US20100304641A1

US20100304641A1 - Remote controlled figure

Info

Publication number: US20100304641A1
Application number: US12/802,183
Authority: US
Inventors: Akifumi Nakanishi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-02
Filing date: 2010-06-01
Publication date: 2010-12-02

Abstract

A remote controlled toy human figure comprising, a remote controlled chassis with said chassis comprising a motor and power source. The chassis further comprises at least two wheels, a receiver, two arm bases and two leg bases. The toy human figure being removably joined to said chassis and further comprising two arms and two legs, wherein the arms and legs are capable of vertical and horizontal movement. At no time do the arms or legs make contact with any surface on which the toy human figure is placed; and an RF transmitter wirelessly coupled to said remote controlled chassis.

Description

The present application claims priority from provisional application No. 61/183,200 filed on Jun. 2, 2009.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a remote controlled toy set. There are many examples of remote controlled toy sets that perform a variety of functions, such as a rolling vehicle that launches a flying vehicle (U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,264), a remote controlled vehicle with an elevating body (U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,469), and a universal chassis capable of receiving multiple components for attachment (U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,839).
The prior art lacks a remote controlled toy set having the configuration of a human form and capable of mimicking human movement. The present invention teaches a novel play pattern in the field of remote controlled toy sets.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a remote controlled action figure toy set having the appearance of a human form. The invention comprises a chassis, receiver, action figure, and a transmitter. The chassis comprises a power source, at least two wheels, and a receiver capable of receiving signals. The action figure comprises appendages capable of vertical and horizontal articulation. The transmitter is capable of sending signals to the receiver that allow it to direct the motion of the action figure toy set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a top planar view of the remote controlled action figure.

FIG. 2 depicts a front perspective view of the remote controlled action figure.

FIG. 3 depicts a side perspective view of the remote controlled action figure.

FIG. 4 depicts a rear perspective view of the remote controlled action figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a top planar view of the preferred embodiment of the invention. In the preferred embodiment, the toy figure¹has a human form comprising a head², a torso³, two arms⁴and two legs⁵. The proportions are similar in scale to a human body. The arms and legs may comprise hinge units so that they are capable of articulation at more than one point, to provide for realistic human movement.
In the preferred embodiment, the action figure is attached above a chassis⁶. The action figure may be removably attached or permanently fixed to the chassis. Projecting from the chassis are arm bases⁷and leg bases⁸. The hands and feet of the action figure are supported at the apex of the arm and leg bases, respectively. The arm and leg bases are capable of horizontal and vertical movement relative to the chassis.
FIG. 2 illustrates a front planar view of the toy set. The juncture between the arm bases and chassis is clearly shown. The arm bases are attached to the chassis through hinges, which allow for vertical movement. The arm base hinge units²⁰allow for radial movement in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction. A front wheel³⁰is also depicted in FIG. 2. Movement and steering of the toy set may be accomplished through means known in the prior art. A receiver may be provided on the toy set, capable of receiving signals from a wireless transmitter, also known in the art. When the receiver receives signals from the transmitter, control of a motor and steering actuator for the front wheel may be accomplished.
The arm bases and leg bases (illustrated in FIG. 1) are capable of vertical and horizontal movement so long as the motor is powered on. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the movement of the arm and leg bases does not contribute to the movement of the chassis because the arm and leg bases hover but are not adjacent to the surface on which the toy set is placed. The wheels that are incorporated within the chassis are solely responsible for movement of the toy set.
FIG. 3 illustrates a side perspective view of the present invention. A front wheel³⁰and a rear wheel⁴⁰are illustrated. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, there are two rear wheels. The front wheel comprises steering capability and the rear wheels may have steering capability. The action figure may be joined to the chassis through means known in the art, such as pegs, screws, or other attachment means⁵⁰. In the preferred embodiment, the action figure is permanently attached to the attachment means. In alternative embodiments of the invention, the action figure may be removed and replaced with different action figures.
FIG. 3 further illustrates an elbow region of the action figure arm. A hinge element is visible within the elbow joint. The hinge element(s)⁶⁰may also be present within the legs of the action figure as well as the groin and shoulder area of the action figure. The hinge element allows for realistic, human-like motion of the arm and leg appendages when the arm and leg bases are in motion. As shown in FIG. 3, the arm and leg bases of the chassis do not directly touch the surface on which the toy set is placed. Therefore, the arm and leg bases serve no role in actual transport of the toy set. Only the wheels of the toy set contribute to actual transport of the toy set. The appendages merely simulate the human-like appearance of crawling or creeping.
FIG. 4 illustrates a rear view perspective of the toy set. Articulation at the groin area of the action figure is illustrated in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the legs are positioned onto the leg bases so that the knee area of each of the legs are bent, lending a lunged appearance for each of the legs. Rotating means known in the art allows for radial movement of the leg bases in both a clockwise and counterclockwise direction so that when the motor is powered on, lateral movement of the leg bases may be accomplished. When the motor of the toy set is powered on, the bent configuration of the legs positioned on top of the leg bases lends a crawling or climbing appearance to the action figure.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the motor is powered by battery. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the toy set may comprise means to power the motor through solar power. The transmitter may also be powered by battery in order transmit the signals to be received by the receiver.
The chassis and action figure may be constructed from a variety of materials, including, but not limited to plastic materials, wood, and metal. The wheels of the toy set may be comprised of rubber or other materials known in the art capable of producing sufficient friction so that transport across a wide variety of surfaces may be accomplished.
The transmitter means and receiver means of the present invention are those known in the art. A variety of signals may be used, including radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared frequency. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the signals transmitted by the transmitter are RF signals, allowing for the user to control the toy set from greater spans of distance.
While the present application teaches the preferred embodiment of the invention, this disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It shall be obvious to those skilled in the art that variations in materials, compositions, specific constructions and arrangements may be made to the present invention with all such embodiments still falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A remote controlled figure comprising:

a human toy figure;

said human toy figure further comprising a head, torso, arms and legs;

a remote controlled chassis;

said chassis comprising a motor and power source;

said chassis further comprising at least two wheels;

said chassis further comprising a receiver;

said chassis further comprising two arm bases and two leg bases;

said toy human figure being removably joined to said chassis through the torso area of the figure;

said arms and legs comprise hinge units capable of vertical and horizontal movement but at no time do said arms or legs make contact with a surface on which the toy human figure is placed; and

an RF transmitter wirelessly coupled to said remote controlled chassis.