing the letterers of the musical scale in each of the several transverse funnel openings. The view shows the two row stacking of the funnel openings, thus allowing them to be closely arranged adjacent to one another. The number window is visible and shows the alignment of numbered rows with the receiving recesses of the lettered columns that carry the note balls when placed. The motor power button is also shown;

FIG. 3 is a front section view through the center of the upper housing of FIG. 2 showing the adjacent relationship of the funnel tubes, both side-by-side to each other and aligned vertically to the receiving recesses of the carrier surface on the wheel assembly. The number window is shown on the left aligned with the printed number of the number column in the carrier surface. The magnetic sheet is also shown;

FIG. 4 is a side section view of FIG. 3 through the first A-Note funnel slot showing the path that delivers the note ball to the transvers receiving recess locations on the carrier face;

FIG. 5 is a side section view of FIG. 3 through the number column showing the number indexing plunger on the left and the ratchet lever on the right that retains the round drum keeping the receiving recess in alignment with the funnel tubes;

FIG. 6 is a lower back perspective view showing the tempo and volume controls;

FIG. 7 is a lower front perspective view showing the note ball storage bin and the removal wand with two wand placement positions.

FIG. 8 is a sample songbook graphic showing a pictorial representation of the relationship between numbered rows and lettered note columns and indicating the transverse placement of the note balls into the funnel slots and thus into the receiving recesses on the carrier face of the wheel assembly to compose a song.

1   Musical Toy
2   Side Face
3   Carrier Face (3a - Carrier Face Graphic)
4   Upper Housing
5   Lettered Music Notes (5a -Printed Music Notes)
6   Wheel Assembly
7   Storage Bin
8   Removal Wand
9   Speaker
10  Numbered Note Rows (10a - Num Note)
11  Receiving Recesses (11a -Recess Graphic)
12  Note Balls (12a - Note Ball Graphic)
13  Funnel Slots
14  Power Button
15  Printed Number
16  Ratchet Lever
17  Number Window
18  Indexing Plunger
19a Storing Position
19b Removal Position
20  Operators
21  Side Support
22  Funnel Tubes
23  Magnetic Sheet
24  Ratchet Ball
25  Spring
26  Tempo Dial
27  Volume Dial
28  Song Sheet
29  Song Title
30  Tone Output Button
31  Base
32  Perimeter Wall
33  Plunger Face

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Background Design

Referring now to FIG. 1, a musical toy 1 of the present invention includes a wheel assembly 6 generally in the form of a cylinder whose cylinder bases are comprised of two circular side faces 2 connected therebetween by a transverse carrier face 3 and suspended on a central axis by two radially extending side supports 21 that pass upwardly and downwardly from the central axis, The downwardly extending side support 21 is to a base 31 adapted to support the musical toy 1 on a horizontal surface such as a desk or table. Arranged in transverse rows spaced about the carrier face 3 at regular angular intervals across the carrier face 3 are a series of receiving recesses 11 (here, fifteen tranverse recess locations) designed to carry metal note balls 12. Supended above the carrier face 3 and between the two upwardly extending side supports 21 is an upper housing 4. Said side supports 21 have a round opening in line with the central axis of the side face 2 that holds a sound speaker 9. A power button 14 exposed on the upper surface of the upper housing 4 is toggled to engage and disengage a motor drive mechanism onto the wheel assembly 6 and also turn on and off the motor that rotates the wheel assembly 6. In this way the wheel assembly 6 is free to rotate when the motor is not running.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the song sheet 28 shown here is the well known song 29 with the title Do-Re-Mi. The song sheet 28 is a printed diagram of the musical composition with the vertical columns of printed music notes 5a representing the notes on a musical staff (here two octaves) and the printed numbered note rows 10a representing the beats of musical measures. The receiving recesses 11 of the carrier face 3 are represented as a receiving recess graphic 11a. A pattern of black and white squares provides a means of better referencing the correct location of the metal note balls 12 on the carrier face 3. The metal note balls 12 are here represented as a spherical note ball graphic 12a and placed in proper compositional location in line with its corresponding printed music note graphic 5a and printed number row 10a. Thus the visual arrangement of note ball graphics 12a by numerical order and in proper note position on the song sheet 28 provides a guide for placing the actual metal note balls 12 onto the carrier face 3 of the musical toy 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an upper surface of the upper housing 4 provides a set of staggered openings of funnel slots leading downwardly to narrow outlets. A top view of the musical toy 1 shows the lettered music notes 5 debossed within the funnel slots 13. Using the Section “A” line as a reference, this location ascribes a centerline through the carrier face 3 at the center of one of the many numbered rows 10 (here, row number 3). Said funnel slots 13 are stacked in two rows with one row above the Section “A” cutting plane (per the depiction of FIG. 2) and the row of alternating funnel slots 13 below the Section A cutting plane. The printed number 15 for each numbered note row 10 appears on the carrier face 3 and is viewable through the number window 17 of the upper housing 4. This printed number 15 precedes the series of fifteen transverse receiving recesses 11, thus indicating what row of the musical composition 28 is currently positioned for assembly of note balls 12.

Referring now to FIG. 3, Section “A” is a front section view showing the upper housing 4 and fifteen note balls 11 resting side-by-side in their receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3. The funnel tubes 22 are an open path from the funnel slots 13 and are aligned with the row of receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3, and accordingly the number window 17 (located at the Section “NUMBERS” cutting plan on the left) is in line with the printed number 15 of the numbered note row 10 and visible through the opening of the number window 17. Thus, the note balls 12 can be assembled into the proper receiving recesses 11 of the carrier face 3 by matching the printed numbered note row 10a of the song sheet 28 and the printed number 15 of the note row 10 on the carrier face 3. The note balls 12 are manufactured using a ferromagnetic metal and have a diameter of less than one quarter of an inch. In a preferred embodiment, the note balls 12 have no magnetization and insufficient magnetization to suspend themselves from an un-magnetized ferromagnetic surface. When the wheel assembly 6 rotates, the note balls 12 are retained in their receiving recesss 11 by an attractive magnetic three provided by the magnet sheet 23 that resides within the carrier face 3. The magnet sheet 23 is a flexible polymer material containing magnetic particles with transverse stripes of north-south-north polarity commercially available through a variety of sources.

It can be observed that the funnel slots 13 of FIG. 2 are much larger in width than the funnel tubes 22 of FIG. 3 that open up to the receiving recesses 11, thus allowing for a larger placement target when the child inserts the note balls 12 into the funnel slots 13. It will be further noted that by stacking the funnel slots 13 in the aforementioned manner, the funnel tubes 22 and their related receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3 can be placed in very close proximity, minimizing the width of the carrier face 3 and thus the overall size of the musical toy 1.

Referring now also to FIG. 4, the Section “G” is a side section view through the upper housing 4 in line with the first G-Note funnel tube 22 and funnel slot 13 and receiving recess 11. It is again apparent that during the assembly of a the note balls 12, the receiving recess 11 and the funnel tube 22 must be substantially aligned so the note ball 12 may fall into its proper position on the carrier face 3. The funnel slot 13 extends away from the funnel tube 22 and the surface angles upward so the note ball 12 will fall into the funnel tube 22. Again, the design allows for a greater area of the funnel slot 13 opening and thus a larger target fur placing the metal note balls 12.

Referring now also to FIG. 5, the Section “NUM” is another side section view through the upper housing 4, now aligned with the number indexing plunger 18 and ratchet lever 16 which reside in the upper housing 4. The ratchet lever 16 is articulated downward and a connecting spring 25 compresses the ratchet ball 24 into a recess in the numbered row 10. While the ratchet ball 24 is in this assembly mode, a second spring-loaded indexing plunger 18 is presssed inward toward the center of the upper housing 4 against the force of the spring (not shown). The plunger face 33 engages a feature on the carrier face 3 of the wheel assembly 6 (in this design, the perimeter wall 32 of the numbered note row 10 recess) and thus the carrier face 3 rotates. As the carrier face 3 rotates the trailing perimeter wall 32 of a second numbered row 10 recess raises the spring-loaded ratchet ball 24 until the ratchet ball 24 passes over the peak of the trailing perimeter wall 32, at which point the spring pressure pushes the ratchet ball 24 into the next sequential numbered note row 10 recess. This aligns the next printed number 15 with the number window 17 (the number 3 as shown in the example of FIG. 2) which is also in line with both the funnel tubes 22 and the receiving recesses 11 on the carrier face 3. When a song 29 is complete and ready for play back, the ratchet lever 16 is retracted raising the ratchet ball 24 and leaving the wheel assembly 6 free to rotate. This is one exampe of a mechanism whose features are designed work in unison to sequentially index the carrier face 3 into position to control the alignment of the funnel tubes 22 with the receiving recesses 11 and the number window 17 with the printed number 15 during placement of the note balls 12.

Referring again to FIG. 4, a row of operators 20 are positioned in line with each of the funnel tubes 22 and thus in line with the lettered music note columns 5 of the carrier face 3. The operators 20 are switches that connect to the sound generating electronic device. When the motor wheel is engaged to rotate the wheel assembly 6, the note balls 12 on the carrier face 3 are advanced beneath the upper housing 4 and engage the operators 20. The speaker 9 then outputs the appropriate note or set of notes for each note ball 12 in the numbered note row 10 in position on the carrier face 3. Thus a playback of the assembled song 29 is generated.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the musical toy has a “Tempo” dial 26 to allow the child to change the speed of rotation of the carrier face, and thus the output rate or tempo of the musical playback. The device also has a “Volume” dial 27 to change the volume of the speaker sound output.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a storage bin 7 for retaining the loose unused note balls is part of the base 6. The removal wand 8 contains a magnetic bar which is powerful enough to pull the note balls 12 off the magnet sheet 23 within the carrier face 3. In this respect, the net magnetic force at the surface of the removal wand 18 exceeds the magnetic force between the note balls and the underlying magnetic sheet, both being a function of magnetic strength and distance. When playing a song 29, the removal wand 8 is placed in position 19a of the storage bin 7, sufficiently far away from the note balls 12 so that they do not attract and fall off the carrier face 3. To easily clear the note balls 12 and reset the toy 1 for a new song, the removal wand 8 is moved to removal position 19b and the wheel assembly 6 is set in motion. As the carrier face 3 advances, the note balls 12 encounter the magnet bar in the removal wand 8 and are pulled off the receiving recess 11 and onto the face of the removal wand 8. Now free to roll and influenced by gravity, the note balls 12 roll off the face of the removal wand 8 and fall into the storage bin 7, ready for assembly of another song.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the speaker 9 is held in the side support 21 and aligned with the center of the wheel assembly 6. An opening in the side face 2 of the wheel assembly 6 allows the speaker 9 to provide enhanced acoustic resonance of the sound.

Generally then the invention can provide a musical toy that is a wheel mounted on an axle with numbered rows of receiving recesses at equal angular intervals on its radial carrier face. In the columnar direction relative to the carrier face, the recesses relate to lettered notes on the musical scale. A series of funnel tubes are positioned in a housing above the receving recesses on the music wheel allows for organized and aligned placement of metal note balls in their proper recess locations on the carrier face. These columnar lettered funnel locations correspond to music note positions relative to the musical scale, The songbook is a graphical analog of the rows and columns on the radial face of the music wheel toy. A window opening in the housing is positioned to align with the sequentially numbered note rows on the carrier surface. When assembling a song, a plunger allows for controlled indexing and aligning of the receiving recesses with with funnel tubes from one numbered row to the next by means of a ratchet indexing system. A series of switch operators linked to a musical instrument are positioned near the carrier face and aligned with the note balls in the receiving recesses of the lettered note columns. When the motor is engaged the carrier face rotates and the metal note balls trigger the operators and the musical instrument produces the proper music note output for that lettered column. The sound tone can be changed to output various common instruments. By locating the notes in the song book to depict the matching notes on the carrier face of the toy, children can compose music. To begin assembling a new song, a magnetic removal wand is provided that quickly removes the metal note balls. This toy would allow for programming and then playing many songs. The lettered notes of the musical scale depicted in both the upper housing of the toy and the column headings of the songbook reveal a visual analog to the musical staff. The note spacing and general arrangment of each song provide a visual conception of musical measures and the basic numerical nature of musical time. Thus the toy would be an entertaining and useful musical teaching tool.

The above description has been that of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it will occur to those that practice the art that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. A number of different types of musical instruments may be employed including mechanical equivalents to the electronic device described herein. It will be recognized that the mechanically actuated electrical switches described may be substituted by other sensing mechanisms including photodiodes detecting reflected light or magnetic or eddy current-type detection systems as are well known in the art. In order to apprise the public of the various embodiments that may fall within the scope of the invention, the following claims are made.

Claims

1. A musical toy comprising:

a) a wheel assembly having two side faces and supported in a manner as to rotate on its central axis;

b) a musical instrument having a plurality of transversely arrayed operators actuable to produce corresponding musical notes, the musical instrument held by a housing to expose the operators adjacent to the said wheel assembly;

c) a plurality of note balls for activating the operators, the note balls constructed of ferrous metal and capable of attraction to a magnet;

d) a cylindrical carrier face connecting the side faces of the wheel assembly and aligned with the musical instrument, the carrier face having a magnet sheet surface and further having a plurality receiving recesses to releasably receive the note balls held in magnetic engagement at different transverse locations so that the note balls may activate the operators of the musical instrument when the wheel assembly rotates.

2. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein the receiving recesses of the carrier face are arranged in circumferentially spaced rows to correspond to the beats of measures of a standard musical staff.

3. The musical toy of claim 2 wherein the rows of receiving recesses are identified by an ascending number sequence.

4. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein the receiving recesses of the carrier face are arranged in transverse columns to correspond to the notes of a standard musical staff.

5. The musical toy of claim 1 further including a note ball assembly system comprising a housing suspended in close proximity to the carrier face having a series guide paths for placing the note balls, the guide paths having a funnel slot fir receiving the note balls and funnel tubes ending in alignment with the receiving recesses on the carrier face, the guide paths further being identified with indicia to distinguish their location.

6. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 wherein the indicia to distinguish the individual funnel slot locations is representative of notes on a musical staff.

7. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 wherein the funnel slots are stacked in two rows and their guide paths lead to the funnel tubes, the funnel tubes arranged in a single row between the two stacked rows of funnel slots.

8. The note ball assembly system of claim 5 further including a through window allowing for viewing an individual number of the ascending number sequence of claim 3.

9. A ratchet locating system comprising:

a) an actuable plunger depressed to engage one of a series of raised features in general alignment with the rows of receiving recesses on the wheel assembly and advance the carrier face;

b) a retractable ratchet ball that when place into compressed engagement with one of a series of features in general alignment with the rows of receiving recesses and the plunger is depressed, the wheel rotates and the carrier face is indexed in a controlled manner to the subsequent row of receiving recesses on the carrier face;

10. The ratchet locating system of claim 9 wherein the plunger and ratchet ball features are substantially in alignment with the number row of claim 3.

11. The ratchet locating system of claim 9 wherein one of more of the features are located in the musical instrument housing of claim 1.

12. The musical toy of claim 1 further including a printed diagram depicting the carrier face with note balls positioned to correspond with the arrangement the notes of a song.

13. The printed diagram of claim 12 wherein the carrier face diagram is depicted as ascending numerical rows and lettered transverse column headings.

14. The lettered transverse column headings of claim 12 wherein the letters comprise the notes of a musical staff

15. The musical toy of claim 1 wherein a magnetic wand is provided to remove metal note balls.

16. The magnetic wand of claim 15 wherein the wand is an elongated magnet rod that can he located parallel to the carrier face such that when the note balls rotate near the wand, they are pulled from the receiving recesses.

17. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of injection molding of thermoplastics.

18. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of vacuum thermo forming.

19. The carrier face of claim 1 wherein the features are constructed by means of stamping or extrusion.

20. A musical toy comprising:

a) a wheel assembly having two side faces and supported in a manner as to rotate on its central axis;

b) a musical instrument having a plurality of transversely arrayed operators actuable to produce corresponding musical notes, the musical instrument held by a housing to expose the operators adjacent to the said wheel assembly;

c) a plurality of note balls for activating the operators, the note balls being magnetized and capable of attraction to a metal surface;

d) a cylindrical carrier face connecting the side faces of the wheel assembly and aligned with the musical instrument, the carrier face having a metal surface and further having a plurality receiving recesses to releasably receive the note balls held in magnetic engagement at different transverse locations so that the note balls may activate the operators of the musical instrument when the wheel assembly rotates.