JP3330367B2 - Remote-controlled traveling toys - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote-controlled traveling toy, and more particularly to a remote-controlled traveling toy in which a front wheel and a rear wheel can be turned inward in a turning direction by an instruction given by remote control to change the traveling direction. Related to toys.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In predetermined courses and open spaces, it is practiced to play with remote-controlled traveling toys by utilizing the features of the courses and open spaces.

[0003] Many of the remotely operated traveling toys have a pleasure in operating a motor-driven or engine-driven traveling vehicle imitating the outer shape of an automobile by wireless operation from a controller.
In particular, running toys are on the course or in open spaces with obstacles,
Compete with other traveling vehicles, the traveling vehicle you are remotely controlling is a movement that you can not see in other vehicles, change the traveling direction, run through curves faster than other vehicles, avoid obstacles, etc. I feel joy.

In such a traveling toy, a pair of front wheels and a rear wheel are provided on both sides of a front portion and a rear portion of a vehicle body, respectively, and the rear wheels or both front and rear wheels are used as drive wheels.
A steering mechanism using the front wheels as steering wheels is used. In a general steering mechanism, a pair of front wheels are rotatably supported on both sides in the vehicle width direction in a lateral direction, and these front wheels are connected by a steering rod. The steering rod is connected to a steering motor and a rack mechanism on the right side in the vehicle width direction. Alternatively, a structure in which the vehicle is driven to the left to steer two front wheels (front wheels) is used.
Thus, during straight running, the pair of front wheels are steered (rotated) from the neutral position where the vehicle is in the straight running posture to the right or left side in the vehicle width direction.
Then, the traveling vehicle is turned rightward or leftward at the steering angle at that time.

[0005]

However, since such a steering mechanism has a structure in which the front wheels are directed to the right or left in the vehicle width direction, a large steering angle such that the front wheels are turned sideways cannot be obtained.

[0006] For this reason, for example, when playing on a course with obstacles, the traveling vehicle leaves the course, travels in front of an obstacle such as a wall, and proceeds to a point close to the obstacle. Steering that changes the direction of the front wheels is inevitable from obstacles.

Therefore, at this time, the traveling vehicle
An operation of stopping at that position, moving backward while changing direction, and moving forward while changing direction again, is required to avoid the obstacle and return to the course again.

[0008] Such a return operation is troublesome, and the flow of the game is changed or the game is stopped in the middle, so that the fun of the game is reduced by half.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable a rapid change of direction almost in the direction immediately beside the traveling direction so that an obstacle or the like can be approached during traveling. It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote-controlled operation toy that can immediately respond to such situations.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote-controlled traveling toy according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a steering mechanism for converting a traveling vehicle in a left-right direction includes a front wheel provided on one side of a vehicle body. A pair of wheel sets on both sides of the vehicle body, both of which are combined with the rear wheel, and one of the front wheels and the rear wheel is formed to have a width dimension such that it protrudes from both sides in the other width direction to form one independent wheel set. And a support portion for supporting each wheel set portion with respect to the vehicle body such that the front wheels and the rear wheels of the wheel set portion can be tilted to both sides in the vehicle width direction in a range from a vertical position to a horizontal position, A tilting mechanism is provided to tilt the pair of wheel assemblies inward in the turning direction in accordance with an instruction from the controller to change the direction change.

[0011] It is assumed that the traveling toy changes direction from a state of straight traveling to one of the left and right directions, for example, in accordance with an instruction from a controller. Then, the pair of front wheels and the pair of rear wheels start to fall from the vertical posture, which is the straight traveling posture, toward one side in the vehicle width direction, which is inside the turning direction, by the tilting mechanism.

Here, initially, each of the front wheels and each of the rear wheels have an outer peripheral surface of each wheel in contact with the ground.

However, the point at which each front wheel and each rear wheel comes into contact with the ground is gradually increased from the outer peripheral surface of each wheel to a corner portion formed by the outer peripheral surface and the side surface every time the front wheel and the rear wheel fall down. Changes.

At this time, since the width dimension of the front wheel and the width dimension of the rear wheel are different, each front wheel and each rear wheel are tilted in the front-rear direction due to the difference in the width dimension, that is, while tilting forward or backward. Head to sideways posture.

Then, the point at which each front wheel and each rear wheel comes into contact with the ground is set as the falling angle of the front wheel and the rear wheel increases,
It gradually changes from the point of the corner part near the vehicle width direction of each falling front and rear wheel to the point of the corner part near the vehicle front-rear direction.

Here, the driving force for rotating the wheels is:
When the point of the corner of the rear wheel closest to the vehicle width direction touches the ground, it strongly appears as a force toward the front and rear direction of the vehicle, and as the point of the corner portion closest to the front and rear touches the ground, the front and rear direction of the vehicle Is small, and the force in the vehicle width direction appears instead.

Due to this change in traction, the vehicle body
Steering from not only the change in the center of gravity due to the falling of the wheels, but also the degree of tilting of the front and rear wheels, from the direction change corresponding to the smallest steering angle to the direction change corresponding to the largest steering angle that is directed almost to the side. Becomes possible.

As a result, the direction of the running vehicle is changed as directed by the controller. Moreover,
When the front wheels and the rear wheels have fallen to the maximum, that is, when the front wheels and the rear wheels are in the sideways posture, the driving force for rotating the wheels acts almost in the direction of the vehicle width. On the other hand, the direction is rapidly changed almost in the lateral direction.

Therefore, even when the traveling vehicle has advanced to a point close to the obstacle, the traveling vehicle can avoid the obstacle by using a rapid change of direction almost in the sideways direction. You can enjoy playing with the running car without interrupting the game.

[0020] The remote-controlled traveling toy according to claim 2 is
In addition to the above objects, the pair of wheel assemblies are respectively arranged on the side portions of the vehicle body and extend along the side portions of the vehicle body so as to realize a rapid change of direction substantially in the lateral direction with a simpler structure. A pair of support members, the front wheel rotatably supported at the front of the pair of support members, the rear wheel rotatably supported at the rear of the pair of support members, and a pair of support members, respectively. First mounted and operated according to forward and reverse commands from controller
And a first drive mechanism having a first gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force of the motor to at least one of a front wheel and a rear wheel; A pair of annular receiving surfaces formed along the outer peripheral surface at the intermediate portion of each support member of the pair of wheel assembly portions, and a pair of annular receiving surfaces formed on both sides of the vehicle body, respectively. A gear member that is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the support member, and the tooth portion is arranged along the circumferential direction of the support member. A second drive mechanism that is mounted on the vehicle body and includes a second motor that operates according to a traveling direction change instruction from a controller and a second gear mechanism that transmits a driving force of the motor to a gear member. And that it is configured to have:

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote-controlled traveling toy.
In addition to the above object, in order to further reduce the number of parts, a second motor is disposed at the center of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction, and a second gear mechanism is provided by the motor. The gear trains are arranged symmetrically to the members, and the driving force from one motor is transmitted symmetrically to each gear member.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
A description will be given based on an embodiment shown in FIG.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the appearance of a radio-controlled traveling toy to which the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 3 to 9 show the structure of each part of the traveling toy.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the traveling toy is an electric four-wheel traveling vehicle 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a traveling vehicle) which simulates the outer shape of a traveling car, for example, a race car. Is configured in combination with a controller 70 that remotely controls the wireless communication.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle body 2 of the traveling vehicle 1 has a structure in which a flat chassis member 3 and a streamlined body 4 attached to the upper portion of the chassis member 3 are combined. Used. Various devices necessary for traveling are mounted on the upper surface of the chassis member 3. The structure around the chassis member 3 including the chassis member 3 is shown in FIG.
It is shown enlarged.

The structure will be described. Referring to FIG. 4, reference numeral 5 denotes a front wheel,
Are rear wheels arranged on both sides of the rear portion of the chassis member 3, respectively. Both front wheels 5, 5 and both rear wheels 6, 6 are paired. Each of the front wheels 5, 5 and each of the rear wheels 6, 6, as shown in FIG. 5, are wheel sets 7, 7 arranged on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the chassis member 3, respectively. Combined to form a pair. The wheel assembly parts 7, 7
They form a pair in the left-right direction with the chassis member 3 interposed therebetween. The structure of one (left) wheel assembly 7 is shown in FIGS.

The structure of the wheel assembly 7 will now be described. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 10 denotes a first support member, and 11 denotes a second support member which is assembled so as to cover one surface of the support member 10 (both of the support members of the present application). Is a member that constitutes The first support member 10 extends along the side of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction, and has circular cylindrical portions 12, 12 each having a short cylindrical shape with a bottom at each end. It is formed. In addition, the cylindrical portion 1
The bottom side of 2 faces the chassis member 3 side. The intermediate portion 12a connecting the short cylinder portions 12 has a semicircular cross section. In addition, the intermediate part 12a is the chassis member 3
And open to the opposite side.

The second support member 11 extends along the support member 10 and has box-shaped gear case portions 14 at both ends which cover the central portions of the inner bottom surfaces of the cylindrical portions 12.
An intermediate portion 14a between the gear case portions 14, 14 is formed in a semicircular shape to be combined with the intermediate portion 12a. The second support member 11 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 12,
Combine with the end face of a. As shown in FIG. 8, an axle 15 is inserted through the bottom wall 12x of each of the tubular portions 12, 12 and the side wall 14x of each of the gear case portions 14 facing the bottom wall 12x so as to penetrate therethrough. The axle 15 is rotatably supported by the two walls 12x and 14x. Of the respective axles 15, 15, a pair of shallow dish-shaped wheel pieces 16 are fixed to each end of the axle 15 disposed at the front with screws 17 (only one side is shown). Wheel piece 1
6 have an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 12;
Also, they are combined so as to cover the outer peripheral end of the cylindrical portion 12. The front wheel 5 is formed from a combination of these wheel pieces 16, 16. Also, at each end of the axle 15 disposed at the rear part, a pair of deep dish-shaped wheel pieces 20 are screwed.
1 (only one side is shown). Wheel piece 20
Each of them has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 12 and is combined so as to cover the outer peripheral end of the cylindrical portion 12. The rear wheel 6 is formed from a combination of the wheel pieces 20, 20. The outer diameter of the rear wheel 6 is larger than the outer diameter of the front wheel 5, and the width dimension is set to a wide dimension that protrudes from both sides in the width direction of the front wheel 5 (outer diameter: small front wheel, large rear wheel, Width dimensions: front wheel narrow, rear wheel wide).

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the two gear case portions 14 and 14 drive at least one of the front wheel 4 and the rear wheel 6, here, both the front wheel 4 and the rear wheel 6. A drive mechanism 22 (corresponding to a first drive mechanism) is housed therein. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the traveling drive mechanism 22 includes a traveling motor 23 (corresponding to a first motor) serving as a power source and a gear mechanism 24 in a rear gear case portion 14.
(Corresponding to a first gear mechanism), and a structure for transmitting the driving force from the motor 23 to both the rear wheel 6 and the front wheel 5 through the gear mechanism 24 is used.

More specifically, the motor 23 having a pinion 25 attached to an output shaft is laterally housed in the rear gear case 14 as shown in FIGS. Further, a transmission mechanism 2 for rear-wheel drive, in which a plurality of spur gears 26 for reduction are combined, is provided in the gear case portion 14.
8 is stored. The transmission mechanism 28 allows the motor 23
Is transmitted to a spur gear 27 mounted on the rear axle 15. The motor 23,
The transmission mechanism 28 is supported by the bottom wall 12x and the side wall 14x. A pair of bevel gears 29 is provided in the front gear case 14.
Is stored. The output side of the bevel gear 29 is assembled to the axle 15. A transmission shaft 30 is rotatably housed in an elongated space in the intermediate portions 12a, 14a connecting the gear case portions 14, 14. As shown in FIG. 7, both ends of the transmission shaft 30 are bearing portions 30a (only one side is shown), and the support members 10 and 1 are provided.
1 rotatably supported. The rear end of the transmission shaft 30 is connected to the transmission mechanism 2 via a pair of bevel gears 31.
8 is connected to a spur gear 27 in the middle. The front end of the transmission shaft 30 is connected to the gear case 1.
4 is connected to the input side of the bevel gear 29. Thereby, the driving force of the motor 26 is guided to the front wheels 5 through the transmission shaft 30. That is, both the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 are simultaneously driven by one motor 26. In this power transmission system, the front wheels 5 are rotated at a higher peripheral speed than the rear wheels 6 in order to achieve straight traveling with the small-diameter front wheels 5 and the large-diameter rear wheels 6.

With such a structure, the wheel assembly 7 is a pair of modular products suitable for the right side of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction and the left side of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction. The remaining wheel assembly 7 has the same structure, and thus a detailed description is omitted.

The wheel assembly parts 7, 7 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of support portions 40 (only one side is shown) are used to turn to a pair of left and right support base portions 32 projecting laterally in a trapezoidal shape from both sides in the vehicle width direction of the chassis member 3. It is movably supported. The support portion 40 has a structure in which the intermediate portions 12a and 14a of the wheel assembly 7 are rotatably sandwiched between a support base 32 and a cover 33 that covers the support base 32 from above. .

Specifically, a pair of annular flange portions 34 are formed on the outer peripheral surface near the ends on both sides of the tubular portion formed by the intermediate portions 12a and 14a. Flange part 3
A pair of annular receiving surfaces 35 are formed on the outer peripheral surface near the middle adjacent to the outer peripheral surface 4 along the outer peripheral surface. Support base 32
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of support walls 36, each of which has a substantially semicircular notch at its tip end, protrude from the front and rear portions of the upper surface. Thereby, the intermediate portions 12a and 14a of the wheel assembly 7
Is, as shown in FIG.
2 by being inserted into the semicircular portion 36a at the tip of the support wall 36 while being attached to the support wall 36
4, while the movement in the front-rear direction is regulated,
The receiving surface 35 fits in the position a. The cover 33 has a semicircular cylindrical portion 37 for accommodating the tubular portion formed by the intermediate portions 12a and 14a as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a pair of support walls 3, each of which has a substantially semicircular notch at its front end, are provided at front and rear portions of the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 37.
8 (FIG. 4 only partially shown, FIG. 5 only one side). Thus, the cover 33 covers the upper side of the support base 32 while attaching the support wall 38 to the flange 34 projecting upward from the semicircular portion 36a as shown in FIG. Circular part 36
The upper halves of the intermediate portions 12a and 14a protruding from a are inserted into the semicircular portion 38a at the tip of the support wall 38. That is, the intermediate portions 12a and 14a of the wheel assembly 7 are rotatably sandwiched between the support walls 36 and 38 from above and below. At the same time, it is regulated so as not to move in the axial direction. Thus, the intermediate portion of the wheel assembly 7 is supported by the bearing portion 39 formed by the support walls 36 and 38 so as to be rotatable around the axis, that is, around the vehicle width direction.

With such a support, the wheel set 7 can be
As shown in FIG. 2, the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 can be tilted from the position where the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 are in the vertical position to the position where the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 are in the horizontal position as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a tilting mechanism 45 for tilting the wheel sets 7, 7 is incorporated into the upper surface of the chassis member 3. The tilting mechanism 45 has an intermediate portion 1
A gear member, for example, a U-shaped gear member 46 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion formed by 2a and 14a, and a drive mechanism 47 that transmits a driving force necessary for changing the direction to the gear member 46 is used. Specifically, the gear member 46 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the teeth 46a are mounted so as to be continuously arranged from the lower part of the tubular part formed by the intermediate parts 12a and 14a to the side toward the center of the chassis member 3 to the upper part. . The driving mechanism 47 has one direction changing motor 48 mounted at the center of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 9. The motor 48 has a pinion 49 on the output shaft, and the pinion 49 is arranged vertically so as to face forward of the chassis member 3. A gear mechanism 50 (corresponding to a second gear mechanism) is combined from the pinion 49 to both sides of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction. The gear mechanism 50 is provided with a plurality of reduction gears 51 a to 51 symmetrically from the pinion 49.
d (for example, a gear in which a large gear and a small gear are connected coaxially) are arranged side by side in the lateral direction. Thus, a symmetric gear train from the motor 48 to the two gear members 46, 46 is formed. The left and right reduction gears 51d, 51d arranged closest to the vehicle width direction are connected to the U-shaped gear member 4.
6, 46 so that the driving force from the motor 48 is simultaneously transmitted to the left and right gear members 46, 46. By transmitting the driving force, the wheel assembly parts 7 can be simultaneously rotated around the axis of the intermediate parts 12a and 14a, that is, around the vehicle width direction of the chassis member 3. Thus, the front and rear wheels 5, 6 of the wheel assembly parts 7, 7 on both sides can be simultaneously tilted from the vertical posture toward the inside in the turning direction. The output shaft of the motor 48 is provided with a centrifugal clutch 52 for connecting motive power only when a predetermined rotational speed is reached.

As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, the tubular portion formed by the intermediate portions 12a and 14a has a return mechanism for returning the wheel assembly 7 which has been tilted down by the driving force of the motor 48 to the vertical position by the spring force. Each of the mechanisms 55 is incorporated. Return mechanism 5
5 is, for example, two compression springs 57 (only one of which is shown) between the outer surface of the tubular portion formed by the intermediate portions 12a and 14a and the inner surface of the support portion 32 and the cylindrical portion 37 of the cover 33 surrounding the tubular portion. A structure is used for accommodating a pair of substantially semicircular displacement members 58 (only one of which is shown) that are connected to each other. For example, one of the pair of displacement members 58 allows the tubular portion to rotate only in the clockwise direction against the elastic force of the compression spring 57 on one side, and the other allows the tubular portion to rotate only in the counterclockwise direction. Rotational displacement is allowed against the elastic force of the compression spring 57 on one side. Specifically, adjacent one ends of the displacement members 58 are locked to the outer surface of the tubular portion so as to allow the displacement in the rotation direction. Using this locking, one of the displacement members 58 rotates counterclockwise while the other rotates so that one of the displacement members 58 follows the tubular portion when the tubular portion rotates clockwise. When it moves, it is adapted to be pivotally displaced following the tubular portion. Specifically, the other end adjacent to both the displacement members 57 is locked to the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 37 in a direction that allows the displacement in the rotation direction. This allows the falling wheel assembly 7 to return to the vertical position by using the elastic force of the compression spring 57 that is stretched when the wheel assembly 7 falls.

As shown in FIG.
33 (including the motor 4)
8) is covered by the gear cover 60 from above.

With such a structure, a steering mechanism 8 capable of changing the running direction of the vehicle body 2 to the left and right is formed.

The steering mechanism 8 can be operated according to an instruction from the controller 70. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in (2), a control unit 61 that controls the traveling of the traveling vehicle 1 in response to an instruction from the controller 70 is installed above the gear cover 60.

Here, the controller 70 will be described. As shown in FIG.
It has a main body 71 formed of a casing having a size that can be gripped by an operator. On the front surface of the main body 71, a slide knob 72 for forward / reverse operation, a slide knob 73 for left / right spin rotation operation, and a slide switch 74 for power on / off are assembled as operating elements. On the left side of the front end of the main body 71, a push button 75 for a left turn operation as an operation element is mounted, and on the right side, a push button 76 for a right turn operation as an operation element is mounted. Inside the main body 71, slide knobs 72 and 73, a push button 75,
A transmission device 77 for wirelessly transmitting each instruction signal from 76 is built in, and the slide knobs 72 and 73 and the push buttons 75 and 76 are operated to move the traveling vehicle 1 in the forward / reverse or left / right traveling directions. Instructions for changing and spin rotation can be made. Reference numeral 78 denotes a battery serving as a power source of the transmitting device 77, and 79 denotes a transmitting antenna projecting from the center of the front end of the main body 71.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 61 includes, on a circuit board 62 detachably mounted on the upper surface of the gear cover 60, for example, a receiving device for receiving a transmission from the controller 70, A structure is used in which various electronic elements 63 capable of controlling the operations of the various motors 23 and 48 according to the instruction 1 are mounted. For more information,
The control unit 61 includes a slide knob 72 of the controller 70.
When the vehicle is slid forward from the neutral position to the front side, the respective motors 23, 2 built in the rear wheels 6 are received in response to the instruction.
3 is rotated forward to move the traveling vehicle 1 forward, and when the vehicle is slid backward, the motors 23 and 23 are reversed to move the traveling vehicle 1 backward. When the slide knob 73 is slid forward or rearward from the neutral position, one of the motors 23, 23 built in each rear wheel 6 is rotated forward and the other is rotated reversely, and the traveling vehicle 1 is rotated around the center of the vehicle body. Spin left or right. When the push button 75 on the left side is pressed, the motor 48 is rotated forward and the respective wheel sets 7, 7 are rotated.
To the left (inward in the turning direction), the front and rear wheels 5, 6 are changed from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and the traveling vehicle 1 is turned leftward (left turn). When the right push button 76 is pressed, the motor 48 is rotated in the reverse direction so that each of the wheel sets 7, 7
To the right (inward in the turning direction), the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 are changed from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and the traveling vehicle 1 is turned rightward (right turn). Various functions are set. With these functions, various movements required for the traveling of the traveling vehicle 1 can be obtained.

The control unit 61 is provided with a box-shaped cover 65.
Thus, the periphery of the circuit board 62 is surrounded and protected from the outside. In addition, 66 is a receiving antenna assembled so as to protrude from the chassis member 3, 67 is a control unit 61,
5 shows a battery that is detachably attached to the rear part of the chassis member 3 and serves as a power source for each of the motors 23 and 48.

The traveling toy thus constructed has a feature that the traveling direction can be rapidly changed to almost the sideways direction.

That is, it is assumed that the traveling vehicle 1 travels straight in a plaza, a course, or the like, for example, as shown in FIG.

At this time, the operator (not shown)
After the power is turned on by turning on the slide switch 74 of the controller 70, the slide knob 72 is slid in the same forward direction as the traveling direction. Then, an instruction signal for traveling in the forward direction is transmitted from the transmission antenna 79 of the controller 70.

On the other hand, traveling vehicle 1 receives this operation signal from reception antenna 66. The controller 61 operates the traveling motors 23, 23 built in the respective rear wheels 6 in the forward direction in accordance with the received forward instruction. The driving force from the motor 23 is transmitted from the pinion 25 to the rear wheel 6 through the transmission mechanism 28 and is transmitted to the front wheel 5 through the transmission shaft 30.

At this time, the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 are
1 and 10 by a return mechanism 55 attached to
As shown in FIG. 12 (a) and FIG.
The vehicle travels straight forward from the state A in FIG.

In this straight running state, the push button 75 on the left side of the controller 70 is pressed.

Then, in response to the instruction to change the direction to the left, the control unit 61 of the traveling vehicle 1 rotates the direction-changing motor 48 forward, and sends the signals to the wheel assembly units 7 through the gear mechanism 50. The assembled U-shaped gear member 46 is simultaneously driven. Here, since each of the wheel assembly parts 7 is rotatably supported by the bearing part 39 around the axis, it is turned leftward (in the direction of arrow L in FIGS. 1 and 3) on the inner side of the turn. Lean. As a result, the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 on both sides of the chassis member 3 start to fall from the upright posture toward the inside in the turning direction to the left in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIG. Produces the traction necessary for turning (turning left). Explaining this point, the outer peripheral surface of each front wheel 5 and each rear wheel 6 is initially in contact with the ground as shown by a point α in FIGS. 1 and 10.

At this time, the point α at which the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 come into contact with the ground increases the inclination angle of the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 as shown in FIGS. 12 (a), 12 (b) and 12 (d). Each time, the outer peripheral surface of each wheel gradually changes to a corner portion formed by the outer peripheral surface and the side surface.

Since the width of the front wheel 5 and the width of the rear wheel 6 are different from each other, as shown in FIG.
The rear wheel 6 falls down (sideways posture) while being inclined forward (because the width of the front wheel 5 is small and the width of the rear wheel 6 is large).

In response to this inclination, the point α at which the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 touch the ground is determined each time the inclination angle of the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 increases, as shown in FIGS. As shown in the state C in FIG. 13, the position gradually changes from the point of the corner portion near the vehicle width direction to the point β of the corner portion in the forward direction of the vehicle body.

The driving force of the wheels caused by this fall is
Point α near the vehicle width direction in the corners of the rear wheels 5 and 6
When it touches the ground, it appears strongly as a force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and as the contact changes from the same point to the most forward point β, the force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle decreases, and instead the force in the vehicle width direction decreases. It appears strongly.

This change in traction causes the vehicle body 2
Is the smallest steering angle that cannot be achieved by a conventional steering mechanism that directs the wheels in the vehicle width direction due to the degree of fall of the front wheels 5 and the rear wheels 6 and further to the change in the center of gravity of the vehicle body 2 caused by the fall of the wheels. The steering is performed from the direction change corresponding to (1) to the direction change corresponding to the largest steering angle that is directed almost in the lateral direction.

As a result, the traveling vehicle 1 is
Is turned to the left as instructed by the push operation.

At this time, it is assumed that the traveling vehicle 1 has traveled straight from an obstacle P such as a wall surface to a point close to the obstacle P from directly in front of the obstacle P as shown in a state C in FIG.

In the conventional steering in which the direction of the front wheels is changed, the obstacle P is inevitable, so that the game must be interrupted. However, such steering does not occur in the steering in which the front and rear wheels 5, 6 are tilted. .

That is, during straight running, the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 are tilted to the maximum by pushing the left push button 75.
That is, the front and rear wheels 5, 6 may be tilted from the vertical position to the horizontal position.

At this time, since the driving force for rotating the wheels acts almost in the direction of the width of the vehicle, the traveling vehicle 1 is moved almost in the direction transverse to the traveling direction as shown by the traveling locus Q in FIG. The direction changes rapidly while drawing an arc-shaped trajectory.

By this direction change, the traveling vehicle 1 can avoid an obstacle P approaching immediately. Then push button 7
When the wheel 4 is returned, the fallen front and rear wheels 5 and 6 return to the straight traveling state in which the wheels are in the vertical posture as shown in the state D in FIG. 13 by the elastic force of the compression spring 57 of the return mechanism 55. Then, the avoidance of the obstacle P is completed.

When the push button 76 on the right side of the controller 70 is pressed while the traveling vehicle 1 is traveling straight, the same as described for the previous left turn, the inside of the turn shown in FIG. With the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 that fall, the direction can be changed in the right direction, and as shown in FIG. 13B, an obstacle P approaching immediately can be avoided by a sharp turn in the right direction.

As described above, the traveling vehicle 1 has the front and rear wheels 5, 6
By adopting the steering mechanism 8 of the type in which the vehicle falls down, it is possible to change the direction so far, and even if the traveling vehicle 1
Even if the player moves to a point close to the obstacle, the player can enjoy the game without changing the flow or interrupting the game by performing a rapid change of direction almost in the sideways direction.

The rapid change of direction almost in the horizontal direction is shown in FIG.
While the traveling vehicle 1 is moving backward as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, it can be performed in the left and right direction as shown in FIG. As shown in a), it can be performed in the left-right direction from the start of retreating, and the play by the traveling vehicle 1 can be made more enjoyable by using a characteristic rapid direction change.

Particularly, the rapid change of direction almost in the lateral direction can be performed smoothly if the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 are driven simultaneously as a set. In addition, when one of the front wheel 5 and the rear wheel 6 has a smaller outer diameter than the other, the lateral movement changes, and a wheel having a high peripheral speed, in this case, the front wheel 5 makes a sharp turn while moving forward. Characteristic rapid direction change using small wheels with a high peripheral speed (because small wheels are performed at a higher rotation speed than large wheels in straight running). Also, as shown in FIG. 11, the ratio of the diameters a and b of the contact portions of the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 when they are tilted sideways, and the ratio of the outside of the front and rear wheels 5 and 6 when traveling straight as shown in FIG. When the ratio between the diameters c and d is changed, the movement in the lateral direction is further changed, and a more characteristic direction change can be performed.

In addition, a rapid change of direction substantially in the lateral direction is achieved by a pair of wheel assembly parts 7 in which front and rear wheels 5, 6 and a traveling drive mechanism 22 are attached to support members 10, 11 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2. Is rotatably supported on both sides of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction by the bearings 39, and the wheel assembly 7 is driven by a motor-driven drive mechanism 47 mounted on the vehicle body 2. , Just a simple structure. In particular, the drive mechanism 47 includes a motor 4 at the center of the chassis member 3 in the vehicle width direction.
8 and the supporting members 10 and 11
Since the structure for transmitting the driving force by the gear train extending symmetrically to the gear member 46 on the outer peripheral surface is adopted, the number of parts including the driving source is minimized, and the structure is further simplified.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, both the front wheels and the rear wheels of the wheel assembly are driven by the motors incorporated in the rear wheels. However, only the rear wheels may be driven. Of course, only the front wheels may be driven. Also, the motor may be incorporated in the front wheel instead of the rear wheel.

In one embodiment, the width of the rear wheel is made thicker than that of the front wheel. Conversely, the width of the front wheel may be made larger than that of the rear wheel. In one embodiment, a body simulating a race car is used. However, the body is not limited to this, and may be a body having another shape, and is not limited to the presence or absence of the body and the body shape.

[0068]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling vehicle can not only change its direction due to the fall of the front and rear wheels on both sides of the vehicle body, It is possible to change the direction in which the vehicle turns rapidly in a direction almost directly beside the direction in which the vehicle does not travel.

Therefore, even if the traveling vehicle approaches an obstacle or the like, for example, if the traveling vehicle approaches a point close to the obstacle, the traveling vehicle uses a rapid direction change in a substantially horizontal direction. In this way, it is possible to avoid obstacles immediately, and to enjoy playing with the traveling vehicle without changing or interrupting the flow of the game on the way.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, there is an effect that a rapid change of direction in a substantially horizontal direction can be realized with a simple structure.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, the number of parts of the second drive mechanism for tilting the vehicle body assembly can be reduced, and an effect that a simpler structure is required can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a traveling vehicle and a controller of a remote-controlled traveling toy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which front and rear wheels of the traveling vehicle are in a horizontal position.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view showing various devices mounted on a chassis member of the traveling vehicle.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing various devices attached to the chassis member.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a wheel assembly is removed from the chassis member.

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the structure of the wheel assembly.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a traveling drive mechanism assembled to the wheel assembly.

FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing a gear structure of the traveling drive mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing a gear structure of a tilting mechanism assembled to the chassis member.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a contact state of the wheels when the front and rear wheels are in a vertical orientation.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a ground contact state of the wheels when the front and rear wheels are in a horizontal posture.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a change in a ground contact point as viewed from the vehicle front-rear direction when front and rear wheels change from a vertical position to a horizontal position from left to right.

FIG. 13 is a plan view for explaining a rapid direction change in the right and left directions substantially right and left performed during forward (straight) traveling.

FIG. 14 is a plan view for explaining a rapid change of direction in the right and left direction substantially rightward and leftward during a backward (straight) travel.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a rapid change of direction substantially in the lateral direction performed when the vehicle starts moving forward.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a rapid change of direction substantially in the lateral direction performed at the time of starting backward movement.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traveling vehicle 2 ... Body 5 ... Front wheel 6 ... Rear wheel 7 ... Wheel assembly part 8 ... Steering mechanism 10, 11 ... Support member 22 ... Traveling drive mechanism (first drive mechanism) 23 ... Traveling motor (first) 24) Gear mechanism (first gear mechanism) 35 ... Receiving surface 39 ... Bearing part 40 ... Support part 45 ... Tilt mechanism 46 ... Gear member 47 ... Drive mechanism (second drive mechanism) 48 ... Direction conversion Motor (second motor) 50: gear mechanism (second gear mechanism) 70: controller.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63H 1/00-37/00 B60K 17/00-17/08

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle body and a pair of front wheels on both sides of a front portion sandwiching the vehicle body, a pair of rear wheels on both sides of a rear portion, and at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels is constituted by a drive wheel; And a traveling vehicle configured to have a steering mechanism capable of changing the left and right directions with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and a controller that remotely instructs the traveling vehicle to instruct forward and reverse or to change the traveling direction. Wherein the steering mechanism is combined so that both a front wheel and a rear wheel respectively provided on one side of the vehicle body form a pair, and either one of the front wheel and the rear wheel is provided on both sides in the width direction of the other wheel. A pair of wheel assembly parts configured as one independent wheel set, and the front wheel and the rear wheel are vertically formed by the pair of wheel assembly parts on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body. And the position of the orientation A pair of support portions that are tiltably supported between a position of a lateral posture, and a tilt mechanism that tilts the pair of wheel assembly portions inward in the turning direction in accordance with an instruction to change the direction change from the controller. A remote-controlled traveling toy characterized by having and comprising. 2. A pair of wheel assembly parts, each of which is disposed on a side of the vehicle body and extends along the side of the vehicle body, and a pair of support members rotatably mounted on front portions of the pair of support members, respectively. The front wheel supported, the rear wheel rotatably supported at the rear part of the pair of support members, and the rear wheel assembled to the pair of support members, and actuated in accordance with forward and reverse instructions from the controller. And a first drive mechanism having a first gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force of the motor to at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels. The pair of support portions are a pair of annular receiving surfaces formed along an outer peripheral surface at an intermediate portion of each support member of the pair of wheel assembly portions, and are formed on both sides of the vehicle body, respectively. Ring A bearing portion for supporting the receiving surface so as to be rotatable around the vehicle width direction. The tilting mechanism is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the support member, and the tooth portion is provided in a circumferential direction of the support member. A second gear mechanism that is mounted on the vehicle body and that operates according to a traveling direction change instruction from the controller, and a second gear mechanism that transmits a driving force of the motor to the gear member. 2. The remote-controlled traveling toy according to claim 1, further comprising: a second driving mechanism having: 3. The second drive mechanism, wherein one of the second motors is disposed at the center in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body, and the second gear mechanism is symmetrical from the motor to a gear member of each support member. 3. The remote-controlled traveling toy according to claim 2, wherein the driving force of the one motor is transmitted symmetrically to each gear member.