US3290818A

US3290818A - Steering mechanisms for toy vehicles

Info

Publication number: US3290818A
Application number: US375814A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mills Aubrey Robert
Original assignee: Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd
Current assignee: Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd
Priority date: 1964-01-02
Filing date: 1964-06-17
Publication date: 1966-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 1983-12-13
Also published as: GB994337A; ES303814A1; BE648139A; FR1397635A

Description

Dec. 13, 1966 Y A. R. MILLS 3,290,818

STEERING MECHANISMSFOR TOY VEHICLES Filed June 17 1964 T m ,..n"" l United States Patent Ofiice I 3 90 ,818 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 3,290,818 I STEERING MECHANISMS FOR TOY VEHICLES Aubrey Robert Mills, London, England, assignor to Die Casting Machine Tools Limited, London, England, a British company Filed June 17, 1964, Ser. No. 375,814 Claims priority, applicatgriggeat Britain, Jan. 2, 1964,

3 Claims. (Cl. 46-221) This invention relates to steering mechanisms for toy vehicles.

Toy vehicles are often provided with steerable wheels in order to represent their prototypes more realistically. Hitherto, steering mechanisms for toy vehicles have comprised a number of small components, usually made of metal, which must be individually manufactured and then assembled together. The present invention provides a simpler and more conveniently manufactured steering mechanism.

According to this invention, a steering mechanism for a toy vehicle comprises a member integrally moulded of resilient material having at least one thicker section portion constituting an axle and at least one thicker section portion forming a link, the thicker section portions being joined by thin webs of said resilient material to form hinged connections between said thicker section portions and means for moving said link to adjust the alignment of said axle by bending of the web or webs. This construction enables the member to be moulded in one piece while allowing the thicker section portions to transmit movement from one point to another. The thicker section portions may be arranged to form a parallel motion linkage, preferably a parallelogram linkage, having adjusting means and axle means integral with different thicker section portions. The parallel motion linkage is preferably arranged so that the movement of one of its portions transverse the vehicle alters the alignments of two other axle-bearing portions.

The parallel motion linkage may comprise fewer than the four thicker section portions necessary to form a parallelogram linkage provided that there are means for attaching more than one portion of the integrally moulded member at more than one place to the vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention therefore the integrally moulded member comprises three connected thicker section portions, two of which are substantially the same length and each have means for attaching them rotatably to the vehicle, and an axle for bearing a wheel. This construction ensures that the two axle bearing portions move in proper correspondence, while reducing the quantity of material needed to make the member.

The means for attaching the member to the vehicle would in this construction preferably be pins or holes which would engage suitably spaced holes or pins in the vehicle.

The following is a description of two embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view from below of the steering mechanism and part of the vericle to which it is to be attached;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view from below of the mechanism attached to the toy vehicle;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view from below of another arrangement of the mechanism attached to the vehicle; and in which the same reference numerals have been used when the same components occur in more than one figure.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a member integrally moulded to form a parallelogram linkage which comprises a first horizontal cylindrical rod 11 provided at each end with a short vertical cylinder 12 whose vertical axis intersects with the longitudinal axis of the rod 11; a pair of rods 13 similar to but shorter than the rod 11 and each provided at their ends with

cylinders

14, 15; and a fourth rod 16 provided with cylinders 17 in a like manner to the first rod 11. The cylinders at the ends of the rods are connected to their neighbours by thin strips of webbing 18 which extend the length of the tangent between adjacent cylinders and form hinged connections between them. In the embodiment described, the plane of the tangent between adjacent cylinders is perpendicular to the axis of the longer rod adjacent to one of them. It would be possible to arrange for this plane to be at, for example, forty-five degrees to the axis of the adjacent longer rod provided that the four pairs of cylinders were likewise arranged.

From each of the cylinders 14 there extends a stub axle 19 horizontally outwards. The stub axles would normally each bear a wheel which is to be steered by the steering mechanism. Each stub axle is provided with a collar 20 adjacent the cylinder and a hub cap 21 which is to retain a wheel on the axle. The hub cap 21 is moulded as part of the axle and the wheel forced over it when the vehicle is assembled, but itwould be possible to form the hub cap by the simultaneous application of heat and pressure to the axle after the wheel has been placed on the axle. Each of the rods is provided with a

short cylinder

22, 23 which may be the same diameter as the rods and which extends vertically upwards from the respective middle points of the rods. The purpose of these cylinders wil be explained shortly.

FIGURE 1 also shows a view from underneath of part of the toy vehicle which is steered by the steering mechanism. This part of the chassis comprises a flat plate or frame member 25 which may extend on either side of the section shown in a manner determined by the particular design of the rest of the vehicle. The plate has parallel sides 26, 27 and a breadth therebetween equal to or slightly less than the distance between the axes of the cylinders 12. The steering mechanism 10 is attached to' the underside of the plate 25 by locating the cylinder 22 in the circular hole 28 in the plate 25 equidistant from the edges 26 and 27. such that the top surfaces of the cylinders 12 are in contact with the underside of the plate 25, the cylinder 22 being, long enough to protrude sufii: ciently above theupper surface of the plate 25 to permit a retaining cap to be formed on it by the application of heat and pressure simultaneously. The rod 11 is prevented from rotating by the pairs of projecting studs 29, 30 which may be moulded integrally with the base and which are arranged to lie on both sides of the clyinders 12.

The plate 25 is also provided with an arcuate slot 31 suitably spaced from the hole 28 and extending symmetrically on both sides of the center line of the plate 25, with a smaller radius side 30 nearer to the hole 28 and a larger radius side 31 having regular undulations 32 so that the cylinder 23 may be retained in a number of desired positions corresponding to a desired degree of turn provided for the wheels by the steering mechanism. The alignment of the wheels may thus be altered by altering the location of the cylinder 23, the movement of the cylinder 23 and the rod 16 transverse the vehicle being transmitted by the parallelogram linkage to the axles 19, as shown in FIGURE 2 which is a plan view of the mechanism and the base of the vehicle when the wheels 33 are adjusted to provide a large degree of turn to the vehicle. FIGURE 2 also shows that the axes of the axles 19 stay parallel whatever degree of turn is applied to the mechanism, but are progressively separated with increasing turn, which is a good simulation of real- 3 ism. In FIGURE 2, the raised

shoulders

34, 35 replace the studs 29, 30.

There are alternative methods of attaching the mechanism to the chassis which may be employed if they are more suitable than the one described in the preferred embodiment. For instance, the cylinder 22 might be replaced by a vertical hole made through the rod 11 which may engage a vertical pin on the plate 25 or which may be attached to the plate by a screw or rivet.

FIGURE 3 illustrates another emodiment of the invention in which the parallel motion linkage comprises an integrally molded member 310 having two similar rods 313 connected to a rod 16 by

cylinders

15 and 17 in exactly the same manner as are the rods 13 to the rod 16 by

cylinders

15 and 17 in FIGURE 1. The rods 313 each bear an axle 19 arranged to extend horizontally from the cylinders 314. The cylinders 314 are each provided with an upwardly extending pin (not shown) engaging a hole (not shown) in the plate 325 which forms the floor of the vehicle. The pins may have caps formed by heat treatment on their ends to retain them in the holes in the plate 325, while permitting them to rotate about their vertical axes.

The rod 16 bears a short, upwardly extending rod 23 which engages an arcuate slot 31 and is retained in a desired position by being located in one of the bays in the undulating side 32 as before. The steering mechanism just described would be provided with a wheel on each of the axles 19.

The cylinders 314 might be attached to the plate by any convenient means which would allow them to rotate about their vertical axes. For example, cylinders 314 may be hollow and attached to the chassis by a rivet which passes through the corresponding hole in the plate 325 and through the cylinder 314, or by a vertical pin extending downwards from the plate 325 to engage the cylinder 314.

I claim:

1. A steering mechanism for a toy vehicle comprising a frame member, a linkage, said linkage being molded as a single unit of resilient material and including first and second rod portions each having an axle extending therefrom, a linking rod extending between an end of each of said first and second rod portions and relatively thin webs of said resilient material connecting said link- 4 ing rod to said first and second rod portions whereby to form hinged connections, and means cooperating with said first and second rod portions and said frame member for rotatably mounting said linkage to said frame member and including means cooperating between said frame member and said linking rod for retaining said linkage in any one of a plurality of preselected positions, said last named retaining means comprising an arcuate slot in said frame member formed in a plane parallel to the movement of said linkage on rotation thereof, said arcuate slot having a plurality of recesses, and said linkage including a projecting portion adapted for selective engagement with said plurality of recesses.

2. A steering mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said projecting portion extends from said linking rod.

3. A steering mechanism for a toy vehicle comprising a frame member, a linkage, said linkage being molded as a single unit of resilient material and including first and second rod portionseach having an axle extending therefrom, a linking rod extending between an end of each of said first and second rod portions and relatively thin webs of said resilient material connecting said link-' ing rod to said first and second rod portions whereby to form hinged connections, and means cooperating with said first and second rod portions and said frame member for rotatably mounting said linkage to said frame member, wherein said last named means comprises a second linking rod extending between the other end of each of said first and second rod portions and relatively thin webs of said resilient material connecting said second linking rod to said first and second rod portions whereby to form hinged connections, and means cooperating with said second linking rod and said frame member for securing said second linking rod to said frame member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,182,211 5/1916 Ross. 1,730,296 10/ 1929 Richter 46-221 1,791,070 2/1931 Coggon 46221 X 2,245,875 6/ 1941 Rutherford 46-46 3,206,891 9/ 1965 Adamski 46-244 X FOREIGN PATENTS 21,806 9/ 1961 East Germany. 892,176 3/ 1962 Great Britain. 615,814 1/1961 Italy.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. BOVASSO, Examiner.

Claims

1. A STEERING MECHANISM FOR A TOY VEHICLE COMPRISING A FRAME MEMBER, A LINKAGE, SAID LINKAGE BEING MOLDED AS A SINGLE UNIT OF RESILIENT MATERIAL AND INCLUDING FIRST AND SECOND ROD PORTIONS EACH HAVING AN AXLE EXTENDING THEREFROM, A LINKING ROD EXTENDING BETWEEN AN END OF EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROD PORTIONS AND RELATIVELY THIN WEBS OF SAID RESILIENT MATERIAL CONNECTING SAID LINKING ROD TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROD PORTIONS WHEREBY TO FORM HINGED CONNECTIONS, AND MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROD PORTIONS AND SAID FRAME MEMBER FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID LINKAGE TO SAID FRAME MEMBER AND INCLUDING MEANS COOPERATING BETWEEN SAID FRAME MEMBER AND SAID LINKING ROD FOR RETAINING SAID LINKAGE IN ANY ONE OF A PLURALITY OF PRESELECTED POSITIONS, SAID LAST NAMED RETAINING MEANS COMPRISING AN ARCUATE SLOT IN SAID FRAME MEMBER FORMED IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID LINKAGE ON ROTATION THEREOF, SAID ARCUATE SLOT HAVING A PLURALITY OF RECESSES, AND SAID LINKAGE INCLUDING A PROJECTING PORTION ADAPTED FOR SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PLURALITY OF RECESSES.