US3729866A - Toy railroad vehicle and switching section - Google Patents

Toy railroad vehicle and switching section Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3729866A
US3729866A US00190124A US3729866DA US3729866A US 3729866 A US3729866 A US 3729866A US 00190124 A US00190124 A US 00190124A US 3729866D A US3729866D A US 3729866DA US 3729866 A US3729866 A US 3729866A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
switching element
vehicle
switching
travel
switching section
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00190124A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
E Faller
H Faller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
FALLER GEB GmbH
Original Assignee
FALLER GEB GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from DE19702051343 external-priority patent/DE2051343C3/de
Priority claimed from DE19712136808 external-priority patent/DE2136808C3/de
Application filed by FALLER GEB GmbH filed Critical FALLER GEB GmbH
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3729866A publication Critical patent/US3729866A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H19/00—Model railways
    • A63H19/28—Mechanical toy railway systems
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H19/00—Model railways

Definitions

  • a toy vehicle system such as a battery powered toy railway, comprises a vehicle adapted to run on a base which guides the vehicle.
  • the vehicle has three travelling states, viz. forward, stop and reverse.
  • the base includes at least one switching section provided with a guide adapted to cooperate with a switching element on the vehicle when the vehicle enters said switching section from either direction.
  • the guide may be set for travel in a selected direction or stop and thereby changes over the switching element to correspond to the desired setting unless the switching ele ment is already at that setting when the vehicle enters the switching section.
  • the guide may be movable by means of a lever between three transverse positions corresponding to the three settings, or may be movable between only two of these settings or may have a fixed setting.
  • the invention relates to a toy vehicle system in which the vehicle runs on a base which guides the vehicle, such as a toy railway driven by an electric battery, and in which the travelling states of the vehicle (forward, stop and reverse) are controllable by a switching section on the base.
  • a feature of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle system of the initially mentioned kind in which change over to the individual travelling states may be effected in a particularly simple manner and in which the possibilities of play thus obtained are considerably increased.
  • a switch having switching positions for the travelling states is mounted on the vehicle, the switching element of which switch
  • FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive
  • FIG. 2 is a partially broken-away longitudinal section through the locomotive
  • FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III in FIG. 2
  • FIG. 4 is a plan view of a switching section in the rail track
  • FIG. Si a section, taken on the line V-V in FIG. 4, with a broken-away fragmentary view of a locomotive
  • FIG. 6 is a view seen in the direction of the arrow VI in FIG. 4,
  • FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan of a rail track having switching sections as illustrated in FIG. 4,
  • FIGS. 8 and 9 are plan views of different embodiments of switching sections.
  • the guide device can co-operate with a guide device which is arranged on the switching section insertable into the base, wherein, when the vehicle enters the switching section from any optional direction, the guide device can changeover the switching element to that travelling state which corresponds to the selected direction of travel or stop setting of the guide device irrespective of whether the vehicle is travelling forward or in reverse.
  • FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic plan. view of a rail track having switching sections as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.
  • a toy locomotive 11 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. It is driven by batteries 12 which are accommodated in its boiler and which feed an electric d.c. motor 13. One of the total of three axles 15 of the locomotive is driven by the motor by way of a worm drive 14. For the purpose of changing the batteries, the upper portion 16 of the boiler is removabl after a snap device 17 has been disengaged. Electriczil power is fed to the motor 13 from the batteries 12 by way of an electrical switch 18 which can assume three switching positions for three travelling states, i.e., for forward and reverse travel and for stopping the locomotive.
  • the switch has a contact bridge 20 which is connected to the chassis 19 of the locomotive and on the top of which is provided an outer conducting region 21 and an inner conducting region 22.
  • the two regions are connected by way of connection wires 23 to the terminals of the battery.
  • the regions 21 and 22 are insulated from one another and arearranged such that insulated places 24 are formed between the regions 21 overlapping the two outsides, and the center region 22.
  • Two contact springs 25, 25' co-operate with the contact bridge and are connected to the motor term inals by way of connection wires 26;
  • the contact springs 25, 25 are arranged on a pivotable switching element in the form of a switching lever 27 which is pivotable about a screw 28 serving as a pivot.
  • the switching lever 27 may be pivoted manually by way of a hand lever 29 which projects towards both sides from the chassis 19 of the locomotive and which is pivotable together with the switching lever.
  • An actuating pin 30 is mounted at the free end of the switching lever 27 and projects downwardly from the locomotive chassis 19 through a slot 31 provided in the latter.
  • the switch 18 acts as an off switch and reversing switch by virtue of the fact that, when in one outer position (upper position in FIG. 3), the contact spring 25 is in contact with the region 21 and the contact spring 25' is in contact with the region 22.
  • the two contact springs When in the central position illustrated in FIG. 3, the two contact springs are in the region of the insulating places 24, so that the flow of current is interrupted, while, when in a lower position, the contact spring 25 is in contact with the region 21 and the contact spring 25 is in contact with the region 22.
  • the motor runs in different directions of rotation.
  • a switching section 32 is illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6.
  • the switching section 32 also has rails 33 which, however, do not have to act as current conductors and thus may be made relatively simply from plastics material.
  • a guide 34 having a guide slot 35 is arranged between the rails 33.
  • the guide 34 is substantially channelshaped. It is of relatively great length and has sloping entry portions 36 at each end.
  • the guide 34 is mounted on a slider 37 which engages below the rails 33 and which is horizontally displaceable in a base plate 38 and transversely of the rails.
  • the swivel pin 40 of a lever 41 is journalled in a sleeve-like bulge 39 in the base plate.
  • a bulge 42 in the slider engages over the bulge 39 and has an oblique slot 43 which forms a guideway and into which engages a transverse pin 44 on the swivel pin 40.
  • the pin 44 can move in a slot 45 which extends across a portion of the periphery of the bulge 39.
  • the slider 37 is made from plastics material like all the parts of the switching section 32, and a portion of the slider 37 is separated by a slot and forms a resilient detent 47 whose lug can engage into any one of three recesses 48 in the base plate in order to arrest the slider resiliently in a respective one of the three positions.
  • the locomotive and the switching section co-operate in the following manner:
  • the actuating pin extends into the guide slot in the guide 34.
  • the lever 41 is located in its upwardly directed position, the pin 44 is in a central position in the slotted guideway 43, and the slider 37 holds the guide 34 in its central position. Accordingly, the pin 30, and thus the switching lever 27, are in their central positions.
  • the switch 18 is switched off and the motor 13 carries no current. If the lever 41 is now pivoted, for example upwardly in FIG. 4 or to the right in FIG. 6, the pin 44 moves in the same direction of rotation and, owing to the slope of the slotted guideway 43, pushes the slider 37 to the left in FIGS. 4 and 5.
  • the guide 34 drives the actuating pin 30 in the same direction, so that the switching lever 27 (FIG. 3) is pivoted in an anti-clockwise direction, i.e., upwardly.
  • the leads 23 and 26 are connected to the battery and to the motor in such a manner that this movement of the switching lever 27 corresponds to reverse travel of the locomotive.
  • the switching lever 27 would have been pivoted in the opposite direction, so that the locomotive would have moved off in forward travel.
  • the locomotive would have left the switching section 32 in the same direction of travel irrespective of which way round the locomotive has been placed on the switching section.
  • the actuating device is constructed in such a manner that the direction in which the locomotive leaves the section always coincides with the direction in which the lever 41 is pointing. It is also to be noted that it is completely immaterial as to which way round the switching section is inserted into the rail track. In the above-described construction of the actuating device, the locomotive always leaves the section in the direction in which the lever is pointing.
  • a locomotive which enters the switching section in the direction in which the lever is pointing, always has its actuating pin 30 in a position which coincides with the position of the guide slot 35 in the guide 34.
  • the locomotive travels through the switching section in an unobstructed manner.
  • a locomotive enters the switching section in the opposite direction to the direction in which the lever 41 is pointing, its guide pin 30 is in the opposite position to the position of the guide 34.
  • the guide pin 30 then strikes against the corresponding sloping entry portion 36 and is changed over to the opposite direction by way of the stop position.
  • the locomotive then immediately leaves the switching section in the direction from which it came.
  • the actuating pin In the central position illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the actuating pin is also guided into the central position by the guide 34. As may be seen from FIG. 3, the contact springs 25, 25 are on the insulating places 24 of the contact bridge 21, so that the flow of current is interrupted and the locomotive remains stationary or stops.
  • the actuating pin 30 on a locomotive 11 entering the switching section 32 from any direction of travel is guided into the central position by the sloping entry portions, and the locomotive stops.
  • all functions of the locomotive may be controlled by way of the switching section, both when putting the locomotive into operation (throwing the lever when the locomotive is stationary on the switching section) and automatically when the locomotive enters the switching section.
  • the hand lever 29 in order that the locomotive may be placed on the rail track and put into operation at places at which there are no switching sections, there is provided the hand lever 29 by means of which forward and reverse travel may be set and by means of which the locomotive may be stopped.
  • FIG. 7 shows a rail track 50in the form of an external oval and an inner circle, the two self-contained loops being interconnected by points 5 l.
  • the main directions of travel which have been set are indicated by arrows adjacent the points.
  • Three switching sections 32, 32' and 32" are arranged in the rail track 50, and their directions of travel (positions of their levers 41) which have been set are also indicated by arrows.
  • a train travelling forwardly in the clockwise direction from the switching section 32 travels up to the switching section 32" where it is reversed and then travels along the lower inner arc up to the switching section 32' where it is again changed over to forward travel and returns to the switching section 32.
  • the slotted guideway for controlling the actuating device 46 may be replaced by a different control arrangement for the guide 34, although, preferably, parallel displacement of the guide in the plane of the rails is retained, since this has proved to be particularly advantageous.
  • the points 51 may be of conventional construction, as well as the couplings mounted on the locomotive 11 and the associated carriages, although it must be ensured that they are simple to operate in order to ensure that the railway may be used even by young children.
  • a switching section 32 inserted into a rail track 53 is illustrated in FIG. 8.
  • the switching section 132 comprises a single plastics material member constructed as a flat member 64 in the form of an arrow pointing upwardly when referring to FIG. 8.
  • the switching section 132 may be engaged or snapped between the rails 33 by means of two transverse ribs 52 formed on the underside of the flat member 64. It will be seen that this enables the switching section 32' to be secured at any optional position on the rail track and in any optional direction.
  • a projection forming a guide 34' extends upwardly from the flat member 64.
  • the guide 34 has a long guide surface 53 extending obliquely to the direction of travel, and a shorter guide surface 54 which also extends obliquely to the direction of travel.
  • a switching section 132" is illustrated in FIG. 9 and may also be inserted between rails 33.
  • the switching section 132" has a flat member 55 which is made from plastics material and which may be clamped between the rails 33 at any optional point by means of transverse ribs 52 formed on the underside of the switching section 132".
  • An actuating member 56 in the form of an arrow is pivotally secured to the flat member 55 by means of a pivot pin 57 shown by a dotted line in FIG. 9.
  • a switching lever 58 is secured to the actuating member 56 and extends below the flat member 55 and engages through an opening (not illustrated) in the flat member 55.
  • the actuating member 56 is urged into the position illustrated in FIG. 9 by means of a plastics material spring (not illustrated) integrally formed with the flat member 55, so that the actuating member lies substantially parallel to the rails 33. As is shown by the dotted arrow 60, the actuating member 56 may be pivoted about a pivot pin 57 by pivoting the switching lever 58 in the direction of the dash-dot arrow 59.
  • a guide 34" in the form of an upwardly extending rib is arranged on the actuating member 56.
  • the guide 34" has a sloping or bent guide surface 61 directed towards the pivot pin 37, and a guide surface 62 which, when the actuating member 56 is in its normal position illustrated in FIG. 9, extends substantially parallel to the rails 33 and is located substantially in the center between the rails 33.
  • the flat member 55 has an upwardly extending projection 63 adjacent the guide surface 62.
  • the actuating pin 30 can engage the guides 34', 34".
  • the switching section 132 When the locomotive l 1 travels through. the switching section 132 from the top in FIG. 10, its actuating pin is in a position in which the actuating pin is not actuated by the guide 34'.
  • the actuating pin 30 runs past the guide surfaces 53, 54 without a switching operation taking place, irrespective of whether the locomotive is travelling forward or in reverse.
  • the locomotive travels straight through the switching section 132.
  • the central position of the actuating pin 30 is the stopping position of the locomotive, and the locomotive is arrested. If the momentum of the locomotive should be too great, the projection 63 ensures that the locomotive cannot travel out of the switching section 32".
  • the switching lever 58 is pivoted in the direction-of the arrow 59, the actuating member 56 is also pivoted in the direction of the arrow 60.
  • the switching section 132 is a station which always ensures change over or passage in the direction of its arrow, irrespective of the side from which the locomotive is coming and irrespective of the direction of travel (forward or reverse) in which it enters, while the switching section 132", when in its position normally assumed, stops the locomotive and initiates departure in the predetermined direction by actuating the switching lever 58.
  • the switching section 132 may be inserted at a terminal railway station where the train automatically stops and then departs again in the opposite direction when desired.
  • This switching section also forms an automatic buffer," so that the locomotive is prevented from leaving a nonclosed section of rail. It will also be seen that the same function may be performed in the opposite direction of travel merely by reversing the member forming the switching section 132'.
  • movement transforming means comprises a slider having an oblique slotted guideway therein and carrying We claim: 1.
  • a toy vehicle system in which a self-propelled
  • wheeled vehicle having two travelling states and a stopped state runs on a travel guiding means, the travelling states being forward and reverse, and in which the travelling states and stopped state of the vehicle are controllable:
  • the improvement comprising a switch mounted on the vehicle and having a switching element movable between three switching positions for the two travelling states and the stopped state, at least one switching section on said travel guiding means and switching element guide means arranged at the switching section, said switching element being capable of mechanical switching by said switching element guide means when the vehicle enters the switching section from either direction and having one of three settings corresponding respectively to the two directions of travel and stop thereby to change over said switching element to the one of said travelling states or said stopped state which corresponds to said setting irrespective of whether the vehicle is travelling forward or in reverse when it enters said switching section unless the direction of travel at entry already corresponds to said setting.
  • said switching element guide means is displaceable transversely of said switching section between said three settings and in which said switching section further comprises a manually operable actuating device for displacing said switching element guide means.
  • switching element guide means has a guide slot therein parallel to the longitudinal direction of the travel guiding means, the ends of said switching element guide slot having sloping entry portions and in which said switching element has an actuating pin engageable in said slot.
  • said switching section comprises an insert member which may be inserted at any optional place in the travel guiding means and whose guide means is pre-set to a predetermined one of said three switching element settings.
  • said switching element guide means comprises an upwardly extending projection fixedly mounted on said insert member and can change over said switching element from one direction of travel into a pre-set direction of travel.
  • said switching section includes a pivotally mounted actuating member, spring means biasing said actuating member to the stop setting and a lever for moving said actuating member to a second setting against said switching element spring means, said guide means being provided on the actuating member.
  • switching element guide means has thereon switching element guide surfaces which are disposed partially obliquely to the direction of travel.
  • a system according to claim 1 in which said vehicle is propelled by a self-contained electric motor which is powered by a self contained battery.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)
US00190124A 1970-10-20 1971-10-18 Toy railroad vehicle and switching section Expired - Lifetime US3729866A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19702051343 DE2051343C3 (de) 1970-10-20 1970-10-20 Schattvorrichtung (Or die Antrfebsmotoren von spurgeführten Fahrspielzeugen
DE19712136808 DE2136808C3 (de) 1971-07-23 1971-07-23 Schaltvorrichtung fur die Antriebsmotoren von spurgefuhrten Fahrspielzeugen

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3729866A true US3729866A (en) 1973-05-01

Family

ID=25759924

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00190124A Expired - Lifetime US3729866A (en) 1970-10-20 1971-10-18 Toy railroad vehicle and switching section

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3729866A (enExample)
FR (1) FR2111539A5 (enExample)
GB (1) GB1365370A (enExample)
IT (1) IT939621B (enExample)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6439955B1 (en) 1999-12-21 2002-08-27 The Marketing Store Worldwide L.P. Toy vehicle and track system
US6935920B1 (en) * 2002-09-06 2005-08-30 Battat Incorporated Toy train accessory
US20060005735A1 (en) * 2004-07-07 2006-01-12 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Electromagnetic moving toy system
US20070283841A1 (en) * 2006-05-18 2007-12-13 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Energy converting system
US20080011184A1 (en) * 2006-05-02 2008-01-17 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Switching electromagnetic moving system
US20080238218A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Electromagnetic moving system

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3438145A (en) * 1967-01-10 1969-04-15 Child Guidance Toys Inc Toy railroad track assembly
US3481067A (en) * 1967-02-17 1969-12-02 Ideal Toy Corp Pneumatic remote control assembly
US3494617A (en) * 1967-07-20 1970-02-10 Marvin Glass & Associates Game board with self-propelled vehicle

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3438145A (en) * 1967-01-10 1969-04-15 Child Guidance Toys Inc Toy railroad track assembly
US3481067A (en) * 1967-02-17 1969-12-02 Ideal Toy Corp Pneumatic remote control assembly
US3494617A (en) * 1967-07-20 1970-02-10 Marvin Glass & Associates Game board with self-propelled vehicle

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6439955B1 (en) 1999-12-21 2002-08-27 The Marketing Store Worldwide L.P. Toy vehicle and track system
US6935920B1 (en) * 2002-09-06 2005-08-30 Battat Incorporated Toy train accessory
US20060005735A1 (en) * 2004-07-07 2006-01-12 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Electromagnetic moving toy system
US20080011184A1 (en) * 2006-05-02 2008-01-17 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Switching electromagnetic moving system
US20070283841A1 (en) * 2006-05-18 2007-12-13 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Energy converting system
US20080238218A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 Industrial Design Laboratories Inc. Electromagnetic moving system
US7623013B2 (en) 2007-03-28 2009-11-24 Industrial Design Laboratories, Inc Electromagnetic moving system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1365370A (en) 1974-09-04
FR2111539A5 (enExample) 1972-06-02
IT939621B (it) 1973-02-10

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US2832177A (en) Toy vehicle set
US3377958A (en) Lane change for raceway toy
US3729866A (en) Toy railroad vehicle and switching section
JPH10323458A (ja) 自走形玩具用交差点装置およびその交差点装置を用いて構成される走行玩具
US3016024A (en) Self-propelled reversing vehicle
US3774340A (en) System for operating miniature vehicles
US3451351A (en) Monorail switching system
US3316401A (en) Road race track switch
US3797404A (en) System for operating miniature vehicles
US3532060A (en) Transportation system and vehicle
US3673967A (en) Conveyor system for drive-in restaurants
CN100402119C (zh) 用在玩具车组件中的导向装置的转向系统
US2079251A (en) Toy railway switch-throwing mechanism
US3154024A (en) Toy trackway system
US3837286A (en) System for operating miniature vehicles
US4185561A (en) Automatic switching system
US3115845A (en) Toy monorailways
US3546809A (en) Multiple speed toy vehicle
US3352251A (en) Toy track system
US3291392A (en) Road race car switch track
US3541724A (en) Toy roadway layout
US3201899A (en) Remotely controlled toy and track arrangement therefor
US3601400A (en) Steerable slot car means
USRE21488E (en) haupt r
US3335520A (en) Miniature automobile racing game utilizing adhesive connection