US3860238A

US3860238A - Continuous racetrack having turnaround portions

Info

Publication number: US3860238A
Application number: US439733A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shizuka Kojima
Original assignee: Tomy Kogyo Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tomy Kogyo Co Ltd
Priority date: 1974-02-05
Filing date: 1974-02-05
Publication date: 1975-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-14

Abstract

A continuous racing toy consisting of a trackway provided with a central portion terminating at each end thereof in turn-around portions for raising and reversing the direction of travel of the vehicles through 180*, each of the turn-around portions merging into downwardly extending portions terminating just above the central portion, each of the aforenoted portions being provided with a plurality of distinct paths within which racing vehicles are located, a propulsion unit located within one of the turnaround portions and consisting of a plurality of wheels provided with spokes for engaging and propelling the vehicles through the turn-around portion causing the vehicles to reverse their direction and gain momentum and upon leaving the downwardly extending portion drop onto the central track portion and run in the opposite direction, and counting mechanisms located within the paths found within the other turn-around portion for advising the user as to the number of laps completed by each of the vehicles.

Description

United States Patent [191 Kojima CONTINUOUS RACETRACK HAVING TURNAROUND PORTIONS [75] Inventor: Shizuka Kojima, Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: Tomy Kogyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo,

Japan [22] Filed: Feb. 5, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 439,733

[52] US. Cl. 273/86 C, 46/1 K, 46/202,

104/60, 273/DIG. 26 [51] Int. Cl. A63f 9/14 [58] Field of Search 46/1 K, 202, 212, 43;

273/86 R, 86 C, 86 D; 104/60, 55, 56, 67

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,872,204 8/1932 Wily 104/63 1,909,505 5/1933 Rodman 273/86 D 3,411,783 11/1968 Montagna 104/55 3,542,366 11/1970 Schocker 104/55 3,622,158 11/1971 Tepper .1 273/86 D 3,697,071 10/1972 Anderson 273/86 D 3,721,036 3/1973 Goldfarb 46/43 [451 Jan. 14, 1975 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerMarvin Siskind' Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Staas & Halsey [57] ABSTRACT A continuous racing toy consisting of a trackway provided with a central portion terminating at each end thereof in turn-around portions for raising and reversing the direction of travel of the vehicles through 180, each of the turn-around portions merging into downwardly extending portions terminating just above the central portion, each of the aforenoted portions being provided with a plurality of distinct paths within which racing vehicles are located, a propulsion unit located within one of the turn-around portions and consisting of a plurality of wheels provided with spokes for engaging and propelling the vehicles through the turn-around portion causing the vehicles to reverse their direction and gain momentum and upon leaving the downwardly extending portion drop onto the central track portion and run in the opposite direction, and counting mechanisms located within the paths found within the other turn-around portion for advising the user as to the number of laps completed by each of the vehicles.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJANWQYE' 3,860,238

SHEET 10F 5 PATENTEOJAN 1 M975 sum 3 or 5 PATENTED JAN 1 4l975 SHEET .5 OF 5 CONTINUOUS RACETRACK HAVING TURNAROUNDPORTIONS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the class of toys simulating the racing of automobiles and, more particularly, features a plurality of vehicles which continuously race and from time to time change position relative to each other. The mechanism for powering the 1 vehicles is provided within one of two turnaround sections provided in the trackway and consists of a plurality of rotating wheels provided with spokes for the purpose of engaging and thereafter propelling each vehicle within its racing path through 180 to thereafter traverse the racing course in the opposite direction until entering the other of the turn-around sections wherein the vehicles again reverse their direction through 180 while actuating a counter provided with indicia for advising the children as to the number of laps completed by each vehicle. With the invention disclosed herein, a continuous racing game is provided characterized by its simplicity in construction, low cost of manufacture and reliability during use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the continuous racing toy of the present invention illustrating at the left hand side thereof the turn-around section within which the propulsion mechanism is located and at the right hand side thereof the other turn-around section within which the counting mechanism is located;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the continuous racing toy of the present invention illustrating in particular the distinct racing paths formed within the various sections of the trackway;

FIG. 3 is across-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 illustrating the internal working mechanism of the propulsion system;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 illustrating the construction of the counting mechanisms associated with each of the racing paths;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of that turn-around section provided with a propulsion system with selected portions of the housing thereof removed so as to expose the construction and relationship of component parts, including in particular the individual wheels and spokes which are responsible for engaging and propelling the vehicles through 180 to reverse their direction of travel while building up sufficient speed to traverse the remainder of the course;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of that turnaround section within which the propulsion system is located, illustrating in particular the relationship between the spokes of the wheels and the vehicles during movement within the turn-around section, and also the hand-operated mechanism for stopping the movement of all vehicles, when desired; and

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the other turn-around section within which the counting mechanisms are located illustrating in particular a vehicle within one of the distinct paths actuating the counting mechanism and also the subsequent wheel for temporarily slowing down the movement of vehicles at random.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

The continuous racing toy of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 and consists ofa centrally located trackway section 12 consisting of four distinct racing paths l4, 14, 14' and 14", as illustrated in FIG. 2. At one end of the racing toy is located a first turn-around portion desig- 0 nated generally by the reference numeral 16 within which a propulsion unit is located, as will be discussed in detail hereinafter. The reference numeral 18 designates generally the other turn-around portion which is provided with a counting mechanism, as will also be described in detail hereinafter.

As will be apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, there is provided on one side of the turn-around section 16 a casing 20. Within the casing 20 are located a source of electrical energy, for example, a battery 21, and a miniature electrical motor 22. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, a gear wheel 24 is located at the end of the shaft of the motor 22 and meshes with and drives a gear wheel 26 fixedly secured to a shaft 28 about which a plurality of wheels 30 are rigidly secured. Such miniature electric motor and gear construction is conventional in the art and need not be described further.

The wheels 30 are provided with a plurality of spokes 32, it being noted that both the wheels andthe spokes be apparent, actuation of the motor 22 by any conventional switch means causes the shaft 28 to rotate in turn causing all of the wheels 30 to rotate.

It will be further noted from FIG. 5 that the turnaround portion 16 is provided at the bottom thereof with a section of trackway 33 formed with a plurality of

racing areas

34, 34', 34" and 34" corresponding to the previously described

racing areas

14, 14', 14" and 14" illustrated in FIG. 2 and which are formed within the central section 12. As will be further apparent from FIG. 5, the turn-around section 16 is provided at the top thereof with a section of trackway 36 provided with a pluralityof

distinct racing paths

38, 38, 38", and 38" corresponding to the

racing paths

1,4 and 34 which have been previously described.

Turning now to FIG. 6, it willbe noted that mounted within the bottom section of trackway 33 of the turnaround section 16, as illustrated in FIG. 6, is a pivotably supported gate generally designated by the reference numeral 40 which consists of a plate 42 appropriately mounted for rotation and having at one end thereof a plurality of flanges 44 which are free to move upwardly and downwardly through openings 46 formed within each of the

paths

14, 14', 14", 14", as illustrated in FIG. 2. The other end of the plate 42 is providedwith an operating handle 48 which when moved to one side causes the flanges 44 to protrude upwardly blocking each of the racing paths l4, 14', 14'' and 14". In like manner, as the handle 48 is rotated to the left, the plate 42 rotates moving the flanges 44 below the openings 46 thus leaving the paths of the trackway unobstructed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7, the other turn-around portion 18 is provided with a shaft 50 upon which four cylinders 52 are loosely mounted for independent rotation. Each of the cylinders 52 is provided with indicia 0123456789 along the periphery thereof, and upstanding teeth 54 corresponding to each of the indicia. As can be seen best in FIG. 7, as each of the drums 52 rotates, one of the teeth 54 corresponding to one of the indicia protrudes upwardly into the path of travel of the vehicle 56.

The turn-around portion 18 is provided at the bottom thereof with a section of trackway 58 formed with a plurality of

racing areas

60, 60, 60" and 60", as seen in FIG. 4, corresponding to the previously described

racing areas

14, 34 and 38. As will be further apparent from FIG. 7, the turn-around section 18 is provided at the top thereof with a section of trackway 62 provided with a plurality of distinct racing paths 64, 64', 64" and 64 corresponding to the

racing paths

14, 34 and 38 and 60 as previously described.

As will now be apparent, and with reference to FIG. 7, as the vehicles 56 have completed their 180 turns in the turn-around section 18 and begin to move downwardly at the very end of their respective paths 60 each vehicle 56 eventually engages and moves the projecting tooth 54 of its corresponding cylinder 52 thus rotating the cylinder 52 and exposing the next indicia. A flexible spring 66 and a rigid spring 68 are positioned as illustrated in FIG. 7 adjacent a smaller series of teeth 70 formed in each cylinder 52 and corresponding to the larger teeth 54. Thus, the cylinders 52 are limited in their rotation to movement between adjacent teeth 54.

Located immediately below the cylinders 52 are a plurality of discs 72, each fixedly secured to a shaft 74 and provided with a pair of teeth 76. Importantly, the teeth 76 of one disc 72 are staggered from the teeth of an adjacent disc 72, as partially illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus, as the vehicle 56 corresponding to the raised tooth 76 contacts same, the vehicle 56 is temporarily slowed down while causing the shaft 74 to rotate, in turn raising the tooth 76 of another disc 72 to slow movement of the adjacent vehicle 56, it being understood that the foregoing is all accomplished in random manner.

It is now apparent that each of the vehicles 56 must be configured the same on top and bottom, and it is contemplated that the small figurine of a driver be located on the top and bottom as illustrated in FIG. 2.

As will now be apparent, by rotating the handle 48 to the right, each of the fourvehicles 56 may be aligned for starting. The motor 22 is then turned on and the vehicles 56 released. The vehicles 56 roll gently down the trackway section 33 until becoming lodged between the adjacent spokes 32 of the rotating wheels 30. The vehicles are rapidly accelerated through 180 within the turn-around section 16 thereafter moving down the section of trackway 36 eventually falling into the corresponding path of the central trackway section 12. The vehicles then enter the turn-around section 18 and under their own momentum enter and pass through the other turn-around section 18. The vehicles 56 then pass downwardly through the counter mechanisms and random decelerating devices 52 and 72, respectively, thereafter landing on their corresponding paths within the central segment 12 but in the opposite direction. In case of accidental lodging of vehicles in the turnaround section 16, it is only necessary to rotate knob 80, as illustrated in FIG. 4, which results in rotating shafts 28 freeing the stuck vehicle from the turnaround section.

I claim:

I. A continuous racing'toy, comprising:

a trackway provided with a central portion, turnaround portions at each end of said central portion,

around portions, each wheel having a plurality of spokes extending radially outward therefrom and into its associated path so as to engage the vehicle in said path and propel same through said path of said turn-around portion, and means rotating said wheels.

2. A continuous racing toy as in claiml, wherein each of said turn-around portions of said trackway is generally semi-circular so as to reverse the path 'oftravel of saidvehicles through approximately 3. A continuous racing toy as in claim 2, wherein saidend portions terminate above said central portion by a distance exceeding the height of said vehicles whereby said vehicles are permitted to travel along said'central portion in one direction into said turn-around portions and after leaving said turn-around portions drop from said end portions onto said central portion to travel in the opposite direction.

4. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said paths of said central portion, turn-around portions and end portions comprise continuous surfaces located between opposed side walls.

5. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said turn-around portion within which said propulsion unit is located includes at the beginning thereof a downwardly sloping surface within which said paths are located, and means associated with each path in said downwardly sloping surface for blocking said path, as. desired.

6. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, including a counting mechanism associated with each path within said other turn-around portion for counting the number of times a vehicle passes through each saidpath.

7. A continuous racing toy as in claim 6, wherein said counting mechanism associated with each of said paths is provided with indicia visible to the'user designating the number of times a vehicle has traversed each sai path therein.

8 A continuous racing toy as in claim 6, wherein said counting mechanism comprises a wheel operatively mounted for rotation within each of said paths within said other of said turn-around portions, each wheel being provided with a plurality of spokes arranged to extend within said path such that as said vehicle passes therethrough it engages and moves one of said spokes causing said wheel to rotate, and indicia on said wheel corresponding to said spokes and visible to the user.

9. A continuous racing toy as in claim 6, including means for temporarily slowing down at random the movement of said vehicles leaving the other of said turn-around portions.

10. A continuous racing toy as in claim 9., wherein said means for temporarily slowing down said vehicles comprises a wheel operatively mounted for rotation within each of said paths within the other of said turnsaid front and rear wheels.

13. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein I said wheels and spokes are made of soft vinyl.

14. A continuous racing toy as in claim l, wherein said central portion of said trackway slopes downwardly toward said turn-around portion within which said propulsion unit is located.

Claims

1. A continuous racing toy, comprising: a trackway provided with a central portion, turn-around portions at each end of said central portion, each of said turn-around portions terminating upwardly from said central portion, and end portions at the ends of said turn-around portions exteNding downwardly and terminating inwardly of said turn-around portions at positions above said central portion, said central portion, turn-around portions and end portions being provided with a plurality of distinct, continuous paths; racing vehicles provided within said paths; and a propulsion unit within one of said turn-around portions consisting of wheels mounted for rotation within said paths within said one of said turn-around portions, each wheel having a plurality of spokes extending radially outward therefrom and into its associated path so as to engage the vehicle in said path and propel same through said path of said turn-around portion, and means rotating said wheels.

2. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein each of said turn-around portions of said trackway is generally semi-circular so as to reverse the path of travel of said vehicles through approximately 180*.

3. A continuous racing toy as in claim 2, wherein said end portions terminate above said central portion by a distance exceeding the height of said vehicles whereby said vehicles are permitted to travel along said central portion in one direction into said turn-around portions and after leaving said turn-around portions drop from said end portions onto said central portion to travel in the opposite direction.

5. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said turn-around portion within which said propulsion unit is located includes at the beginning thereof a downwardly sloping surface within which said paths are located, and means associated with each path in said downwardly sloping surface for blocking said path, as desired.

6. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, including a counting mechanism associated with each path within said other turn-around portion for counting the number of times a vehicle passes through each said path.

7. A continuous racing toy as in claim 6, wherein said counting mechanism associated with each of said paths is provided with indicia visible to the user designating the number of times a vehicle has traversed each said path therein.

8. A continuous racing toy as in claim 6, wherein said counting mechanism comprises a wheel operatively mounted for rotation within each of said paths within said other of said turn-around portions, each wheel being provided with a plurality of spokes arranged to extend within said path such that as said vehicle passes therethrough it engages and moves one of said spokes causing said wheel to rotate, and indicia on said wheel corresponding to said spokes and visible to the user.

10. A continuous racing toy as in claim 9, wherein said means for temporarily slowing down said vehicles comprises a wheel operatively mounted for rotation within each of said paths within the other of said turn-around sections, each of said wheels being mounted to move in unison and provided with staggered teeth projecting into said paths therein.

11. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said vehicles each comprise a chassis configured as a racing car on each side and front and rear movable wheels secured thereto.

12. A continuous racing toy as in claim 11, wherein said spokes of said wheels engage said vehicle between said front and rear wheels.

13. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said wheels and spokes are made of soft vinyl.

14. A continuous racing toy as in claim 1, wherein said central portion of said trackway slopes downwardly toward said turn-around portion within which said propulsion unit is located.