EP1441822A1 - Systeme de commande sans fil pour vehicule-jouet - Google Patents

Systeme de commande sans fil pour vehicule-jouet

Info

Publication number
EP1441822A1
EP1441822A1 EP02773938A EP02773938A EP1441822A1 EP 1441822 A1 EP1441822 A1 EP 1441822A1 EP 02773938 A EP02773938 A EP 02773938A EP 02773938 A EP02773938 A EP 02773938A EP 1441822 A1 EP1441822 A1 EP 1441822A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
microprocessor
toy vehicle
remote control
transmitter unit
steering
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP02773938A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Joseph T. Moll
James M. Dickinson
Frank W. Winkler
David V. Helmlinger
Charles S. Mccall
Stephen N. Weiss
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mattel Inc
Original Assignee
Mattel Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mattel Inc filed Critical Mattel Inc
Publication of EP1441822A1 publication Critical patent/EP1441822A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H30/00—Remote-control arrangements specially adapted for toys, e.g. for toy vehicles
    • A63H30/02—Electrical arrangements
    • A63H30/04—Electrical arrangements using wireless transmission

Definitions

  • This invention relates to toy vehicles and, in particular, to remotely controlled, motorized toy vehicles.
  • the invention is in a toy vehicle remote control transmitter unit including a housing, a plurality of manual input elements mounted on the housing for manual movement, a microprocessor in the housing operably coupled with each manual input element on the housing, and a signal transmitter operably coupled with the microprocessor to transmit wireless control signals generated by the microprocessor.
  • the invention is characterized in the microprocessor being configured for at least two different modes of operation. One of the at least two different modes of operation emulates manual transmission operation of the toy vehicle by being in any of a plurality of different gear states and transmitting through the transmitter forward propulsion control signals representing different toy vehicle speed ratios for each of the plurality of different gear states.
  • the microprocessor is further configured to be at least advanced through the plurality of different consecutive gear states by successive manual operations of at least one of the manual input devices.
  • FIG. 1 A is a top plan view of an examplary remote control/transmitter used in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. IB is an exemplary toy vehicle remotely controlled by the remote control/transmitter of Fig. 1A;
  • Fig. 2 is a timing diagram showing an analog output of the vehicle control circuit used to drive different motor speeds of a toy vehicle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a trapezoidal velocity profile used to control a steering function of a toy vehicle
  • Figs. 4 is a schematic diagram of a control circuit in a toy remotely controlled vehicle, which is directly responsive to steering commands received in accordance with the present invention
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a speed shifter transmitter circuit which sends steering commands to the vehicle control circuit of Fig. 4;
  • Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D taken together, are a flow chart illustrating the operation of the vehicle control circuit of Fig. 4.
  • Figs. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, 7F, 7G, 7H, 71 and 7J, taken together, are a flow chart illustrating the operation of the remote control/transmitter circuit of Fig. 5;
  • the present invention is a toy vehicle wireless control system which includes a remote control/transmitter 100 (Fig. 1A) with a speed shifter, remote control/transmitter circuit 500 (see Fig. 5), and a remotely controlled toy vehicle 20 (Fig. IB) with a receiver/microprocessor based toy vehicle control circuit 400, also hereinafter referred to as a speed shifter receiver circuit (see Fig. 4).
  • the remote control/transmitter 100 depicted in Fig. 1 A includes a housing 105 and a plurality of manual input elements 110, 115 mounted on housing 105 and used for controlling the manual movement of a toy vehicle 20.
  • the input elements 110, 115 are conventionally used to supply propulsion or movement commands and steering commands, respectively. They also enable selection among three different modes of operation or usage (hereinafter referred to as "Mode 1,” “Mode 2,” and “Mode 3”), each having a different play pattern.
  • Power is selectively provided to circuitry in the remote control/transmitter 100 via ON/OFF switch 135 (in phantom in Fig. 1 A).
  • Car 20 is shown in Fig. IB and includes a chassis 22, body 24, rear drive wheels 26 operably coupled to drive/propulsion motor 420 (phantom)and front free rotating wheels 28 operably coupled with steering motor 410 (phantom).
  • An antenna 30 receives command signals from remote control transmitter 10 and carries those signals to the vehicle control circuit 400 (phantom).
  • An on-off switch 450 turns the circuit 400 on and off and a battery power supply 435 provides power to the circuit 400 and motors 410, 420.
  • Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a vehicle control circuit 400 in the toy vehicle 20.
  • the speed shifter receiver circuit includes a steering motor control circuit 405 which controls steering motor 410 and a propulsion motor control circuit 415 which controls drive motor 420.
  • Microprocessor 4U1 is in communication with steering motor and drive motor control circuits 405, 415 and controls all other functions executed within the toy vehicle 20.
  • a vehicle receiver circuit 430 receives control signals sent by remote control/transmitter 100 and amplifies and sends the control signals to microprocessor 4U1 for processing.
  • a power supply circuit 440 powers the vehicle control circuit 400 in toy vehicle 20 and the steering and propulsion motors 410, 420, respectively.
  • Fig. 5 shows a circuit in the remote control/transmitter 100 that is powered by a battery 505 in communication with a two-position switch 135 that is used to turn the device 100 on and off and for selecting one of the modes.
  • the remote/control transmitter 500 also includes a microprocessor 5U1 within the housing 105.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 is operably coupled with each of the manual input elements 110, 115.
  • the remote control/transmitter 100 must first be turned off via switch 135 to change the mode used.
  • Manual input element 110 is a preferably a center biased rocker button operating momentary contact switches 1 10a and 110b in Fig. 5 When pressed, the rocker button 110 causes one or the other of the switches 110a or 1 10b to change states.
  • Manual input element 115 is a also a center biased rocker button operating momentary contact switches 115a and 115b in Fig. 5 which, when pressed, causes the remote control/transmitter 100 to transmit via antenna 120 a command to receiver/microprocessor 4U1 causing the toy vehicle 20 to steer to the left or to the right.
  • manual input element 1 15 is not pressed (i.e. in center position)
  • the toy vehicle 20 travels in a straight path.
  • the manual input element 110 is not pressed, the vehicle 20 stops.
  • Mode 1 a first mode of operation or usage, is the default mode achieved when the remote control/transmitter 100 is activated from a deactivated state by moving on-off switch 135 in Fig. 5 from an "off position to an "on” position.
  • This mode has a multiple-speed (3- speed in the present embodiment) manual gear-shifting play pattern in which the microprocessor 5U1 emulates a manual transmission operation of the toy vehicle 20 and in which corresponding sounds are generated by the microprocessor 5U1 and played on a speaker 125 in the remote control/transmitter 100.
  • Mode 1 has the following features and characteristics: [0017] (1) The motionless toy vehicle 20 is put into motion by pressing manual input element 110 to a "forward" button position closing or otherwise changing the nominal state of switch 110a on the remote control/transmitter 100.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 is configured (i.e. programmed) to respond to the depressions of manual input element 110 by entering a first gear state of operation and generating a first forward movement command transmitted to the toy vehicle 20. Initially, the toy vehicle 20 responds to the first signal and moves forward at a first top speed which is less than a maximum speed the vehicle 10 is capable of running.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 generates a first sound, which is outputted by speaker 125, to simulate first gear operation of the toy vehicle 20.
  • a visual indication e.g., red flashing LED 130
  • an audible sound e.g., single horn beep
  • Shifting into a higher gear is performed by momentarily releasing and re-engaging the forward button position of manual input element 1 10 closing switch 110a within a predetermined time window. If the time window elapses, the toy vehicle 20 will return to first gear state when the forward button position 110 is activated (i.e.
  • the microprocessor 4U1 commands the vehicle 20 to move forward at a second top speed that is faster than the first top speed but less than maximum speed, and preferably the microprocessor 5U1 generates a second sound which is outputted by speaker 125 to simulate second gear operation of the vehicle 20.
  • a visual indication e.g., red flashing LED 130
  • an audible sound e.g., single horn beep
  • the forward button position of input element 110 closing switch 110a is again momentarily released and re-engaged within a predetermined time window. If the time window elapses, the toy vehicle 20 will return to first gear when the forward button position 110 is activated. Once in the third gear state, the toy vehicle 20 moves forward at a third top speed that is faster than the second top speed, and preferably the microprocessor 5U1 generates a third sound that is outputted by speaker 125 to simulate third gear operation of the toy vehicle 20. The movement of the toy vehicle 20 is terminated by releasing the forward button position of element 1 10 closing switch 1 10a or by pressing and then releasing reverse button position of element 1 10 closing switch 110b.
  • the top speed of the toy vehicle 20 might be 62.5% of maximum speed when in the first gear state, 75% of maximum speed when in the second gear state, and 100% of maximum speed when in the third gear state.
  • Other ratios and/or additional ratios to provide four, five, six or more speeds can be used to simulate other car and truck shifting.
  • Various audible sounds are preferably outputted by the remote control/transmitter 100 in response to activating the manual input elements 110, 115 on the transmitter 100.
  • transmitting a steering command by pressing steering button input element 115 to close switches 115a while the toy vehicle 20 is moving causes the microprocessor 5U1 to output an audible sound (e.g., the squealing of tires) through speaker 125.
  • Speed of the toy vehicle 20 is controlled by the remote control/transmitter 100 outputting propulsion control signals having PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) characteristics with duty cycles approximate for the speed ratios selected, e.g., 56%, 75%, and 100% (see Fig. 2).
  • the remote control/transmitter 100 outputs a binary signal with two or more values allocated to propulsion commands. Two binary bits can be used to identify stop and three forward speed values (e.g. first, second and third speeds).
  • the vehicle microprocessor 4U1 is preferably programmed to power each motor 410, 420 according to a duty cycle identified by the binary bits. Referring to Fig. 2, a fixed time period (e.g.
  • sixteen milliseconds can be broken up into fractions (e.g. sixteen, one millisecond parts) and power (V hi) supplied to the motor for the fraction of the time period (e.g. 0/16, 10/16, 12/16, 16/16) commanded by the two binary bits.
  • V hi power supplied to the motor for the fraction of the time period (e.g. 0/16, 10/16, 12/16, 16/16) commanded by the two binary bits.
  • An 8/16 duty cycle is depicted, with V hi provided for eight parts and V low (i.e. 0 Volts) provided for the remaining eight parts of the period constituting the cycle.
  • V hi provided for eight parts
  • V low i.e. 0 Volts
  • reverse speed is at a ratio of less than 100%) for ease of vehicle control and realism.
  • Mode 2 is achieved by turning on the remote control/transmitter 100 at 135 while holding button 110 in a "forward" movement position (changing state of switch 1 10a) on the remote control/transmitter 100 until the microprocessor 5U1 acknowledges the command by causing the speaker 125 to output an audible sound (e.g., horn beeps) and/or the red LED 130 to flash.
  • This mode allows the user to maneuver the toy vehicle 20 in the usual manner with sounds being generated but no gear shifting operation.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 is preferably preprogrammed for a desired default speed, e.g., 100% forward and 50%> or 100% reverse.
  • Mode 3 is achieved by turning on the remote control/transmitter 100 at 135 while holding button 110 in a "reverse" movement position (i.e. changing state of switch 110b ) on the remote control/transmitter 100 until the microprocessor Ul causes speaker 125 to output an audible sound (e.g., horn beeps) and/or the red LED 130 to flash.
  • This mode allows the user to maneuver the toy vehicle 20 in the usual manner with no sound generation by controller 5U1 or gear shifting operation.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 is preprogrammed for a desired default speed, e.g., 100% forward and 50% or 100% reverse.
  • Figs 7A-7J depict the various steps of an operating program 700 contained by the remote control/transmitter circuitry 500, such as by firmware or software in the microprocessor 5U1, to operate the remote control/transmitter 100 in the multiple modes of operation and in the different shift states in the first mode of operation.
  • the microprocessor 5U1 is preferably configured to transmit commands in binary form with propulsion and/or steering commands encoded as binary bits or sets of such bits.
  • Figs. 6A-6C depict the various steps of an operating program 600 contained by the vehicle control circuitry 400, such as by firmware or software in the microprocessor 4U1 , to operate the toy vehicle 20 in the multiple modes and in the different shift states in the first mode of operation.
  • FIG. 6D depicts the steps of a subroutine 604' which is entered four different times at steps 604 in the main program 600 (Figs. 6A-6C) to increment and test the state of a pulse width modulator (PWM) timer (i.e. counter) to power or turn off power to either motor 410, 420.
  • PWM pulse width modulator
  • the operating program 600 must be cycled through four times to increment the PWM counter a total of sixteen times to complete one PWM power cycle (sixteen parts) for either motor 410, 420.
  • Steering may also be controlled by a PWM duty cycle to prevent overshoot of the steering system.
  • the steering motor 410 may be driven by microprocessor 4U1 at a higher duty cycle when going from a left or right turn to a turn in the other direction and at a lesser duty cycle when going from a center position to right or left and vice versa.

Abstract

L'invention concerne une télécommande (100) sans fil pour véhicule-jouet, permettant de guider un véhicule-jouet programmable (20). Le véhicule-jouet (20) comprend un châssis moteur (22) possédant une pluralité de positions de guidage. La télécommande (100) est équipée d'un microprocesseur (4U1) permettant de reproduire le fonctionnement d'une boîte de vitesses manuelle du véhicule-jouet (20). A cet effet, le boîtier de la télécommande (100) comprend une pluralité de boutons (110, 115) permettant de sélectionner une vitesse. Ce microprocesseur (4U1) permet de transmettre au véhicule-jouet (20) des signaux de commande de propulsion représentant différents rapports de vitesse associés à chacune des vitesses du véhicule-jouet (20). Le châssis moteur (22) possède une pluralité de positions de guidage. La vitesse de passage d'une position de guidage du châssis moteur (22) à une autre position de guidage dépend du rapport physique entre la position de guidage réelle et la nouvelle position de guidage du châssis.
EP02773938A 2001-10-30 2002-10-29 Systeme de commande sans fil pour vehicule-jouet Withdrawn EP1441822A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US34059101P 2001-10-30 2001-10-30
US340591P 2001-10-30
PCT/US2002/034635 WO2003037468A1 (fr) 2001-10-30 2002-10-29 Systeme de commande sans fil pour vehicule-jouet

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1441822A1 true EP1441822A1 (fr) 2004-08-04

Family

ID=23334057

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02773938A Withdrawn EP1441822A1 (fr) 2001-10-30 2002-10-29 Systeme de commande sans fil pour vehicule-jouet

Country Status (9)

Country Link
US (1) US20030114075A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1441822A1 (fr)
KR (1) KR20040060949A (fr)
CN (1) CN100393383C (fr)
CA (1) CA2464017A1 (fr)
HK (1) HK1074180A1 (fr)
MX (1) MXPA04004054A (fr)
TW (1) TW200304847A (fr)
WO (1) WO2003037468A1 (fr)

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US8154227B1 (en) * 2003-11-26 2012-04-10 Liontech Trains Llc Model train control system
US8282440B2 (en) * 2006-06-20 2012-10-09 Traxxas Lp Low power electronic speed control for a model vehicle
US8371896B2 (en) * 2008-01-14 2013-02-12 Mattel, Inc. Method and apparatus for performing try-me and normal play routines
CN101992799B (zh) * 2010-11-11 2013-01-16 北京明峰世纪科技有限公司 摇杆控制双侧轮组独立驱动的工程车辆
US10525370B1 (en) 2012-04-02 2020-01-07 Traxxas Lp System for operating a motor vehicle
CN102778227A (zh) * 2012-08-15 2012-11-14 浙江大学 一种智能指南装置
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US9901839B2 (en) * 2015-06-05 2018-02-27 Ho Yin WONG Vehicle combination for providing orientation free steering
CN105879399A (zh) * 2016-06-17 2016-08-24 广东裕利智能科技股份有限公司 一种遥控车无人驾驶系统
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US11148065B2 (en) * 2020-01-10 2021-10-19 Locksley A. Christian Manual transmission emulator module for radio controlled electric vehicles

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR20040060949A (ko) 2004-07-06
MXPA04004054A (es) 2004-09-06
WO2003037468A1 (fr) 2003-05-08
TW200304847A (en) 2003-10-16
CN1578695A (zh) 2005-02-09
CN100393383C (zh) 2008-06-11
HK1074180A1 (en) 2005-11-04
CA2464017A1 (fr) 2003-05-08
US20030114075A1 (en) 2003-06-19

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