US2519472A - Remotely controlled toy vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 22, 1950 w. HOWARD 2,519,472

REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE Filed July 17, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlG.l.

INVENTOR WILLIAM HOWARD,

ATTORNEY F l G. 3.

22, 1950 w. HOWARD 2,519,472

REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE Filed July 17, 1948 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4.

FIG. 6.

WVENTOR WILLIAM HOWARD,

1% AMW ATTORNEY Au 22, 1950 w OWARD 2,519,472

REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE I i i i I :NVENTQR WILLIAM HOWARD,

FlG.9 v

ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY VEHICLE William Howard, Mineola, N. Y.

Application July 1'7, 1948, Serial No. 39,289

1 'Claim. 1

This invention relates to a propelling mechanism for rolling toys and has particular reference to a mechanism of the character described wherein a remote controlling unit is included to direct the operation of the said mechanism.

An object of this invention is the provision therein for remotely controlling the forward or rearward motion of the toy and actuating a steering mechanism therein to change the direction of the moving toy.

Another object of this invention is the provision therein for locating a control unit at a distance from the rolling toy and connecting the toy to the remote control unit by a flexible electrical conductor cable.

Another object of this invention is the inclusion therein of rear signal lights to indicate the direction of the turning movement of the rolling toy.

Another object of this invention is the means provided therein for normally keeping the front wheels of the toy in alignment with the rear Wheels so that the toy, as it rolls, will travel in a straight line, either forwardly or rearwardly.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description and in the claim wherein parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. In the accompanying drawings there has been illustrated the best embodiment of the in.

vention known to me, but such embodiment is to be regarded as typical only of many possible embodiments, and the invention is not to be limited thereto.

The novel features considered characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will :best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a rolling toy which embrace the driving mechanism and control unit of this invention and which, in the embodiment herein described, shows a miniature simulation of an automobile body, enclosing the said dIiVillg mechanism.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the driving mechanism and shows the encasing body in section.

Figure 3 is a plan View of the driving mechanism havin the enclosing body removed.

Figure 4 is a partial plan and sectional view of the driving mechanism taken approximately along line fil 1 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the driving mechanism removed from the enclosing body.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along line -5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure '7 is a rear end elevational view of a toy automobile including the driving mechanism.

Figure 8 is a top view of the box containing the remote control elements and shows the cover thereof raised and swung to the side to bring to view the said elements therein.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the control box and shows the lower end of a, steering shaft and coacting switches to con trol the lateral movement of the front wheels of the toy.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the electric circuits connecting the control units in the remote control box with the various elements in the driving mechanism.

Referring in detail to the parts, ll designates an enclosing body which in the drawings (Figures l, 2, 6 and 7) show a miniature automobile body, but which may be a representation of any similar body, or animal. Numeral l2 indicates a chassis or lower plate carrying the various elements of the toy propellin mechanism, and is formed with an upright wall 53 and an extension id to which there is secured, by screw bolts IE and nuts IS, a further extension I! having downwardly extending portion !8 and a downwardly extending leg :9. Laterally and downwardly extending wheel supporting members 2! and 2! are secured to the extension IT by means of bolts 22. The said legs 29 and El are integrally connected by a band 23 (Figures 4 to '7 The forward end of the chassis i2 is formed with forwardly extending arm 24 to which there are pivotally attached, by screw bolts 25, arms 26 to the outer ends of which there is pivotally attached, by means of screw bolts 2'!, a cross bar 28, the said forward end of the chassis, together with the pivotally attached arms 26 and cross bar 28 forming a parallelogrammatic construction for the purpose hereinafter to be described. To the arms 26 there are secured blocks 29 which carry wheels 30 pivotally attached thereto.

An electric motor 3| is secured to and held in place upon the frame by the said band 23 and side strips 32, (Figure 7) and is adapted to rotate a gear 33 mounted upon the motor shaft 34 which has a bearin in portion [8 of the chassis. The said gear engages and is adapted to rotate a meshing gear 35 which is secured upon a shaft 36 extending through and having bearings in the portion i8 and leg IS. A c 1- lar 37 may be secured upon said shaft 39 to hold same in place. Upon the said shaft 36 there is secured a bevelled gear'38 which, coacting with its complementary bevel gear 39 mounted upon a shaft 49, is adapted, by-its rotation, to rotate a drive wheel H secured upon the said shaft 40. The said shaft passes through and has bearing in said supporting member 29. A wheel 42 is pivotally mounted upon the said supporting member 2! upon said chassis in axial alignment with the said drive wheel 4|.

Theparallelogrammatic structure at the forward end of the chassis which carries the wheels 39 may be oscillated to move the said wheels 39 out of alignment with the rear wheels ll and 42 to turn the toy, while in motion, to the right or left. To accomplish this result there is'provided an oscillating arm 33 pivoted to the chassis at 4 3 and formed at'its forward end with a slot 45 which engages a pin 46 secured to the cross bar 28. The inner end of the said oscillating arm 43 has attached thereto L- shaped bracket arms 47 and 48 which carry upon their respective ends electro- magnets 49 and 59. The free ends of the said magnets t9 and 59 are positioned directly above a rotatable disk 5| magnetically attractable to the said magnets when same are electrically energized. The said disk is positioned above the said extension In of the chassis or frame and is given rotation by the motor '3! co-ordinating with the bevel gear 52 upon the said motor shaft 34 and its complementary gear 53 fixed upon a shaft 54 to which the disk 5! is secured. The said brackets 4'! and 48 are sufficiently flexible to allow either magnet, 41 or 38,

when electrically energized, to be drawn to the said disk'El.

'When the motor is rotating and driving the toy in a forward direction the disk 5!, through its connection with themotor, is spinning in the direction indicated by the arrow X (Figure 3), and the toy is moving in the direction indicated by the arrow Y (same figure). Upon directing an electric current to the magnet 89, as will be hereinafter described, the magnetic attraction produced thereby will draw the said magnet 49 downwardly to contact the spinning disk 5!. The frictional contact thus established will draw the bracket 3! and its connected oscillating arm 43 approximately to the position shown by dot-dash lines in Figure 3 thereby moving the cross bar 28 and the wheels 39 connected to the parallelogrammatic structure to the position shown by the broken lines. This position will give the moving toy a movement in the direction indicated by the arrow Z. If, however, the magnet "59 is electrically energized instead, the said magnet would make frictional contact with the disk 5! whereupon the movement of the oscillating arm 43 would be in the opposite direction, as is obvious,

and the wheels 39 would move to turn the moving toy in an opposite direction. Flat spring elements55 are attached to the said lower plate l2 of the chassis at 59 and engage, at their free ends, upon either side of the oscillating arm '43 to 'holdsame in its normal position.

"A cross bar 51, having upwardly'turned ends 58 .65 and switch :96. Direction lights 97 and 67a are also provided and with the motor 3! and magnets 49 and 59 are hooked up, by means of a flexible four conductor cable 58 with a control box 69 which will now be described. The various electrical connections are omitted from the drawings but'are clearly shown in the diagram of Figure 10.

The control elements are contained within a box having a bottom iii, front wall H, rear wall #2, side walls 13 and hinged cover it. Attached to the inside of the front wall H is a cut-off and pole changing toggle switch having an operating handle 16 extending through the front wall and operable from the outside. A rheostat H is also attached to the inside wall Ti and has its shaft extending therethrough. An operating knob '58 is attached to the outer end of the said rheostat. A shaft 19 is mounted in the said control box and has its upper bearing through the front wall H and its lower bearing in a block (Figures 8 and 9). An annular shoulder 81 is formed upon the said shaft and has an arm 82 extending therefrom while directly above said arm 82 and shaft 19 is a tension spring 83 engaging the end of said arm 82 and attached to the upper part of the rear wall 72. To the outer end of the said shaft"!!! there is attached a wheel '84, simulating a miniature auto steering wheel,

and operable by a finger hold. Upon the said block 89, in close juxtaposition to the said shaft and in contact alignment with the said arm 82 are contact terminal pins 85 and 86 each of which ha electrical connection with a conductor in the flexible cable 68.

A group of dry batteries 8? is suitably connected to the toggle switch 15 and through the said switch to the said rheostat ll, thence to one of the four conductors in the cable 68.

A second dry battery 88 is contained in the control box 69, one terminal of which connects with a conductor in the cable 68 while the other terminal is electrically connected with the said shaft l9.

Referring now to the diagram in Figure 10 it will be noted that by throwing the toggle switch handle circuits are closed between the contact points 89 and 99 and 9! and 92 in the toggle switch '15. A current flow is thus established which directs a current from the batteries 8? through line 93, to point across switch arm to point 89, along line 9% to rheostat Tl, along line 95 (one conductor in cable 63), to motor 3!, back along line 95 (a second conductor in cable 68), along branch line 91, to point 9| in toggle switch, through switch arm to point 92, then along line 98 to battery 8?, thereby electrically energizing the motor 3! and starting the toy in its forward movement. As hereinbefore stated the rotation oi'the motor spins the disk 5|. As the toy moves forward and the'wheel as is turned to the right or clockwise and held, the shaft '59 is turned bringing the arm 82 into contact with the pin 86 whereupon an additional current flow is then established which, starting at the battery 88 is directed along branch'line 99, line 96, to branch line Hi0, branch llll, through magnet 49, line I02, through direction light 61, line I03 (third conductor in cable 68), to contact pin 86, shaft 19 and through line I04 back to battery 88 thus setting the front wheels for a right turn and indicating such turn by the direction light 67. Upon releasing the wheel 84 the circuit energizing the direction light and the magnet 49 is broken between the arm 82 and the pin 86 whereupon the front wheels are urged to their normal position and the toy proceeds in a straight line.

By turning the wheel 80 in counter clockwise movement and holding same the arm 82 contacts the point 85 and a circuit is closed at that point causing an electrical flow as follows: Starting at the battery 88 the current flows along branch line 99 to line 96, branch I00, branch I04, magnet 50, line H05 to direction light 67a, line I05 to pin 85, arm 82, shaft '59 and line I05 back to battery 88. With the circuit just described the magnet 50 makes frictional contact with the disk 5! and moves the front wheels in a direction opposite to that previously described for a right turn and directs the toy to the left indicating by the direction light that the toy is making a left turn. Upon releasing wheel 80 the turning circuit is broken at 82-85 and the front wheels will again assume their normal position,

By moving the handle it of the toggle switch out to neutral position the motor circuit is broken and the toy will come to a stop. Throwing the handle of the toggle switch in the opposite direction the circuit is closed between the points 80 and I0! and 9! and I 08. This act changes the polarity of the circuit flow to and from the motor and reverses the actions above described. The cross lines I09 and H0 switch the polarity and current flow when the arms contact the points I01 and I08 as set forth.

While the embodiment shown and described includes portable dry batteries a transformer may be substituted therefor to reduce ahouse current to the required low voltage with minor changes to the hook up.

The movement of the toy about the floor is limited, in distance, by the length of cable connecting same to the control unit and to facilitate the movement of the toy about the floor, the said cable may be loosely held aloft by sliding attachment through a ring held upon the end of a string suspended from a chandelier or other means such as a string or wire stretched between the opposite walls of a room along which a rin carrying the cable may slide.

I claim:

In a propelling mechanism for rolling toys comprising a chassis carrying an enclosing body, front and rear wheels upon the said chassis, an electrically driven motor upon the chassis geared to turn one of the rear wheels to impart motion to said rolling toy, the said front wheels being adapted to swing to the right or left to turn the said rolling toy to the right or left while in rolling motion, an arm pivotally connected for limited movement to either side of a central position upon the said chassis and adapted to engage at one end with the said front wheels to swing same to the right or left, electro-magnets secured to longitudinally spaced portions of the opposite end of said arm, a magnetic disk mounted to rotate beneath the said electro-magnets with its face adjacent to the poles thereof and its axis of rotation longitudinally between the magnets, gears connecting the said disk with the said motor, to spin said disk when said motor is in action, each of the said magnets, when electrically energized, making sufficient frictional contact with the said spinning disk to move the magnet end of said arm to its limit to the right or left respectively, thereby swinging the said front wheels in the respective direction, and thereafter so retain the arm by sliding frictional contact between the spinning disk and the magnet while the magnet is energized.

W'ILLIAM HOWARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 407,950 Cooke July 30, 1889 1,780,487 Jurgesen Nov. 4, 1930 1,951,505 Dambrin Mar. 20, 1934 1,957,679 Strohacker May 8, 1934 1,966,145 Spotz July 10, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 469,037 Germany Nov. 28, 1928

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