US3643865A

US3643865A - Vehicle track for use in toy building kits

Info

Publication number: US3643865A
Application number: US37090A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wolfgang Mutz; Theodor Killgus; Artur Fischer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-05-19
Filing date: 1970-05-14
Publication date: 1972-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-22
Also published as: DE1925377A1; AT321792B; NL7007131A; CH523083A; FR2047618A5; IL34533A0; GB1313166A; ES185904Y; BE750491A; ES185904U; IL34533A

Abstract

A vehicle track for use in toy building kits of the type including connectable structural elements having interengageable connectors, has at least one elongated strip-shaped track member provided in its transversely spaced longitudinally extending margins with a plurality of slots spaced lengthwise of the track member and extending transversely of the latter. The slots may either extend from one margin towards but not quite to the other margin, or they may alternately extend from opposite margins substantially to the midpoint between the margins. The track member is thereby subdivided into a plurality of connected sections which may be angularly displaced relative to one another if the track member is bent in its plane for imparting to the track member a straight or a curved configuration as desired. Connecting means provided on the sections of the track member is interengageable with the connectors of the structural elements.

Description

' United States Patent Mutz et al.

[ 1 Feb. 22, 1972 [54] VEHICLE TRACK FOR USE IN TOY BUILDING KITS [72] Inventors: Wolfgang Mutz, Dornstetten; Theodor Killgus, Freudenstadt; Artur Fischer, Altheimer Str. 219 D-724l Tumlingen, all of Germany [73] Assignee: said Fischer, by said Mutz and Killgus [22] Filed: May 14, 1970 211 Appl. No.: 37,090

1,678,079 7/1928 Reischel ..238/10 E 3,520,475 7/1970 Ernst ..238/10 F 2,565,359 8/1951 Dubilier ..238/10 E Primary Examiner-Arthur L. La Point Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Michael S. Striker 57 ABSTRACT A vehicle track for use in toy building kits of the type including connectable structural elements having interengageable connectors, has at least one elongated strip-shaped track member provided in its transversely spaced longitudinally extending margins with a plurality of slots spaced lengthwise of the track member and extending transversely of the latter. The slots may either extend from one margin towards but not quite to the other margin, or they may alternately extend from opposite margins substantially to the midpoint between the margins. The track member is thereby subdivided into a plurality of connected sections which may be angularly displaced relative to one another if the track member is bent in its plane for imparting to the track member a straight or a curved configuration as desired. Connecting means provided on the sections of the track member is interengageable with the connectors of the structural elements.

16 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to toy building kits, particularly to a vehicle track for use in toy building kits. Still more specifically the invention relates to a vehicle track for use in toy building kits of the type including connectable structural elements having interengageable connectors.

It is hardly necessary to point out that the construction of a vehicle track requires at least two different types of track members, namely straight track members and curved track members. The size and configuration of tracks which can be erected with any given number of track members depends on the number of straight and the number of curved track members which are present. This means that both the size and the configuration of tracks which can be erected with a given mix of straight and curved track members is strictly limited to a certain number of combinations which cannot be exceeded. Within this number of combinations it is possible that in any given track layout straight or curved track members or track sections are left over which are not needed for the particular layout, or else that some of one type of track sections are left over whereas there are not enough of the other type, that is for instance some straight track sections may be left and some curved track sections may be needed but not be available. Evidently, this is highly undesirable and rather frustrating for a playing child. I

Furthermore, known track installations for erecting vehicle tracks are usually complete in themselves and can be connected with other structural elements of a toy building kit either only with great difficulty or not at all. Not only are the very different dimensions and configurations of the various involved elements adverse to such a possibility, but also suitable mechanical connections are not present. It is thus for instance not possible to utilize track sections in combination with structural elements of a toy assembly kit to combine the various components into a unitary whole.

In addition to these two disadvantages there is the further drawback in known tracks that the straight and the curved track sections or track members must be separately manufactured, which requires not only separate manufacturing steps but also separate tools, for instance molds if the track sections are made of synthetic plastic material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to avoid all of these disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle track which is not possessed of these drawbacks.

More particularly still it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle track which is exceedingly simple to manufacture and equally simple to assemble.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a vehicle track which can be changed at will in its configuration and layout.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a vehicle track which can be readily combined with structural elements of a toy building kit of the type having interengageable connectors.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a vehicle track section for use in toy building kits of the type including connectable structural elements having interengageable connectors, which track comprises briefly stated, at least one elongated strip-shaped member having a pair of transversely spaced longitudinally extending margins. A plurality of slots are spaced lengthwise of the track member and extend transversely of the latter from at least one of the margins towards but short of the other margin. They thereby subdivide the track member into a plurality of connected sections which may be angularly displaced relative to one another in the general plane of the track member for imparting to the same a straight or a curved configuration at the will of a user. Finally, connecting means are also provided on the sections of the track member and are interengageable with at least the connectors of the structural elements.

The slots may either all extend from one of the margins towards the other margin closely to the latter but not entirely to it, or else they may alternately extend transversely of the elongation of the track member from the opposite margins. In this case they would extend only to approximately themidpoint between the margins. Their provision imparts to the track member a flexibility which makes it possible to deform the track member from straight to curved configuration. or vice versa. Moreover, it is not only possible to deform the track member once, as will be appreciated, but this deformation can be repeated again and again so that the track member is simply deformed to whatever shape is required when a track is assembled. Thus, if there are too many straight track members available, and not enough curved track members, the superfluous straight track members are simply deformed until they assume the desired curvature.

In addition, the provision of connecting means provided on the track member, of which latter there will of course be normally several in a vehicle track according to the present invention although it is also conceivable to use a rather long single track member, makes it possible to connect the track member with the connectors of structural elements of a toy building kit. Thus, the vehicle track can be combined with these structural elements into a unitary whole, that is an installation which offers structural possibilities not capable of achievement with the track alone. For instance, the structural elements of the kit may be utilized for erecting bridges, ramps or the like, and the vehicle track will cooperate with these various structures and some or all of its curved track members can also be fixed in their desired curvature by connection with the structural elements. It is thus possible in a very simple manner to increase the utility and play value of an existing toy building kit of the type having interengageable connectors on its connectable structural elements, by adding thereto a vehicle track according to the present invention.

It has already been pointed out that the curvature of a track member according to the present invention can be fixed for the desired duration by connecting the track member in curved configuration with structural elements of the aforementioned toy building kit. However, instead or in addition to this possibility, I also envision the use of one or more connecting strips which are elastically bendable and provided with connecting members engageable with the connecting means of the vehicle track member. The connecting members of the connecting strip are spaced from one another by a distance which corresponds to a predetermined relationship relative to the distance between adjacent connecting elements of the connecting means on the track member. Such connecting elements are provided on each of the sections into which the track member is subdivided, and when the track member is straight the sections will extend in parallelism with one another and the connecting elements will all be spaced from another by a predetermined distance. Accordingly, the connecting members of the connecting strip may be spaced from one another by a distance corresponding to this predetermined distance, by a distance which is greater than or by a distance which is smaller than the predetermined distance. The strip can be connected with the track member in the region of one of the margins thereof, either at the lateral faces of the track member, at the upper track surface, or at the underside of the track member. Evidently, if the distances mentioned above are identical, the strip will serve to maintain the track member in straight condition. If the distances on the strip are greater than the predetermined distance, then the strip will force arcuate curvature of the track member and will maintain the latter in the thus curved condition. It will then extend along the outer curved side. If the distances on the strip member are smaller than the predetermined distance, the strip will be located at the inner curved side and will again force curvature of the track member. Needless to say, it is normally sufficient if a strip extends along only one margin of the track member, althoughgiven the proper distance relationship mentioned above-it is possible to provide strips to extend along both margins. it is also possible to provide only strips which have connecting portions which are all spaced from one another by one and the same distance, for instance a distance smaller than the predetermined distance. In this case curvature to both sides can be achieved by providing a strip at one margin of one track member and providing another identical strip on the opposite margin of the next-following track member, or another track member to be used in connection with the first-mentioned one, so that curvatures to opposite sides are obtained in this manner.

The strip itself can be approximately of the length of the respective track member. However, it can also be substantially longer, leaving it to the user to shorten it as desired. It should be emphasized that it is not necessary for such strips to extend over the entire length of a track assembled from track members according to the present invention. For instance, it is not really necessary to provide such strips in connection with track members which are of straight configuration, and they can also be omitted in track members having a certain curvature. With respect to the latter it is pointed out that a curvature can be obtained by utilizing rather short strips which connect only two or three consecutive sections of a track member, leaving the next-following two or three unconnected, and again using another short strip to connect the further two or three sections. With this arrangement a single strip type, for instance a single type of strip having connecting portions all of which are identically spaced either at a distance which is smaller or larger than the predetermined distance, can be used for obtaining different curvatures.

Connecting portions on the strips may be of one piece with the same, or they may be suitably secured to them. Thy are advantageously fast with the respective strip but it is possible to connect them with the strip in such a manner that they can be adjusted lengthwise of the strip. This of course is equivalent to a further vast increase in the versatility of the construction in that it makes it possible to achieve virtually any desired degree of curvature.

Such strips need not only be utilized for imparting a certain straight or curved configuration to the track members, but can also serve other purposes, for instance as guides for vehicles moving on the track surfaces of a vehicle track erected from track members according to the present invention.

it has also been found to be particularly advantageous at the underside the track member is provided on each ofits sections with at least one groove extending over the entire width of the track member and having open ends. These grooves may advantageously be undercut and they permit a ready and versatile connection of the individual sections of the track member with structural elements ofa toy building kit. Because they extend over the entire width of the respective track member, the connectors of the structural elements of the toy building kit may be inserted from either open end of the respective groove and may be located in the region ofthe margins or inwardly anywhere desired. Also, they serve to receive connecting portions of the strip if desired. In this case, and if the connecting portions and the strip are located along one margin, then the track member will be planar but curved in its plane in the manner described before. On the other hand, if the slots extend from alternately opposite margins towards but short of the center of the track member, and the strip is connected with the track member so that it is located in the region which is not provided with the slots, then the track member will be straight but will be either concavely or convexly curved. This makes it possible in a very simple manner to achieve hills and valleys, that is inclines and declines for the vehicles, and to fix the desired configurations. Needless to say, if the grooves are provided as just pointed out, then the connecting portions on the strip must be in the form ofprojections or heads. if the length of these projections is the same or smaller than the depth of the grooves, then the strip may be connected with the track member in two different ways. On the one hand it is possible to have the strip extend along the side face of the track member and to extend the projections of the strip into the open ends of the grooves. On the other hand it is possible to have the strip extend along the underside of the track member in which case the projections extend into the grooves at right angle to the elongation of the latter.

The invention further provides for the thickness of the strip to advantageously be greater than the thickness of the track member, that is the dimension of the track member between the upper and undersides thereof. In this case the projections which were located in a common plane are provided on the strip offset to one side of a centerline intermediate the opposite sides of the strip, and depending upon the manner in which the strip is connected with the track member, a portion of the strip will then extend either above the upper surface or below the lower surface of the track member. If this portion extends upwardly of the upper surface of the track member, then it can serve as a guide for vehicles on the track, for instance to be provided along the edges of curved sections of the track, whereas in the other case the downwardly projecting portion may serve to provide an incline or banking" for the curved track sections.

With reference to guide rails for the vehicles it is also pointed out that it is possible to provide separate guide rails which can be connected with the respective track members and can be located at the track surface. They would be provided with projections which can be extended into or through the slots between adjacent ones of the sections to maintain the guide rail in position. This makes it possible in a very simple manner to provide rails for rail vehicles because all that is needed is to provide the track members of a track layout on the upper track surface with two parallel guide rails of this type. Naturally, a single guide rail can also be provided to subdivide the track surface into two lanes, for instance for competitive racing of vehicles each of which is to have its own lane. On the other hand more than two guide rails can be provided and in addition it is possible to set the track members on edge-in which case they must of course be suitably supported-and to have such a guide rail extend along one of the edge faces of the track members and serve for instance as a support for a monorail vehicle.

If the center portion of the track member is free from the slots, that is if the slots extend from oppositely alternate margins towards but short of the center portion, then the center portion may be provided with a longitudinally extending groove in which a guide rail may be accommodated. in this construction the advantage is obtained that the guide rail will readily accommodate itself to whatever curvature is chosen for the track member and will continue under all circumstances to provide the desired guide action. in addition, in this particular embodiment it is possible for the wheels of the vehicle to directly roll on the surface of the track member so that no special tires are required for wheels as this is usually the case where rail vehicles are involved.

Finally, the invention also provides the possibility of supplying electrical energy to vehicles which are operated by electrical energy. According to an embodiment of the present invention which is concerned with this possibility, we may provide slide contacts having members or portions capable of effecting length compensation when the track members are changed between straight and curved configuration. These slide contacts will usually be provided on the upper track surface of the respective track members and the length compensating portions, usually integral with the slide contacts, are preferably located in the slots between consecutive ones of the sections. Because they can be located in these slots they will neither interfere with the movement of the vehicles nor will they present a nonaesthetic appearance. These slide contacts may be suitably secured to the respective track member, for instance by adhesive means or in any other suitable manner, such as partial embedding or the like. To effect mechanical and/or electrical connection between two consecutive track members we may provide a coupling member having at least two coupling portions each of which cooperates with a corresponding connecting portion on the respective track members. The coupling member may further have an electrical contact portion which extends between the juxtaposed end faces of the longitudinally adjacent track members and contacts the respective slide contacts on both of the track members to establish a conductive connection between them. The coupling member may further be provided with one or more electrical sockets cooperating with the electrically conductive portion and plugs which cooperate in suitable manner with a source of electrical energy can be inserted into such sockets to thereby supply via the same and the slide contacts electrical energy to vehicles which are positioned on the track members of a vehicle track constructed in accordance with the present invention.

It must finally be pointed out that the ready deformability of the track members according to the present invention makes it possible in a very simple manner to provide for switches to shunt a vehicle from one lane into another. For this purpose it is simply necessary to so deform a portion of a track member to such an extent that its bent portion is aligned with the corresponding portion of the track member to be connected to it. This makes it possible to construct with a series of identical track members according to the present invention a complete track layout without any necessity for separate specially configurated track members as is the case in conventional track layouts, for instance separate track members for switching purposes must be provided.

Needless to say, the track members according to the present invention can be produced with great advantage of synthetic plastic material and can be readily manufactured in large quantities in a simple mold, for instance by injection molding or the like.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a somewhat simplified diagrammatic top plan view of a track member according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates in a fragmentary perspective a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagrammatic fragmentary illustration of still another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly FIGS. l3 thereof, it will be seen that reference numeral 1 identifies the track member according to the present'invention in toto. The track member I is composed of a plurality of sections 2 which in the illustrated embodiment are the result of a plurality of transversely extending slots all of which extend from one margin-namely the uppermost one in FIG. 1- towards but somewhat short of the opposite margin. As pointed out previously, the slots could also extend alternately from opposite margins towards but not entirely to the center of the track members. However, in the illustrated embodiment all slots 3 extend only from one of the margins as shown.

The view in FIG. I is a top plan view of the track member 1, and therefore the open-ended grooves 4 provided in the underside on each of the sections 2 are illustrated in broken lines. They are more clearly visible in FIG. 2, however. It will be seen that they extend from one to the other of the margins and are open-ended. FIG. 2 shows that they are preferably of undercut configuration, which is even clearer from FIG. 3.

We further provide in this embodiment an elongated strip member 5 which can be flexibly deformed and which is provided at one side with a plurality of projecting pins 6 receivable in the open ends of the respective grooves 4. Depending upon the desired curvature the distance between two consecutive pins 6 may be greater or smaller than the distance between two consecutive grooves 4, measured when the track member 1 is straight rather than arcuately curved as shown in FIG. 1, that is if the member 1 has the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the distance between consecutive pins 6 may also be identical with the distance between consecutive grooves 4 measured as pointed out above. The strip member 5 may be located at the inner side of the curvature as shown, or it may be located at the outer side of the curvature, depending on whether the distance between consecutive pins 6 is smaller or greater than the aforementioned distance between the consecutive grooves 4. In fact, one such member 5 may be located at the inner side and one at the outer side and one at the outer side, and of course the distances between the pins on the respective members must then be different in accordance with what has been set forth above.

In the illustrated embodiment (compare FIG. 2) the thickness of the strip member 5 is identical with that of the track member 1. However, as the dotted line extension of the strip member 5 illustrates in FIG. 2, the thickness of the strip member 5 may also be greater than that of the track member 1, in which case the pins 6 would be ofiset in the manner evident from FIG. 2 when considering the dotted outline part of the thickness of the strip member 5. The purpose is to assure that a portion corresponding to the dotted portion projects above the upper track surface of the track member I and constitutes a guide rail for vehicles on the track member. The upper track surface is identified with reference numeral 7 in FIG. 2.

However, FIG. 2 shows a guidance possibility, namely a guide rail which extends along the center of the upper track surface 7 of the track member I and may for instance be of one piece with the latter. Located at opposite sides of the guide rail 8 are slide contacts 9 which advantageously are located in recesses or the like, and which are bonded, adhesively secured or otherwise connected with the track surface 7. They serve in conventional well-known manner to supply electrical energy to an electrically operated vehicle, or to two such vehicles located on opposite sides of the guide rail 8 on the respective lanes into which the track surface 7 is divided by the presence of the guide rail 8. FIG. 3 shows that because the track member I is to be capable of being deformed from straight to arcuately curved condition, the slide contacts 9 are provided with length-compensating portions I0such as folded sections of the slide contacts 9-preferably are located in the slots between consecutive ones of the sections 2 so as to be out of the way, to be protected, and to be prevented from interfering with the movement of the vehicles.

Coming to the embodiment in FIG. 4 it will be seen that here I have provided a pair of separate guide rails 11 provided with projections 12 which can be inserted into the slots 3 so that the guide rails 11 are thereby connected with the track member 1. These guide rails 11 can be provided on the upper track surface 7 as illustrated, or they can also be provided extending along one or both lateral edge faces of the track member 1. Their cross-sectional configuration may be the same as illustrated, but need not be; nor is it necessary to provide two of them or to locate them in precisely the illustrated position when they are on the upper track surface 7.

Finally, coming to FIG. 5 it is pointed out that this illustrates the use of a coupling member 13 which is intended to couple together two consecutive track members such as the oine illustrated in FIG. 1 and identified with reference numeral 1. It is provided with two connecting pins 14 each of which may for instance be received in the open end ofa groove 4, it being understood that one of the grooves 4 is provided on one track member 1 and the other of the grooves 4 provided on the second track member 1 which is to be connected therewith. The coupling member 13 is further provided with an electrically conductive projection 15 which extends into the space between the juxtaposed end faces of the members 1 and there contacts the respective diagrammatically illustrated slide contacts 9 to establish an electrical connection between the slide contacts on the two members 1. in addition it is possible according to a further concept of the invention to provide one or more sockets 16 on or in the coupling member 13, which are conductively connected with the projection 15 and which may receive plugs which are in turn connected in suitable manner by conductors or the like with a nonillustrated source of electrical energy, so that via the socket 16 and the projection 15 electrical energy may be supplied to the slide contacts 9 for operation of vehicles on the track members 1. Parenthetically it should be pointed out that a member corresponding to the coupling member 13 but provided preferably with three or four of the pins 14, may be utilized in place of the strip member in FIG. 1, that is that a much shorter member than the one identified with reference numeral 5 may be utilized to effect the desired curvature of the track members 1 in the manner which has been described earlier. In that case, of course, the sockets 16 and the projection would be eliminated from such members which would replace the strip member 5. However, such members are not to be confused with the coupling member 13 per se.

It will be understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments illustrated and described. It is entirely possible to make changes within the concept of the invention, and for instance to locate the slide contacts 9 at different portions of the track members, to provide different guide arrangements or the like. Separate supports may be provided cooperating with the connecting means on the track members 1 in such a manner that the track members 1 can be utilized for inclines and declines and be positioned and maintained in requisite manner. Also, other connecting means may be provided cooperating with the various illustrated and described connecting means for securing to the track members signal masts, light posts and the like.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a vehicle track for use in toy building kits, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. A vehicle track for use in toy building kits of the type including connectable structural elements having interengageable connectors, comprising at least one elongated strip-shaped track member having a general plane and a pair of transversely spaced longitudinally extending margins; a plurality of slots spaced lengthwise of said track member and extending transversely of the latter from at least one of said margins towards but short of the other of said margins, thereby subdividing said track member into a plurality of connected sections which may be angularly displaced relative to one another in said general plane of said track member for imparting to the same a straight or a curved configuration at the will of a user; connecting means provided on said sections of said track member and interengageable with at least said connectors of said structural elements; and coupling means also engageable with said connecting means for displacing said sections angularly but in said general plane with reference to one another.

2. A track as defined in claim 1; said coupling means comprising a flexible elongated strip element provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced coupling portions each engageable with said connecting means on one of said sections for maintaining the latter in desired positions with reference to one another.

3. A track as defined in claim 2, said connecting means comprising a plurality of connecting portions provided on the respective sections with consecutive connecting portions being spaced from one another lengthwise of said member by a given distance when said member is in straight configuration and said sections are located in parallelism with one another; and wherein said coupling portions are spaced from one another by a distance having a predetermined relationship to said given distance.

4. A track as defined in claim 3, wherein said coupling portions are spaced by a distance corresponding to said given distance.

5. A track as defined in claim 3, wherein said coupling portions are spaced by a distance greater than said predetermined distance so that said member assumes curved configuration when said coupling portions are engaged with respective ones ofsaid connecting portions on said sections.

6. A track as defined in claim 3, wherein said coupling portions are spaced by a distance smaller than said predetermined distance so that said member assumes curved configuration when said coupling portions are engaged with respective ones of said connecting portions on said sections.

7. A track as defined in claim 3, said connecting portions being provided on said sections at least in the region ofat least one ofsaid margins.

8. A track as defined in claim 3, said member having an upper track surface and a lower surface; and wherein said connecting means further comprises open-ended grooves provided on said sections in said lower surface and each extending intermediate said margins for interengagement with said connectors.

9. A track as defined in claim 3, said member having an upper surface and a lower surface and between the same a first thickness, and said strip element having a second thickness greater than said first thickness with said coupling portions being positioned offcenter with reference to said second thickness so that said strip element projects in part beyond one of said surfaces when said coupling portions are engaged with respective ones ofsaid connecting portions.

10. A track as defined in claim 1, further comprising at least one elongated guide rail member for vehicles on said track; and projections provided on said guide rail member and receivable in the respective slots for connecting said guide rail member with said elongated member.

11. A track as defined in claim 1; and further comprising at least one elongated guide rail extending along said elongated member in the region ofsaid other margin.

12. A track as defined in claim 1; and further comprising elongated electrical slide contacts for vehicles on said track, said slide contacts extending along an upper surface of said member lengthwise of the same; and compensating means on said slide contacts for varying the length of the latter in compensation for variations resulting from a change of said member between straight and curved configuration.

13. A track as defined in claim 12, said compensating means comprising expansible and contractable portions of said slide contacts.

14. A track as defined in claim 12, said compensating means being accommodated in respective ones ofsaid slots.

15. A track as defined in claim 14; further comprising a coupling element for electrically and mechanically coupling said member with another similar member, said coupling element comprising at least two coupling projections each matingly engageable with said connecting means of the respective member and an electrically conductive portion extending intermediate adjacent ends of said members into electrically conductive engagement with the sliding contacts on both of said members.

Claims

5. A track as defined in claim 3, wherein said coupling portions are spaced by a distance greater than said predetermined distance so that said member assumes curved configuration when said coupling portions are engaged with respective ones of said connecting portions on said sections.

7. A track as defined in claim 3, said connecting portions being provided on said sections at least in the region of at least one of said margins.

9. A track as defined in claim 3, said member having an upper surface and a lower surface and between the same a first thickness, and said strip element having a second thickness greater than said first thickness with said coupling portions being positioned offcenter with reference to said second thickness so that said strip element projects in part beyond one of said surfaces when said coupling portions are engaged with respective ones of said connecting portions.

11. A track as defined in claim 1; and further comprising at least one elongated guide rail extending along said elongated member in the region of said other margin.

14. A track as defined in claim 12, said compensating means being accommodated in respective ones of said slots.

16. A track as defined in claim 15; further comprising electrical socket means provided on said coupling element in conductive connection with said conductive portion and arranged to receive mating plug means connected with a source of eLectrical energy for supplying such energy to said slide contacts.