CA1272495A

CA1272495A - Car-racing game-kit

Info

Publication number: CA1272495A
Application number: CA000528192A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Kurt Hesse
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-01-27
Filing date: 1987-01-26
Publication date: 1990-08-07
Also published as: EP0233447B1; MX168700B; EP0233447A1; ES2014000B3

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
A car-racing game-kit comprising a travelling toy and a racing surface consisting of straight and curved sections having two tracks and embedded current-conductors.
The sections comprise lateral guide-edges along which a web, projecting beyond the lateral surfaces of the toy, slides, while the curved sections comprise an upright sup-porting wall running parallel with, and at a distance from, the inner guide-edge, the supporting wall being lower than the guide-edge, and in which the web engages with a down-wardly directed rod-shaped retaining member in the groove-shaped space between the guide-edge and supporting wall against which it is caused to bear by centrifugal force.
For reliable guidance of the travelling toy on the inner track, in the curved racing-surface section, there is pro-vided a substantially L-shaped moulding arranged in the longitudinal direction, stationarily but detachably, and designed with the curvature of the inner guide-edge, one leg of the moulding engaging at a distance over the groove-shaped space, while the other leg is secured to the section of the racing surface. The travelling toy is provided with two webs spaced apart one behind the other, the webs passing through the gap between the supporting wall and the leg of the moulding, and retaining members, formed thereon, projecting into the groove-shaped space.

Description

~IL272~35 The invention relates to a car racing game-kit comprising a travelling toy and a racing surEace consis-ting of straight and curved sections having two tracks and embedded current-conductors, wherein the said sections comprise lateral guide-edges along which a web, projecting beyond the lateral surfaces of the said toy, slides, while the curved sections comprise an upright supporting wall running parallel wi-th, and at a distance from, the inner guide-edge, the said supporting wall being lower than the said guide-edge, and in which the said web engages with a downwardly directed retaining member in the groove-shaped space between the said guide-edge and supporting wall against which it is caused to bear by centrifugal force.
In order to avoid track-points, it is known to support high-speed travelling toys by slight lateral outward pivoting of the front wheels with a web arranged at the front of the toy, upon lateral guide-edges on the track-section. Travelling toys thus guided permit free track-changing. It is also known tohold the -toy to the inner track by guiding a retaining member, arranged upon the web, on a supporting wall arranged at a distance from the inner guide-edge. At high speeds, however, the toys tend to swing out laterally as a result of the rear end pivoting about -the retaining member, and this has a detrimental effect upon the progress of the game. In addition to this, travelling toys running at high speeds, and guided by a retaining member, tend to tilt while running on the inner track around curves. This causes the retaining member to lift out of the groove-shapsd space between the guide-edge and the supporting wall, whereupon the toy, being no longer guided, is slung freely outwardly.
It is the purpose of the invention to guide travelling toys safely along the inner track in the curved areas of racing surfaces.

~4 ~2~2~9~

According to the present invention, there is provided a car-racing game-kit comprising a -travelling toy and a racing surface consis-ting of straight and curved sections having two -tracks and embedded current-conductors, wherein the said sec-tions comprise lateral guide-edges along which a web, projecting beyond the lateral surfaces of the said -toy, slides, while the curved sections comprise an upright supporting wall running parallel with, and at a distance from, the inner guide-edge, the said supporting wall being lower than the said guide-edge, and in which the said web engages, with a downwardly directed retaining member, in the groove-shaped space between the said guide-edge and supporting wall, against which it is caused to bear by centrifugal force, wherein: in the curved racing-surface section, a substantially L-shaped moulding is arran-ged, in the longitudinal direction, stationarily but deta-chably and designed with the curvature of the inner guide-edge, one leg of the said moulding engaging at a distance above the groove-shaped space, while the other leg is secu-red to the section of the racing surface, and in that thesaid travelling toy is provided with two webs spaced apart one behind the other, the said webs passing through the gap between the supporting wall and leg of the moulding;
and the retaining members, formed thereon, projecting into the said groove-shaped space.
The retaining members of the two webs prevent the travelling toy from being slung out even under the action of major centrifugal forces, while the leg of the moulding, acting as a cover for the groove-shaped space, prevents the toy from tilting but leaves a clearance for the webs.
The car-racing game-kit may further present the following preferred characteristics.
According to one configuration of the game-~7:2~g~
-2a-kit, the leg of the moulding covering the groove-shaped space bears upon the guide-edge, while clamping elements, arranged on the other leg, engage under the racing-surEace section and hold it releasably. This means that the mould-ings may be selectively fitted -to, or removed from, the curved racing-surface sections. It is desirable for a curved racing-surface section to form a quarter-circle of the track and for the inner guide-edge to accommodate two fitted mouldings one behind the other. It is to be understood that the mouldings may be of any desired length, so that more than two mouldings, or one single moulding, may be /

~72~

forming a quarte~-circle Or the track. In additlon to thi~, it i5 al90 pos~ible to fit ~uitablv prepared mouldings to track-section~ which are not arc3 of a circl~.
The moulding is preferably secured to the racing-surface section by two clamping elements ~paced from each other and held to the moulding by mean~ Or plate-parts and screws. Apart from the fact that thi~
allows the mouldings to be Froduc0d by simple in~ection-moulding equip-ment, it i9 pos~ible to make the ~aid clamping element3 of a material whic'~ dirrers from that of the moulding, more particularly a re3ilient material According to another configuration Or the game-kit, tha front web is fixed to the travelling toy, while the rear web i9 ~ecured detachab].y thereto. In order to be able to u9e the toy, if necessary, without re-tention by the web, the front ends of the stationary ~ront web comprise coupling element3 which are secured thereto and onto which independent web-sections may be slid and retained frictionally,-the said web-section~ comprising a retaining member which passes through the gap and pro~ects into the groove-shaped space. If the web-sections are pushed off and the rear web is removed, the toy may travel freely upon the tracks. ~inally, in order to compensate ''for transverse impacts~ the retaining members are desi~ned to deflect re3iliently at right angles to the longitudinal axis Or the toy.
The rear web may rreferably be in the form of an orfset flat strip adapted to be secured to the travelling toy and comprising strip' shaped retaining members which are upright and are integral with the front ends of the ~aid flat strip. Attachment Or the ~aid rear web may be b~ clampin~ mean~. e.g. screw~. It is desirable to provide cams at the free ends Or the retaininB member~, the said cams extending ~2~2~35 outwardly over a part of the height. The 3aid camfi provide low-friction support Or the travelling toy upon -the guide-edge3 of the racing-surrace sections, with little wear in the webs and guide-edges.
Finally~ for the purpose of improving and retainin~ th0 contact between the racing surface and the travelling toy, the chafisi~ thereof consist~s of two parts arranRed axially with a common partin~, plane between the front and rear wheels, the said parts being connected to-~ether, non-displaceabky but freely rotatably, by a connecting ele~ent, .
one chassis-part bein~ secured stationarily to -the body of the toy while the other is separate from the said body. Th~9 ensures that one part of the chassis may tilt freely to one side or the other in rela-tion to the other part, thus providing compensation for distortion o~
the racing surface sections. The floating suspension Or a pair of wheels thus obtained prevents unwanted torsional forces from acting upon the chassis or body of the toy, for example when it is travelling around sharp curves with varying angles of inclination in the direction Or travel. Thir en.sures that the two pairs of wheels remain upon the track, while steerin~ and drivin~ force~ are transferred reliably from the wheels to the track-secttons and satisractory stability is a~sured.
According to one preferred confi~u~ation, the two parts of the chassis are connected together, non-displaceably but freely rotatably, by means of an axis secured to one part of the chassis and freely rotatab:le in the other part of the chassis. In this connection, it is desirable for the ~aid axis to be located in the rear chassis-part which may be secured to the body o~ the toy, and to en,~age in a re-ceiv1ng sleeve arranged on the front chassifi-part.

9~

In order to obtain simFle axial location Or the pivotable chassi~~
Fart, the free end of the said axi3 carries a ~houlder which aats as an abutment t.o su~port to sup~ort the rotatable chassis-part non-displaco-ably between itself and the rear chassis-part. Fir~lly, provision i~
al~o made for securinF the said axis quite simplv, by means of ~crew~d clip9, to one of the chassis-Farts, preferably the rear part, and for usinF another cllp to.allow it to rotate freely in the other chassi3-part. In or~er to ensure ~mooth tiltin~, this latter clip may hold the said axi~ with~a small amount of pla~
rhe invention is ex~lained hereinafter in con~unction with the ex-ample of embodiment illustrated in the drawing attached hereto, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view Or a part of a curved racing-~urface section carrying a travelling toy;
Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of the racing surface with a moulding;

Fig 3 is a front elevation, to an enlar~ed scale, of a part ~f a web;
: ~ig. ~ is a plan view, to an enlar~ed scale, of a part Or a web;
Fig. 5 i8 a side elevation of a rear web;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a part of a curved racing-surface section with fitted mouldings;
Fig. 7 is a side elevation, to an enlarged scale, of a mouldi.ng.

Fi~. ~ is a front elevation Or a travellinF toy with the front wheels tilted to one side;
Fig. 9 i9 a front elevation of a travelling toy with the front wheels tilted to the other side;
Fi~..10 is a view of the travelling toy from below.
In FiF. 1, 1 indicates a curved racing-surface section comprising two track9 2 each havin~ four conductor-rails 3, the said section beinp defined laterally by an inner guide-edFe L~ and an outer guide-

2~

edge 5. Section 1 i8 adapted to be fitted to other racine-surrace sections by mean~ of plug-in Fins 6 and. matchin~7 re¢esse~ 7. ~ I.ndi-cates a travelling toy which i9 adapted to be driven rreely by motiv~
power upon the track formed by racing-surrace sections 1. If front wheel~ 9 o~ the toy are pivoted sli.ghtly outwardlyJ front and reAr webs 10,11 of the toy bear upon guide-edges 4 OI' S along which the said toy slides. Appropriate pivoting Or the said front wheels makes it possible for toy ~ to travel, as de~ired, upon inner or outer track 2.
Arranged in parallel with innrr p,uide-edge ~ and at a distance therefrom, i3 an upriRht supportine wall 12 which forms, ~oi.ntly with said inner guide-edge l~, a groove-shaped space 13 (Fi~. 2). A retainin~
memher 14 o~ front web 10, and a retiaining member of rear web 11, pro-~ect into the sai~l groove-fihaped space as the toy travels arouncl curved racing-Yurface 3ection 1, so that even at high speeds an-l in spite of centrirugal rorce, the said toy remains upon inner track 2. ~ear web 11 may be in th~ form Or an ofrset flat strip which is ~ecured to toy ~ b~ mean~ Or screw~ ls and carries, at it~ two ends, u~-right flat parts as rstainin~ members 15. In order to prevent retain:ing members 1l,,].5 from sliding out Or groove-shaped space 13, a moulding 17 i9 ritted to racin~-surface 0ection 1, the said moulding being secured to the.said ~ection detachably (Fl~. 2) by means Or two clampingelements 20 secured to the said moulding by means of plate-parts 1~ and screws 19. ~lould-17 is ~u~,ported by means o~ a fold 21 upon front surface 22 Or inner ~uide-edge 4.
Figs. 2 and 7 show -that moul~ling 17i9 substantially L shaped and th~t one lee 171 thereo.r pro~ct~ abo~ F,roove-~haped space 13, the clearance being greater than the thickness or webs 10,11 and the retainin~ member.

~ 24,9~i The other leg, with which clamping elements 20 enp,a~e, i3 marked 17".
TravellinF toy ~ can thu~ move freely along the track an~l is able to tilt 31ightly, but it is lmpossible for web3 10,11 and their retaininP
members 1l,,1~ to lift completely ou-t of groove~shaped space 13. It iB
de3irable for each of the said retaini~g.~elnber 1~, and/or 1~ to be pro-vided , near the ~ree end, with an external cam 21 which reduces fric-tion and wear on inner guide-edp,e 4.
In ord?r to allow toy ~ also to traJel along the track without guidance, web 11 may be removed from the toy by r;leasing screws 16 and the free ends of web 10 may be ~ade detachable. With this in view, the two ends of web 10 carry cylindrical part~ 22 onto which a cup-shaped conn~cting part 23 is adapted to be slid and retained frictionally~ a U-shaped extension 2l~ Or the said connecting part carrying a retain-ing member 1~. As sho~m in broken lines in Fig. 3, connectin~ part 23 may be withdrawn from below for the purpose of remwing the said retain-ing member. It i~ to be understood that, in order to retain the di3 tances between toy ~ and inner guide-ed~e ~, it is pos~ib].e to fit to cyllndrical part 22 a connecting part 23 having a corresponding]y long extension 2~ (not shown). Current-co]lectors~ marked 25, make contact wlth conductors rails 3.
In ~i~s. ~ to 10, thP bod~y Or a travelling toy is marlced 26 and may be of any desired conriFuration~ Secured to the said body i~ a chas3is-part 27 accommodating rear wheel3 2~ Or the toy, This Fatr of wheels is adapted to be dri~en, through a sha~t 29 mounted in cha3sis-part 27, by an electric motor also mounted in chassis-part 27, but not shown. Associated axially with chassis-part 27 is another indepen-dent chassis-part 30 carryine a pair of rront wheels 31 adapted to ~2~9~

pi~ot in known fashlon. Chassis-parts 27 and 30 are connected to-~dth~r by an axis 31 which i9 secured to chassis-part 27 by m~ans of a clip 32 and is held rotatably in another clip 33 which i~ con-nected to chassis-part 30 and acts as a hin~ge-sleeve. Axis 31 ha~ a ~houlder 31! which hold~ chassis-part 30 immovably between it and chassis part 27. Clips 32, 33 are secured to cha~sis-Farts 27, 20 by mean~ of screws 38. 3~ are current-collecting bru~h~s which co-orerate in a manner known per ss with conductor-rails smbeddPd in -th?
racin~-surface s~ctions when toy 8 i~ placed thereon. I~loreover, chassis-part 30 comprises a web 36, and chassis-part 27 comrrises another web 37, thP free ends of which carry retainin~ members and which support th~ toy on the racing-surface sections with lateral guide-ed~ss.
It may be seen from Fips. ~ and 9 that chassis-Fart 30, holdin~ front pair "r wheel5 31, is adapted to tilt to the left or rightas desired through anPular degr~-~s, whereas rear chassis-rart 27, with rear pair of wheels 28 and body 26, assumes an upright position on the track, for example.

Claims

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

1. A car-racing game-kit comprising a travelling toy and a racing surface consisting of straight and curved sections having two tracks and embedded current-conductors, wherein the said sections comprise lateral guide-edges along which a web, projecting beyond the lateral surfaces of the said toy, slides, while the curved sections comprise an upright supporting wall running parallel with, and at a distance from, the inner guide-edge, the said supporting wall being lower than the said guide-edge, and in which the said web engages, with a downwardly directed retaining member, in the groove-shaped space between the said guide-edge and supporting wall, against which it is caused to bear by centrifugal force, wherein: in the curved racing-surface section, a substantially L-shaped moulding is arran-ged, in the longitudinal direction, stationarily but detacha-bly and designed with the curvature of the inner guide-edge, one leg of the said moulding engaging at a distance above the groove-shaped space, while the other leg is secured to the section of the racing surface, and in that the said travelling toy is provided with two webs spaced apart one behind the other, the said webs passing though the gaps between the supporting wall and leg of the moulding; and the retai-ning members, formed thereon, projecting into the said groove-shaped space.

2. A game-kit according to claim 1, wherein the leg of the moulding, engaging over the groove-shaped space, bears upon the guide-edge, engages under the racing-surface section with clamping elements arranged upon the other leg, and is secured releasably by this clamping.

3. A game-kit according to claim 1, wherein the curved racing-surface section forms a quarter-circle thereof, and in that two mouldings, extending over the inner guide-edge, are arranged one behind the other upon the said racing-surface section.

4. A game-kit according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the mouldings comprise clamping elements which are spaced laterally from each other and are held by plate-parts and screws.

5. A game-kit according to claim 1, wherein the front web is arranged stationarily on the travelling toy, while the rear web is arranged thereon stationarily but releasably.

6. A game-kit according to claim 5, wherein the web exhibits, at its front ends, coupling elements which are secured thereto and which hold the independent web-sections releasably, the latter comprising a retaining member which passes through the gap and projects into the groove-shaped space.

7. A game-kit according to claim 6, wherein the coupling elements are in the form of upright cylinders onto which a cup-shaped connecting part is adapted to be slid and retained frictionally, a U-shaped extension of the said connecting part carrying a retaining member.

8. A game-kit according to claims 1, 6 or 7, wherein the retaining members are adapted to bend resilien-tly at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

9. A game-kit according to claim 1, wherein the rear web consists of an offset flat strip adapted to be secured to the travelling toy, with strip-shaped retai-ning members formed uprightly on the front ends.

10. A game-kit according to claims 6 or 7, wherein the free ends of the retaining members comprise cams extending outwardly over a part of the height.

11. A game-kit comprising a travelling toy with pairs of front and rear wheels arranged on the chassis to which a body is secured, according to claim 1, wherein two axially arranged chassis-parts with a common parting plane formed between the front wheels and the rear wheels, which are connected together, non-displaceably but freely rotatably, by a connecting element; and in that one chassis-part is secured stationarily to the body while the other chassis-part is separate from the said body.

12. A game-kit according to claim 11, wherein the two chassis-parts are connected together, non-displaceably but rotatably, by an axis which is secured to the one chassis-part and is freely rotatable in the other chassis-part.

13. A game-kit according to claim 12, wherein the axis is secured to rear chassis-part and is free to rotate in a mounting arranged upon the front chassis-part.

14. A game-kit according to claim 11, wherein the axis is secured to chassis-part engaging stationarily with the body.

15. A game-kit according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the axis is secured, by means of a clip, to the one chassis-part and is held to the other chassis-part by means of a clip which allows it to rotate freely.

16. A game-kit according to claim 11, wherein the pivotable chassis-part carries the current take-offs.