CA1094118A - Remotely controlled miniature vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An improved remotely controlled miniature vehicle, more particularly an electrically driven miniature car of the type operated on a track-way having contact strips through which power is supplied to the driving motor of the vehicle. Improved remote control is provided for controlling the miniature car for changing one lane to another. The front wheels are steerable by actuation of a steering post. The driving motor is mounted to move physically in response to additional driving torque applied through a gear train to the rear wheels. Mechanism is provided whereby the physical movement of the driving motor actuates the steering mechanism to turn the front wheels for changing from one lane to another. Provided in one form of the invention is member having rollers than can contact a side wall of the track for positioning the front wheels and steering post to pre-determine the direction of turning in response to physical movement of the driving motor.

Description

'i"` ''- i l~,.' ~, ~ ~ - -l BACKGROU`dD OF T~IE INVENTIO~
2I ~icld of tl)e Invcntioll ¦ The field of the invention is that of remotely controlled 41 elec~rically driven miniature toy vehicles and more particularly 5I miniature cars tllat al-e operated on a closed track way 8~ havincJ contact strips throuyh which power is supplied to the 7 vellicle throucJl~ brushes or collectors carried hy the vehicle.
8l The nature of the i~provements is described rnore in detail hereinafter.

13¦ Dcscription_of the Prior Art 14¦ Re~otely controlled miniature vehicles particularly cars 15I are known in the art. Typically a conventional type of remote 16¦ control vellicle is provided as part of a remote controlled system 17 wherein the vehicles operate on a track having contact strips 18~ through which the power is supplied, the vehicles being adapted 19l for rer~lote 5 teering control whereby they are able to pass one another and chancJe from one lane to another. Certain categories 21I of vehicles are known as "slot cars" and in this particular 22¦ category of system the vehicles are constrained directionally ~y virtue of slots or guides to follow a particular pre-determined 24 path. I'owever, that type of system wher~in -the vehicle travels on a flat track with flush-contact strips and is steerable 26¦ remotely, whereby it can pass othcr vehicles and can transfer 27 I froM one lane to another is more realistic. An eY~emplary form 28 of this type of system and vehicle is disclosed in patent No.
29 3,774,340. This system, as ~nown, ho~ever, leaves room for 30i i~rovelllents. In this type of prior art system, the vehicle 31 is controlled re~otely hy control o~ -the volta~e, that is ~ower ~2 supplicd to the electric drivincJ motor of the vehicle which dri~es

- 2 - `

~,~i ~ 4~

t:he Xe~ Ylleels ~ ouc~h. a~ in. The moto~ moVes pll~sic~ll,y xel~ti~e ~o the ch~ssis, beiny actuated by ille~
tia, that is momcntum upon ch~nc~e in volta~e sup~lied in reSP-onse lo remo~e contxol.The steering means includes stee,ra~le ~xont wheels which can be turned in one direction or the othe~ for causing the ca~ to txansfer ~rom one lane to the other o two la}les pro~ided in a ~rack way with side walls which carl be engac3ed by a front,wlleel of the veh.i-~Ie for positioning the front wheel sl:eeriny means in a position to be activated by movement of the driving motor ~or tul-ning the wheels in a manner to cause the vehicle to chanc~e lanes.
In this cateyory of system, the steerin~ mechanism is relatively complex; .it depends upon tlle steerable ront wheel having engayement with the side wall of the track, and it depends upon the pllysical foxe and aft mo~ement of the propellin~ motor. Thus, ~hese constructions leave room for `
. ~
improvements in the way of simplified, less complex and more dependabl~ operable mechanisms. The herein invention as described in detail hereina~.er seeks to overcome all o~
the shortcomings o the prior art and otherwise to achieve the purpcses of the particular objectives as set forth here-inafter~
SU~ RY OF 'rHE IN~ENTION
The remote stee~`ing control o~ the vehicle of the herein inven~ion is achieved b~ way of changes in current supplied to the dri~inct motor~ The driviny motor is mounted to provide ~or physical mo~ernent in response to variation i~
torque applied to the worm gear of tlle clriving t,~ain that dri-~es the rear wheels. The motor may rnove angula-,^ly a~out an axis abc~ve G~: helow it o~ a~out it-,s own axis, this mo~e-ment heinct imparted to the steering mechanism for tl~rr.i~.r~t;~

- 3 r~~
~" `

the r~ont ~l~eels to cause the,yehicle to tr~ns~e~ rom one lan~ to ~noth^~.
~u.rthex i~pro~ements reside in t~e ~teering mech~nism - itself. The ~ront axle .is mou~ ed to tu~n a~hout a vertical axis. The steering means carries a vertical steexing post whlch,is o~set ~xom the center of t~le a~]e so that upon it.s be.in~ moved forwarcll~ ox rearwardl~, the ~ron-t wheels are turned. A steexing stem member is carried by the motor ~ncl is movable by the motor to engage the steering post to.turn the fron~ wheels one wa~r ox another dependi.n~ upon the pos-ition of the steering post at the time oE engagement by the steering stem member~ In one orm of tha invention pre-posi.-tioning of the steering post is achieved by way oE a posi-tioning member which is rotatable relative to the vehicle chassis about a vertical axis, the positioning member carry-ing rollers engag~ble with the tr~ck sicle walls and the pos.i-` . .! `
tioning member being conrlected to the fxon-t axle through ~ lost motion connection ~or pre~positioning the steering post to thereby predetermine the direction that the front ~heels will be turned upon actuation by movement by the driv-ing motor.
In a simplified form of the invention as described here-inaEter, the front axle has only two positions~ It occupies one position or the o-ther for turning and travelling along,a lane. Impulses from the dxive motor position it in one pos-ition or the other.
In the light of the foregoing, the prirnary ohject o:E

the invention is to provic~.e a.n i.mproved miniatu~e remote electricall~ controlled veh.icle wherci.n the remote control is provided hy wa~ o~ a driving motor whlch drlves the vehicle wheels throllgh a gea.r tr~in ~nd i.s moun'Led ~or movement in response to a chanc~e i.n dri.vin~J torque with means wherehy t..he mo~or movemerlt actuat:es st:eera,hle wheel~. -. _ ~ further object is to provide m~ans for realizin~ the steerabl~
2 lim~ulse in response to a c~langing current wherein th~ ~otor is ¦ mounted to move angularly about an axis spaced from the axis of S ¦the otor or altcrnatively moves an~ul.trly ~bo~t its o~n axis.

I ~ further object is to provide improved steering mechanism 9¦ wherein the front axle is turnable about a vertical axis and a 1~¦ vertical steering post is provided which is offset laterally and 11¦ which is movable fore and aft for turning the front wheels in one 12 direction or the other, the steering post being movable ~y a 13 steering member that is actuated by movement of the motor itself 14 in response to a variation in torque of the driving motor.

18 , Further objects reside in advancing th~ state of the art by 19¦ achieving proportionally realistic acceleration and deceleration 20¦ f the vehicle as the speed is changed by the operator. This may 21¦ be achieved in part by way of the motor having a fly wheel.
corollary object is to realiæe a great~r range of speed control 231 and to achieve control by way of current change rather than 24 voltage change. A further object is to realize a system wherein 251 controllable cars and non-controlable traffic vehicles are inter-271 mixed with the capability of the control cars being able to 28 overtake traffic cars that they can pass or slow down to avoid coll.sions.

. ~5- .

-~
1 ~ In preferred forms of the invention the track layouts are 2 ¦oval or figure 8 with simplifiecl means for convcrtin~ from one ¦tO t~le other. ~ further objec-t is to provide a track which is

4 ¦foldable for easy storage, and instant erection an~ readincss for

5 ¦operation it~out the ~ypical assembly requirements.

9¦ Further objects and additional advanta~s of the invention 10~ will become apparent from the following detaile~1 description and 11 annex drawings~

1~1 15¦ B~IEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWI~IG
16 Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an e~emplary form of oval track 171 and electrical circuit arran~ements for individually controlling 18 t~io miniatur~ vehicles;
19~ Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of a preferrcd form of 21¦ remote electrically controlled vehicle;

23 Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the vehicle of Fig. 2;
24 ~ ~
Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevational view of the vehicle 26 of Figs. 2 and 3;

28 Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

3~ Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of a modifie~ form of 32 the vehicle;

- 6 -¦ Fic3. 7 is a schematic view of another form of the vehicle;

¦ Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are partial diagramatic views illustrat-4 ¦ ing the automatic steering under remote control of the vehicle 5 ¦ illustratecl in Figs. 1-5;

7 Fig. 12 is a plan view of another modified form'of remotely 81 controlled vehicle;

10¦ Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of ~ig. 12; 1 111 . . I

12¦ Figs. 14 and 15 are partial diagramatic views illustrating the ,13 remote steering control of the vehicle lllustrated in Figs. 12-13;

- 15¦ Fig. 16a is a partial schematic plan view illustrating a 16 simpliefied modified form of the invention~ ' 171 . . . ' '' 1~

18¦ Fig. 16b is a detail view illustra,ting the steering mechanism 19¦ f ~ig. 16a. ' 21 Fig. 16c is a detail view of the s-teering cam and Fi~. 16b.
221 . . , . I

23 I D-~'SCRIPTION OF T~IE PREFERRED EMBODIMEMTS
I -- -- - - --- . . .
24 ¦ Fig. 1 shows schematically an oval track 10 having side walls 25 ¦ which corresponds generally to types of track known in the prior art' 26 ¦ The track is provided with embedded flush contact strips as designa-, 27 I ted at 11 and 12, providing a pathway to be followed adjacent one 28 ~ side of the track and numerals 13 and 14 designate another pair of 29 ¦ flush contact strips providing ano-ther pathway adjacent the other SO ¦ side of the track. The remotely controlled vehicles are able to 31 transfer from one pathway to the other, that is, from one side of 32 the track to the other.

~1~ I ~4~

1¦ , Tile vehicles a~s will be described,are ~rovided with pairs 21 of brushes or collectors that engage the flush contact strips 4~ w}lere~y power is supplie(l to the drivin~ motors of tlle cars.

5, ~1 I In the exemplary arrangement shown, circuitry is provided for 81 providin~ po~er to two cars having electric driving motors 9¦ iclentified as tlle A and P cars. Power is supplie~ through a lO¦ transformer as desianated at 20 having a primary winding 21 and 11¦ a secondary windin~ 22 and providing appropriate voltage for the 1%¦ circuitxy. The circuitry of the individual drivin~ motors of 13¦ the cars ~ and B is illustrated within the oval track 10. The A
14 car has a motor windin~ desi~nated at 26, which receives power 15¦ through brushes 27'and 2e engagable with the flush contact skrips~
16¦ The car B has motor winding 30 which receives power throu~h the 17¦ brushes or collectors 31 and,32. In the circuits of the motor 18¦ windings 26 and 30 are the reversly connected diodes 34 and 36 19¦ so that the windin~s operate on opposite polarities of the 21 applied voltage.
221 . .

241 The circuitry of Fig. 1 is arranged to apply voltage of 25¦ one polarity to one car and of the opposite polarity to the 26¦ other car. The circuitry includes the parallel reversely 2r¦ connected diodes 40 and 42 which are in circuit with po-tentiometers 28 44 and 46, which connec-t to rheostats 48 and 50 to the conductive 29 strips. One of the strips of each pair, that is, 11 and 13 301 connect to the common wire 52. The control rheostats 4~ and 50 31 connect -to the other concluctive strips of tilC two pairs, that is 32 strips 12 and 14. I~umerals 56 and 58 desi~;nate swltches for the .

~ ~ _ i ~`

1 pow~r supplies of tlle respective cars whereby the current 2 provided can b~ substa1ltially varied by closing the switch -to shunt a part of the ~otentiometer ancl the controlling rheostat to 4 thereby vary the torque pxovided by the driving ~otor. As can be seen, half of the AC power wave, that is a half of each polarity ~ is provided to each of the cars so that individual control of 71 cach car throu~h its respective con~roller is possible, whether

8 the car is following one of the pathways of the track or the other. ¦

12 Fi~s. 2~5 illustrate an exemplary preferred form of a 13 miniature vehicle. The vehicle is schematically shown in these 14¦ figures. As shown, the vehicle has a chassis which is essentially 15¦ a flat plate, as designated by the numeral 66, having a shape 16¦ as shown. It has a narrowecl extending fron-t portion 67 as may 17 be seen in Fig. 3 and cut outs at the rear part as designated at 18 68 and 69 at the positions of the rear driving wheels. The lg¦ electrical driving motor is d~signated by the numeral 72 and 20¦ the motor is suspended in a frame having a bottom part 74 21¦ resting on`the chassis 66 and having end parts 75 and 76 having a 22¦ shape as may be seen in Fig. 5. Secured to the top of the motor 23¦ is a rod member 80, tlle ends of which are journalled in the 24 end members 75 and 76 of the motor supporting frame so that the 25¦ motor is suspended and can swing angularly about the axis of rod or 26 ¦ stem 80 28 ¦ The brushers or collectors may be conventional, and are not Z9j show~.

~2 .

.,, I . . .

1 ¦ The vchicle has rear wheels 82 and 83 of suitable type 2 ¦carriecl on a rcar axlc 8~ journalle~ in flanges 85 and g6 3 ~carrii~d b tlle frame or chassis 66.

51 .
I
71 l'he motor has a drive shaft 90 on wllich is a worm gear 91 ¦ ancl it meshes ~ith a pinion gear 92 on the re~r axle ~4. The

9 shaft 90 passes thro~lgll an op~ning ga in the su~port m~mber 76.

10¦ The front end of the motor extends into an opening 9S in the

11¦ support member 75. As previously explainecl the mo-tc,x can swina

12¦ laterally, that is angularly abou~ the axis of the supportin~ stem

13¦ or rod 80. Pinion gear 92 is suitably crowne~, that is rounded 141 in cross section to accommodate the angular bodily movement of 15¦ the motor 72. The operation will be clescribed more in detail 1~ presently. :

191 ., ' . ,.
20¦ The front wheels of the vehicle are steerable in response 21¦ to the bodily movement of the motor 72 as will be d~scribec'.
22¦ Thc front steering asse~bly, i.s illustrated in the Figs. 2-5.
231 The front wheels are mountecl on an axle plate mernber as 2~1 ~esigna-ted at 100. This member has upstandin~ side portions 101 251 and 102 which carry the axles 103 and 10~ of the front wheels 105 26 ¦and 106. See Fig. 5. Numeral 112 designates a positioning member 27 lor yoke whicll cooperates with the front axle member 100 as will be 28 Idescribed. Positi.oning member 112 has a circular part 113 29 ¦which overlies the number 100 as shown and it has a forwardly 30 ¦extenc'ing neck 114.with a -transversely extended part 116. Thc 31 transverscly cxtcnding part 116 carries strips at its ends on 32 which are nlounted roller wheels 11~ and 119, these strips belng 1¦ adjus~able inwar~ly and out~ardly to adjustable positions which 2 can be set by way of the screws 120 and 121. The rollers 118 and ¦ 119 as will be described more in detail prescntly, are enaagablc wi-th ~h~ side ~alls of the track for positioninc3 the part 116.

81 The positioning me~ber 116 has upstanding from it a vertic~l 9 steering post 130 which is in a position rearwardly of the axis of the front axle members 103 and 10~. The member 100 and the 11¦ positioning member 116 are pivotally secured toc~ether by ri)eans 12 of the pivot post 132 as may be seen in Figs. 5 witll interposed 1~¦ washers 133 and 134. ~1asher 133 lS in between -the positioning

14 member 116 and the member 100 and washer 13~ is between the member 100 and the par~ 67 of -the chassis 66. The positioniny 16¦ member 116 is normally biased into a position wherein its 17¦ transverse part is normal to the chassis by means of the resilient 18¦ ~iasing stem 140 which is attached at one enci to the part 67 of 1~¦ the chassis and is attached at its other end to a bracket 1~1 extendincr downwardly from the poSitioninCJ member 116.

231 ., 241 The axle member 100 and the positionincj mermber 116 are 25 ¦ coupled together by way of a lost motion connection which includes 26 ¦ a vertic,al pin 144 upstanding from the axle membcr 100 -through an 27 ¦ arcuate slot 146, in the positioning member 116. The exact manner 28 of cooperation of these parts will be described in detail 29 presently.

- 1.1 - ' I

, ~ tt~ch~d t:o the unde~side o~ the motox 72 at OllC' 5ide i~;
a ~orwardl~ extending da~rt stem 150, whose ~ree end 15:1. ls po.inked a;t its irlner s.i~e to de~ine an ape~ lS:La extendiny inward].~ tow~xds the ~ert.ical stee~ post 130~ Ape~ l~la separates two sl.i~htl~ conca~e cam su~faces 151b and 151c ~hicll coop~rate with stee~in~ ~ost~ 130 to steex the vehicle's ~ront wheels.,~s will ~e describe~ more i.n detai.l presellt.ly, the motor~ of course, appl.ies, ~orc~ue tl~^ough the worm year 91 to the plnlon gear 92 ~or dri~ing the rear wheels C?~ the vehicle. There is, c,~c couse, a reacti.on to~que applied to the motor 72 such that it can move anyularly about the ax:is of the supportir.g rod or stem 80. When th.is happens, the steering stem or dart 150 is moved anyularl~ laterall~ so as to engage one o~ its c~n surfaces with the verticaJ.
steering post 130 to i~part steeri.nc~ movement to the ~ront wheels as will be descx.ibed in detail presently.
Before describln~ in detail the x~note control steeri.n~
, operation o the ~ehicle, reference will be made to modified forms o~ motor suspension whereb~ the same o.r similar steer-ing operation may be realized. One modi~ied form of motor suspension or support is illustrated in Fi~. 6 wherein the same reference numerals are used ~o identi~y the part corr~
esponding to the previous embodiment. n Fig. 6, the shaft 90 of motor i2 extends through a beariny 160 in suppor-t mem--ber 76'. At the other end of the motor 72, there is a boss 162 which is journalled in an annular bearing me~ber 163 provided i.n the support memher i5'. ~s may be seen, the frame o.f the motor itsel~ is mounted so as to be able to ro-tate, that is mo~re angulaxly. Thus the reaction of the tor~ue applied b~ the ~orm year 90 can cause the body o~ -the motor tG rotate angu]arly in the opposite direo~tior - ~.2 -1 Thus, as may be seen, when the motor rotatcs about its 2 axis, the dart ste~m 150 is moved correspondingly and it can engage the vertical steerilly post 130 to efEect steerincJ in 5 It same or similar manner.

7 l 8 I Fig. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing another form of 9 the invention ~herein the motor is mounted for bodily angular 10¦ movement about an axis spaced below the a~is of the r.lotor as 11 distin~uished from the mountir.g illustrated in Fig. S. In Fig. 7, 12¦ the motor 72 ls carried on a support plate 170 having brackets such 13¦ as shown at 171 which are journalled on a s-tem 172 extending paralle~
14¦ to the chassis and supported by brackets like the one desiqnated at

15¦ 1~4. The support plate ].70 is en~aaable at one side with a fixed

16¦ stop 176 ancl is engagable at the other side wi-th spring 17$.

17 In this form of the invention, the reaction torque as before, can

18 cause the motor to move angularly about the axis 172 and pas~ the

19 dart stem 150 is movable similarly to bring about the steering 201 operatlon.
211 .

,231 24 From the foregoing, the similarit~ as well as the diEferences ~5¦ in the characteristics of the three forms of motor suspension are 26¦ readily discernible. In each case, the reac-tion torque is, of 27 course opposite to the dircction of the drivinc~ torque. IJith the 2~ laxis of suspension above the motor, the gear force which is the 29 ¦driving force between the gears acts with and assists the reactiun 30 ¦torque in moving -the motor for steerinc3. I~ith the motor rmounted 31 for angular movement about its own center line, or axis, -the c;ear 32 force produces mininlal torque tending to rotate th~ motor. Ilith the : moto~ moun'ced about an a~r spaced belo~r th~ moto~ axis, the~eac~.ion to~ue and gear ~o~ce o~pose each otller.
OPER~TION OF THE ~ 6~ O FXGS l~S~_FIG. 6 and _IG.7 The operatic,~n is illustrated schematlcall~ in FiCJS. ~ r ~, 10 and 11~ The steering resl1lts from bodily movement of the motor in response to chancJes in torclue which mo~e the steering stem or dart 150 wlth respect to the steer.ing post 130. Thàt is~ when t~e operator desires to cause ~heir vehi-cles to chanc~e lanes, they operate their respective switch to increase the ~oltage supplied to their respective vehi~
clesO This increased ~oltac.~e produces an increa~e in curr-ent supplied to the ~ehicle's motor. As is characteristic of electric power supplies the current will initially have a high value pulse anA then the current level will drop back to a somewhat lower level than that of the pulse. This pulse of current vroduces an increase of torque by the motor ... . . .
,', causing it to pivot momentari.ly in its mounting. As the '-~, ' pulse of current drops off, the motor returns to its normal position. It is this instantaneous movement of the motor , that is u5ed for steering. This ste~ring is essentially ~he same, irrespective of which of the disclosed types o~
mountin~ of the motor is used,. ' Figs. 8-11 are schematic and exaggerated ~to illustrate - , ' the steering sequerlces.
- Fig. 8 illustrates the car following a lane of the track adjacent to the side. wall Wl a-t the left. The roller 118 of the positioning member 112 engages the si.de wall, causing membcr 112 to rotate clockwise slicJhtl~ so that pin 144 is mo~ed to the upper end of arcuate slot 146. The fron-t axle hecomes allnost peruendicular to the trac~ ancl the car ~o~es straight ahead. The left wheel does not enc~age the s.i~e k7all o~ the track. In th.iC; ~sition of member 112, :.:

~`

stee~ ost 130 is located so that it is opposite the ' C~l sur~ace 151b o~ the da~t whexeb~ UpOIl ell~agement tll ~ith ~he pos~ will be mo~ed rea~wal~dl~ l'hls ha~pells upon actuati.on o~ one o~ the control sw.itches shown in Fiy. 1 to chanye the curxent supplied to tlle motor 12 to produce a curreilt pulse as a~oresaid and thus increase the torque is del:i~7ered b~ the motor. The car, of course, has inertia and because o:E its reslstance, the driving wheels acking . through the gear train w.ill now cause the motor to move . angularl~ about its pi~rotal mounking. In the case o~ the ~irst modification, it will. swing ab~ut t.he stem 8~; in the ca.se of Fig. ~, it will rotate about its own axis,; and in the case of E~ig. 7 it will move angulaxly about the axis o~
stem 172. Upon the instantaneous increase .in torque applied by the motor the cam sur~ace 151b is enyaged with the post 130 and pi~ots member 112 in a cLockw;ise direction, as shown . . ',1 .
I in dotted lines in Fig~ 8. This causes the axle plate mem-ber 100 an~ the wheels thexeon to also pivot clockwise, be-cause o~ the enyagement or pin 144 with the top end of slot .
146~ Bs~ause the axle o wheels lOS, 106 is forward OI the pi~ot 132 the wheels have anti-castor effect and, once kurn-ed past the de~d center direction, w.ill continue to turn in - the direction steered. Thus, even though dart 150 returns to its normal position (shown in solid lines1 upon reduction of the re~luced current pulse, the wheels will conti.nue to turn to the right. k~ig. 9 illustrates the configuration of the steeri.ng wheels after the da.rt has enyaged post 130, initiatc~ turrling of member 112 and returned to iks oxi.ginal position. As seen therein both -the positioning membex 112 and the axle member 100 have been turned in a clocXwlse dir~
ection, with pin 1~6 remainirlg engayed with the top o~ slot 1~6. As a result of thi.s turniny of l:he ~rorl~ wheels, the ~ 15 -:` ~

a4~

G~X ch~nye.e l~nes mo~iny 0V2~ to the X.ic~ht hand l~lne o:E
the trac]~ ~s i11ustrated in F.i.~. 10, and ~:late 112 is shown in itS centerecl pC~ itiOII with res~ect to the veh.icle frc~le. W11en the xic~1t hancl roller 119 o.~ posi-tioning mem ber 1].2 comes into contac~ with the .righ~ hand si.de wall ~7r of the track the posi~-ioning member 11~ rotates slightly i~
a countercloGkwise direction relative to the axle member 100 so that plate 146 is moved relati~e to pin 14~ until its opposite or bottom end is ad~acent the pin as seen in Fig.
11. The car will ilOW proceed along the r.ight hand l~ne parallel to the right hand guide'wall Wr with the axle o:E
the front wheels being almost perpendicular with respect to the track. In th.is position steering post 130 on position-ing member 1.1.2, is llOW positioned opposite the cam face 151c on the othex side of apex 151a on steering dart 150 so that en t~e dart mo~es laterally, in response to an increase in ~current, cam surface lSlc will engage the steering post 'and move it forwardly causin~ plate 112 to pi~ot counter-clockwise. This wili happen when a remote control switch is actuated to increase the current supply and correspundingly the torque o~ the motor again causiny the motor itself to ` be moved angularly as described. Thi.s is illustrated in ~ phantom lines in Fig. 11, showing the steering dart'in a - position with surface 151c eng~ging the steeriny post 130 to rotate positioni.ng member 112 and, because of che engagement of pin 144 with the bottom of slot 14~, axle member 100 in a counterclock~tise direction; thus curning the wheels for c~usi.ng the car to ~ove over to tre opposi.te lane auain.

A~ain, because of the anti-castor effect of the wheel axle location, the wheels, once turned past dead cen-ter will con-tinue to turn to ~he left; e~ren .~hen dart lS0 returns to its normal pOSiliO}1 beca~se of th~ drop off of the reduced ~ 16 -.

cuxrent pulse~ ~hen the c~XS ~h~ncJc l~ne~, the~ move inresponse to their owrl Jnomentum de~eleratin~ and then ac~-eler~tlllg whell the po~er is~ ag~in ap~li.ed~ In addition, a ~e~urn spxilly will }~e used ~o ~.id ln .~etu~nin~ the mo-tor to its nor~al posi~ion,movi.n~ s~eerincf dar-t 150 away from the steering post 130.
Fxom the foregoiny .it ~ill be observed th~lt simply by operation o~ the switches 56 and 58 for cars A and B that they ma~ be caused to trans~er from one lane to the other at ~Yillr and may pass ahead or behind of other cars that may be provlded on the track way i~ desired, EMBODIMENT OF FI~S. 12-15 _ _ . . . .. . . .
Fi~s. 1?-15 show a modi~ied ~orm o~ the invention whexe-iIl the axle member 100' is made integral with the transvexse member 116 carrying the rollers 11~ and 119, the txansverse member 116 being connected to the main part of axle membe.r 100' by the neck 114. The member 112' formed as a disc, is separate ~rom the part 11~. It has a notch 190 in its peri-phery cooperating with a post 191 upstanding from the ront part 67, of the chassis to sexve to limit angular mo~ement o~ the part 112'. A lost motion connection is provided be--tween the parts 100' and 112' comprising the stem 144 stand-ing from the axle member 100l, enyaging in arcuate slot 146 in member 112~. rr'he steering post 130 is carried by the disc member 112' adj~cent to the point 151 of stecring dart 150.
The parts are carried on the stem or arbor i32 overlyiny each other with the interpos~dwashers 133 and 134, as in the pre~
vious emhodimen-t.
The operation o~ the pxesent embodiment is illustrated in Figs~ 12,14 and lS. rn the operation, for example, when the roller 11~ engages the side wall at the le~t side o~ the track, Fig. 12 the axle .nem~,er 100' is moved clockw.ise j~nto ~osition with thc ~'r~n-t ~le no.rmall~ perl~endic~ . to tlle track so that the C~L- ~uns a~long in a stra1ght J.ine parallel.to tlle left guid.e wall~ At this time~ ~he ste~.ring po~t 130 ls in a posi~ion relative to the point lr~l of the da.r~ 150 so that upon the next movement o~ the dart, the steering post 130 is mo~ed in a directi.on to rotate tl~e member 112' clockwi~e and it moves the axle member 100' with it to turn the Lront ~heels for a turn to the right Fig. 1 towards the other side of the tr~c~. Fi.g. 14 illustrate~
such a turn to the right having- just been made ~rom the - , le~t guide wall and the p.in l91 bein.g at thc end of the arcuat~ Gut-out 190, as shown.
When the car reaches the,other side of the track the roller 119 now engages the riyht hand side r.~all, Fig. 15 rotatin~ the axle ~ember 100' in a counter-clocl~wise d.irec-tion bringing the front axle into an almost perpendicular position relative to the traclc and the car runs along in a straight line parallel to the right hand side wall. The pi.n 144 ~as now been moved to the left end of the arcuate slot 14~ The steering post 130 is now in a position relative to the point lSl of dart 1~0 so ~hat when the dart is now ~` moved, the steering post 130 is moved foxwardly so as to - turn the member 112' in a countex-~clockwise airection, the axle mem~er 100' turning with it so that a left turn is now made and a car proceeds to the other side of the track unt.il the next turning impulse is imparted from the motor 72.
EMBODIM~NT OF FXGUR~S 16a~ 16h ~ND 16c __ _ _ ___ Fi.~lre~ b and 1.6c show a modi~ied and simp],ifi.ecl form of the inYention wllich does not employ any preposition-ing means for the ~xont a~.le member. In the previous elnhod-i.ment~, noxmall~, while th~ cc~r is running along adjacent to a side wall,the ~ront axle i~ turned about 5 from norllc;
~ 1.8 -to~lcl~ds the side w~llo '~he an~le o~ turn o~ the front a~le ~or turn~ g ~r.om one lane to ano~he~ is nonnall~ about lS.
Fox purposes of the present embodiment, it has been found th~t ~he car can be o~er~ted wi:th the ~ront axle turned ak an an~le o~ about 7u from normal towards the side wall with the cax running alony the side wall. Then, by tul-nin~ the ~ront axle to a pOSl~iOn about 7 rom normal in the oppo-site direction, the car ls caused to t~ansfer to ~he OppQ'-site lane and Xlln alon~J khe opposite side wall.
ln Figs. 16a, 1~b! and 16c the motor is designated at 72 and the dart ak 150 as in the previous embodime!lts. The chassis of tha car is designated at 200. The car has a front part desiynated at 202 which carries collector strip~s or brushes, one of which i.s shown at 204. The front axle member is designated at 206 carrying steering post 130 operatin~ about a pivot member 207 and carrying wheels 208 . . ,j .
and`210. The steering mechanism includes a disc 212 rotat-able about a pivot member 213 and having spaced axial pins 214 and ~15, the dart 150 actuat.able by the motor heing in ~ position between them as shown. Thus, as may be seen, when the motor is pulsed/ the dart 150 will move the ~isc 212 in angular increments either clockwise and then counter~
clockwise. The disc 212 carries a pa~ll 219 which cooperates with tho ratchet disc 220 also mounted to rotate about the arbor or pivot 213. Formed in the disc 220 is a slot 224 having a configuration as illustrated in Fig. 16c. ~he steering post 130 ~its into the slok 224. As shown, the slot 224 has three lobes alkhou~h it may have more~ Each lobe h?~S two leg parts parallel to radii connected by a curved loop part. As may be seen, incremenkal .
~n~ulc~^ movelllellt oX disc 21~ b~ m~ans o~ pc~wl 2~0 coopexa~--ing witll che ratclLe-t teeth in disc 220 ~ill move it in angular steps. Dur:in~ eacll step~ the stee.rincJ post 130 illtravexse 1~2 o~ o~e o~ the lobes o the slot 22~ That ~s, successiye steps o~ the disc 2~0 w.ill impart reciproca-tor~ movement to t.he steeri.n~ post 130. It .is positi.oned . on the ~ront axle membe.r 206 to move it an~ularl.y to posi~
tions about 7 from normal~ t:hat is, fron perpend.icular to the chassis for executing turns ~rom one lane to another as descr.ibed in the ~oregoing. The car sequences from a . lane at one side to a lane at the other side whenever a turn is imparted ~o the axle 20~ as described. As may be seen, in this embodiment, the car operat:es without.the use of the prepositioni.ng member as previously described.
In a pre~erred form o~ the invention, an additional miniature car or drone vehicle is provided on the trac}:way ' in addition to those already described, the additional car : being identified as a "jam car~" It may be of similar COnStr~lCtion but constructed, however, to operate at a sub-stanti.ally lower speed. This car may, ~or example, be battery operated or may be supplied with current directly from the contact strips, in any con~enient manner, but it is not remotely steered and ordinarily opercltes continuously adjacent one side or the other of the trac~way due to centri.fuyal force or fixed cantiny of the front wheelO This car serves certain distinct purposes in the system. The remotel~ cont.rolled ca~s operati.ng at higher speed will catch up to the j~n car wh.ich t~en re~uires that the remoc-ely controlled car b~ steered around the jam car. Tllc effect of steerlny around it prevents the remotely controll-; ed car- ~rom being operclted continuously at top ~peed.
In typical re~lotely controllcd syCtcms includiny sl.ot ~0 ~

Q~4~

ca~ sy~si~ems, :i~ tne ca~s do not l~ave the track, tl~ere is no race. III `the ~stem l~ein~ described~ the jam c~r m~]~es a xace out of the s~ste~l b~cause it ~uns slo~er than the remotel~ cont:rolled ca~s and it thereb~ prov3des a moving obstac]e and main~ains only one place whe:ce one of the two remotely controlled cars can pass. ~hexefo1e, ~n eacll lap of the r~ce, there is competition between the race cars to see which one will ~ass the jam car and yet avoid cxashing into the jam car. Thus, as ma~ be seen, this concept pro-~ides an activ~ and exciting race element operable during each :L~p in addition to ~he totaL race but still there is no need for any car to become disengaged or disconnected ~rom the control system.
From the f:oregoing, those skilled in the art will readily understand the nature of the construction of the car, the steering mechanism, and the manner in ~hich the remote ~ontrol is e~fected by varying the torque applled ~!
by the motor. It i5 to be obser~ed that various dif~erent modes of suspension of the motor are possible, the steering being similar in each case. The steering mechanism involv-ing the front axle member and the positioning member which resets the steering post relatlve to the steering dart may take differen~forms as illustrat~d in Figs. 2 and 3 and in Figs. 12-15.

.. .

~ 21 -~

Claims (4)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. A toy vehicle game including a track, a plurality of controllable powered vehicles for use on said track, and at least one obstacle toy vehicle which is un-controlled while on the track, including means for driving the obstacle vehicle about the track at a relatively constant speed, and separate means for driving the controllable powered toy vehicles along said track at variable controlled speeds and for changing the lateral position of said controllable powered toy vehicles on the track to enable said controllable vehicles to pass said at least one obstacle vehicle.

2. A toy vehicle game including a guide track and a plurality of controllable toy vehicles and at least one obstacle toy vehicle which is uncontrolled while on the track, said guide track having a width of sufficient dimension to de-fine two vehicle lanes enabling two vehicles to move along the track in side by side relation; said uncontrolled obstacle toy vehicle including means for driving the uncontrolled obstacle vehicle along the track at a relatively constant speed; and said controllable toy vehicles including means for driving the controllable toy vehicles along said track at variable controlled speeds and fox causing said controllable vehicles to switch lanes to enable said controllable vehicles to pass said uncontrolled obstacle vehicle.

3. A toy vehicle game including a plurality of electric powered controllable vehicles having propulsion motors, and at least one uncontrolled toy vehicle, a slotless track for the vehicles having current conductive means, said uncontrolled vehicle including means therein for driving it about the track at a relatively constant speed, said controllable vehicles having current collectors co-operable with the current conductive means connected to the vehicle propulsion motors of said controllable vehicles, remote control means for said controllable vehicles only, said controllable vehicles having steering means for controlling the direction of motion of the controllable vehicles, said steering means including means responsive to electrical pulses transmitted through said remote means for causing the controllable vehicles to overtake and pass said uncontrollable vehicle operating on the track.

4. A method of creating a race game using electrically operated miniature vehicles which are remotely controlled on a track for the vehicles having plural lanes and lateral side walls with some of the vehicles being controllable and steerable to turn from a position adjacent one side wall to a position adjacent an opposite side wall, said method including the step of operating one additional obstacle vehicle on the tract at an uncontrolled lower relatively constant speed than the other vehicles, and remotely controlling the other vehicles to steer around and pass said one vehicle whereby the controlled vehicles are restricted to passing the obstacle vehicle one at a time at random time and locations around the track circuit.