GB2484219A - Model car for slotless track - Google Patents

Abstract

A model car for use with a slotless track comprises steerable front wheels and a pivoting arm connected to the front wheels. A magnet is located behind the front wheels and connected to the pivoting arm. In use, the magnet is located above a guide wire embedded in the slotless track, the magnet not touching the guide wire, and the pivoting arm arranged to allow the magnet to follow the guide wire on which the car travels and steer the front wheels. The car may further be steered using a radio controlled means.

Description

Model car for a slotless track This invention relates to a model car for a slotless track.

The system is similar in scale and appearance to slot racing, which, as a hobby, has been established for more than 40 years and has changed very little in that time. Slot racing has several shortcomings however. Basically, only one car can be raced in each slot (or lane) and to race 6 cars together at one time requires a track with 6 lanes, which is very wide and impractical in most private homes, which is where most racing takes place. Also, through a corner (turn), the car in the outer lane travels in a very wide radius whilst the car in the inside lane travels in a very tiqht radius. This is not at all like real motor racing. Recently some improvement has been made with the introduction of DigitalT slot racing whereby up to 6 cars can be raced on a 2 lane track and lanes can be changed at designated points on the track.

There are still many aspects of this system that could be improved upon however, for example: 1. The guidance of the model cars is still by means of a slot in the track.

This does not look realistic. Real motor race circuits (tracks) do not have 12cm wide slots running along them.

2. Power to the cars is through copper or steel conductor rails running alongside the slots. Again, these do not look realistic.

3. These conductor rails tarnish and require cleaning regularly.

4. Electrical connections to all sections of the track must be maintained at all times. Any movement of the track can break this.

5. Each lane change section of the track contains a dead section. If a car stops on this, it will not restart.

6. Each lane change section is complex and relatively expensive to produce and is not suitable for fitting to home built tracks.

7. Car controllers require wire connections to the track at a fixed point.

8. If the number of cars racing changes, the current drawn can vary giving rise to surges or drops in speed.

Radio controlled model car racing has also been established for many years and is very successful in scales larger than 1/12 but smaller models in scales such as the popular 1/32 of slot racing are, for various reasons, almost impossible to steer accurately on a race track narrow enough to fit into most homes From the foregoing, it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a system of guiding model (toy) racing cars around a track by using a combination of radio control and magnetic guidance in order to achieve greater realism and greater driving enjoyment than existing systems. The invention solves or improves upon all of these problem areas.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is a model car for use with a slotless track, the car comprising: steerable front wheels; a pivoting arm connected to the front wheels, the magnet located behind the front wheels; and a magnet connected to the pivoting arm. In use, the magnet is located above a guide wire embedded in the slotless track, the magnet not touching the guide wire, and the pivoting arm arranged to allow the magnet to follow the guide wire on which the car travels and steer the front wheels.

Preferably, the car comprises a radio controlled means for steering said front wheels.

Preferably, the car comprises a castor to enable it to continue in a straight line over a lane change section when said radio controlled steering is not engaged.

Preferably, the car comprises a spring to enable it to continue in a straight line over a lane change section when said radio controlled steering is not engaged.

For a more complete explanation of the present invention and the technical advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description and the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 shows the layout of the guide wires in a two-lane track (which includes a flyover bridge) . The lane changes shown here enable a car to change once from the left side of the road to the right, once from the right to the left, four times to take a shorter route through the four major corners and once to enter the pits.

Figure 2 shows the layout of the guide wire in a lane change track section and shows the gap immediately before the lane change guide wire.

The invention firstly eliminates the requirement for guide slots, conductor rails, controller wires and electronic lane changes as used in digital slot racing by using battery-powered cars controlled by radio.

The radio controller comprises a wheel control for steering and a trigger control for speed. It further comprises means for transmitting different radio frequencies for each car whereby several cars can be raced together The track does not have slots. It comprises a wire embedded in its surface, the wire comprising material that is attracted by a magnet. The wire should be flush with the surface of the track but, when painted, it cannot be seen.

The wire serves as a guide wire for the cars, and typically there are two guide wires running round the track to form a left side and a right side lane but on a wider track there could be more than two. The track can be manufactured from wood or plastic and is simple to manufacture. In places along the track, there is one or more alternative guide wires leading diagonaily across the track to join with the other lane (or wherever) The model car comprises a magnet that assists the car in following the guide wire. In one embodiment, the magnet is mounted on a pivoting arm to allow it to foliow the guide wire. It is positioned closely above the guide wire but not touching it and slightly behind the front wheels of the car. The arm is connected by a linkage to the steerable front wheels, and this causes the car to then foilow the route of the guide wire. This approach solves the problem of inaccurate steering with radio control by assisting the guidance of the cars. The cars are powered by low voitage electric motors and their speed is controlled by a signal from the radio transmitter. Cars further comprise one or more castors or by springs to centralise the front wheels, which enables them to continue in a straight line over the lane change section when the radio controlled steering is not employed.

The cars can change lanes in order to overtake each other by overriding the magnetic guidance by means of a radio controlled steering actuator in the car. They can also take a shorter route or fastest line through the corners (turns) by approaching the corner on the outside lane and seiecting an alternative route to cut to the apex of the corner and return to the outside lane. They can also turn into the pit iane. These lane changes are made possible by having a short gap in the guide wire. At this point, the front wheeis of the car are turned to the ieft or right by radio control as desired and the car wili leave its existing course and the magnet wili relocate onto the guide wire.

Speeds of the model cars are such that it would be impossible for the driver to appiy the steering exactly at the point of the break in the guide wire.

Driving technique therefore is to appiy the steering just before the car reaches the lane change section and release it after the car has passed it.

It is imperative therefore that the power of the radio controlled steering be less than that of the magnetic guidance otherwise the car will turn immediately and run off the track, missing the lane change guide wire.

If the car is driven too quickly around a corner, the magnet will loose contact with the guide wire and the car will run off the track. A typicai track would have perhaps a minimum of four fastest line corners, two lane changes and a pits lane. To achieve the fastest lap times, steering would have to be applied six times in each lap of some ten seconds duration. With other cars to be avoided, driving skills and concentration are paramount.

Claims (4)

1. Claims 1. A model car for use with a slotless track, the car comprising: steerable front wheels; a pivoting arm connected to the front wheels, the magnet located behind the front wheels; a magnet connected to the pivoting arm; wherein, in use, the magnet is located above a guide wire embedded in the slotless track, the magnet not touching the guide wire, and the pivoting arm arranged to allow the magnet to follow the guide wire on which the car travels and steer the front wheels.
2. 2. The model car of claim 1 further comprising a radio controlled means for steering said front wheels.
3. 3. The model car of claim 2 further comprising a castor to enable it to continue in a straight line over a lane change section when said radio controlled steering is not engaged.
4. 4. The model car of claim 2 further comprising a spring to enable it to continue in a straight line over a lane change section when said radio controlled steering is not engaged.