Abstract:
A toy vehicle includes a chassis having front and rear portions with a wheel supporting the front portion of the chassis. The toy vehicle further includes spaced-apart swing arms connected to the rear portion of the chassis. Rear wheels are rotatably mounted to each end of the swing arms. The swing arms are independently movable with respect to the chassis between first and second positions. Two separate propulsion drives are operatively associated with the chassis and are drivingly coupled to respective rear wheels. Each propulsion drive is adapted to independently drive the respective rear wheels in either a first direction or a second opposite direction.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a remote control toy vehicle, and more particularly, a remote control toy vehicle with independently controlled drive wheels.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    Many remotely controlled toy vehicles attempt to duplicate well known vehicles, such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, racing vehicles, tanks, aircraft, space vehicles, and construction vehicles. With these so-called “real life” vehicles, the goal is to imitate the functional characteristics, such as the movement, of the actual life-sized vehicle, but on a reduced scale vehicle. While these types of vehicles can entertain the user by imitating a real life vehicle, the range of motion of most “real life” vehicles is somewhat limited and the movement of these vehicles follow a known behavior. Thus, the user may also desire a toy vehicle which does not behave like a known real life vehicle. That is, the user may be entertained by a vehicle that has a wide range of motion and moves in unusual and unexpected ways.  
           [0003]    Thus, it is believed that a toy vehicle that has a wide range of motion and could move in unusual and unexpected ways would be desired.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The toy vehicle of the present invention has a wide range of motion and can move in unusual and unexpected ways. To that end and in accordance with the principles of the invention, the toy vehicle includes a chassis having front and rear portions with at least one wheel supporting the front portion of the chassis. The toy vehicle further includes spaced-apart swing arms connected to the rear portion of the chassis. Rear wheels are rotatably mounted to each end of the swing arms. The swing arms are independently movable with respect to the chassis between first and second positions. As a given swing arm moves between the first position to the second position, the rear wheel is moved forward with respect to the chassis. Two separate propulsion drives are operatively associated with the chassis and are drivingly coupled to the respective rear wheels. Each propulsion drive is adapted to independently drive, or spin, a respective rear wheel in either a first direction or a second opposite direction. A rear wheel spinning in the first direction tends to move the toy vehicle forward whereas a rear wheel spinning in the second direction tends to move the toy vehicle rearward. In one aspect of the invention, the toy vehicle may be remotely controlled by an operator with a radio transmitter transmitting appropriate radio frequency signals. Thus, to be remotely controlled, the toy vehicle would include a receiver adapted to receive the remotely generated radio frequency signals. The receiver would be operatively connected to each drive motor independently such that each drive motor could be operated independently of the other. Accordingly, an operator could, for example, drive one rear wheel in the first or forward direction while simultaneously driving the other rear wheel in the second or rearward direction.  
           [0005]    In one aspect of the invention, the toy vehicle further includes an anti-tipping structure or wheelie bar affixed to at least one of the swing arms to prevent the toy vehicle from tipping backwards when both swing arms are in the second position. In the alternative, the wheelie bar could be affixed to the rear portion of the chassis to prevent the toy vehicle from tipping backwards.  
           [0006]    In another aspect of the invention, the toy vehicle includes a self-righting member that extends from the chassis. The self-righting member is configured to enable at least one of the rear wheels to contact the support surface when the toy vehicle has flipped over to a non-upright position.  
           [0007]    In another embodiment of the invention, the toy vehicle includes a wheeled steering mechanism supporting the front portion of the chassis. The wheeled steering mechanism includes an elongated member having a slot extending therethrough. The elongated member is pivotally connected to the front portion of the chassis. An axle extends through and is slidably movable within the slot. The axle has a wheel disposed at each of its opposite ends. As the toy vehicle moves in a forward direction, the axle slides rearwardly in the slot of the elongated member such that it is disposed rearwardly of the pivot connection of the elongated member. As such, the wheeled steering mechanism provides a castering effect when the toy vehicle is moving in a forward direction. The same castering effect is achieved when the toy vehicle moves rearward causing the axle to slide to a position forward of the pivot connection of the elongated member.  
           [0008]    Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following Detailed Description and the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy vehicle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a side view of the toy motorcycle shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a top plan view, partially cut-away, of the toy vehicle shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is another side view of the toy motorcycle shown in FIG. 1 being supported by the rear wheels and the wheelie bars.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the toy vehicle shown in FIG. 1 with the left swing arm pivoted downwardly relative to the chassis.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the front steering mechanism of the toy vehicle of FIG. 1 as viewed from the top.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 is an enlarged elevation view in partial cross section of the front steering mechanism of the toy vehicle of FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the steering mechanism of the toy vehicle shown in FIG. 1 with a single castering front wheel.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the electrical controls for the toy vehicle of FIG. 1.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    With reference to FIGS.  1 - 3 , a toy vehicle  10  constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The toy vehicle  10  includes a chassis  12  having front and rear portions  14 ,  16  supported respectively by front wheels  18 ,  20  and by rear wheels  22 ,  24 . Pivotally connected to the rear portion  16  of chassis  12  are spaced apart swing arms  26 ,  28  to which rear wheels  22 ,  24  are rotatably mounted. Swing arms  26 ,  28  pivot about a stationary axle  30  which extends transversely across substantially the entire width of the chassis  12 . As will be discussed in greater detail below, swing arms  26 ,  28  are free to pivot independently of one another between, for example, a first position as shown in FIG. 2 and a second position as shown in FIG. 4. With swing arms  26 ,  28  in the second position, rear wheels  22 ,  24  are closer to front portion  14  of chassis  12  compared to rear wheels  22 ,  24  when the swing arms  26 ,  28  are in the first position. Bias members, such as shock absorbers,  38 ,  40  extend between the front portion  14  of chassis  12  and links  42 ,  44  which are pivotally connected about axle  30 . Links  42 ,  44  can pivot about axle  30  independently of swing arms  24 ,  26 . However, swing arms  24 ,  26  including stop members  46  (FIG. 4) proximate to where the swing arms  24 ,  26  pivot about axle  30  that engage links  42 ,  44  to maintain swing arms  24 ,  26  in their first position. Stop members  46  disengage links  42 ,  44  as swing arms  24 ,  26  pivot from the first position toward the second position.  
         [0019]    With specific reference to FIG. 3, the toy vehicle  10  includes two independent propulsion drives  56 ,  58  that include drive motors  60 ,  62 . Each drive motor  60 ,  62  has drive gears  64 ,  66  which drivingly engaged a respective plurality of intermeshing gears  68 ,  70 . Couplers  72 ,  74  couple intermeshing gears  68 ,  70  to a second plurality of intermeshing gears  76 ,  78  (FIG. 4) which drive rear wheels  22 ,  24 . Although intermeshing gears  68 ,  70 ,  76 ,  78  ultimately connect drive motors  60 ,  62  to rear wheels  22 ,  24 , other suitable mechanisms, such as belts or chains, may also be used to connect drive motors  60 ,  62  to the rear wheels  22 ,  24 . A power supply such as a battery  80  (FIG. 9) is located beneath protective cover  86  in the rear portion  16  of chassis  12  powers drive motors  60 ,  62  via electrical wires  88 ,  90 . Advantageously, battery  80  is removable from chassis  12  so that it may be recharged.  
         [0020]    Drive motors  60 ,  62  operate independently of one another. That is, drive motor  60  drives or rotates rear wheel  22  regardless of whether drive motor  62  drives rear wheel  24 . Moreover, each drive motor  60 ,  62  can operate in either a forward direction or a rearward direction. In other words, drive motor  60  can either spin or rotate rear wheel  22  in a direction tending to move the toy vehicle  10  in a forward direction or in a direction tending to move the toy vehicle  10  in an opposite rearward direction. Because drive motors  60 ,  62  can be driven independently of each other, drive motor  60  may be driven in the forward direction while simultaneously drive motor  62  may be driven in the opposite reverse direction.  
         [0021]    Anti-tipping structures or wheelie bars  96 ,  98  are affixed to respective upper portions of swing arms  26 ,  28  to prevent the toy vehicle  10  from tipping too far backwards when both swing arms  26 ,  28  are pivoted to the second position as shown in FIG. 4. Moreover, rollers  100 ,  102  are located at the distal ends of the wheelie bars  96 ,  98  so that the toy vehicle  10  can move in a forward direction supported by and rolling on both rollers  100 ,  102  and rear wheels  22 ,  24 . It will be appreciated that wheelie bars  96 ,  98  or modified versions thereof could also be attached to the rear portion  16  of chassis  12  instead of to swing arms  26 ,  28  to prevent the toy vehicle  10  from tipping backwards with swing arms  26 ,  28  in the second position.  
         [0022]    With reference to FIGS. 3, 6, and  7 , the toy vehicle  10  includes a steering mechanism  110  that includes an elongated member  112  having a slot  114  extending therethrough. The steering mechanism further includes an axle  116  that extends through the slot  114 . Front wheels  18 ,  20  are rotatably mounted on opposite ends of axle  116 . Axle  116  is free to move within slot  114 . That is, axle  116  is free to translate both forwards and backwards along slot  114  as well as pivot in slot  114  as illustrated in FIG. 6, for example. Stop members  118  may be affixed to opposite sides of the axle  116  between the opposite ends of the slot  114  and the front wheels  18 ,  20 . Although axle  116  is free to move within slot  114 , stop members  118  limit the lateral movement of the axle  116  relative to the slot  114 .  
         [0023]    Elongated member  112  is pivotally mounted to the front portion  14  of chassis  12  at pivot member  120  which extends from elongated member  112 . More specifically, elongated member  112  pivots about axis  122  which is tilted forward relative to a line perpendicular to support surface  124  upon which the toy vehicle  10  travels as best illustrated in FIG. 7. Axle  116  move forwards and backwards in slot  114  along a plane which is substantially perpendicular to axis  122 . As the toy vehicle  10  moves forward, the axle  116  slides to the rear portion of the slot  114  and is positioned rearward of axis  122 . As such, the steering mechanism  110  casters about axis  122  such that the toy vehicle  10  tends to move in a straight line even if the front wheels  18 ,  20  encounter a disturbance which would otherwise upset the straight line track of the toy vehicle  10 . When the toy vehicle  10  moves rearward, the axle  116  slides to the front portion of the slot  114  and is positioned forward of axis  122 . Accordingly, like the castering effect achieved when the toy vehicle  10  moves forward, steering mechanism  110  casters about axis  122  as the toy vehicle  10  moves rearward.  
         [0024]    The pivotal movement of elongated member  112  about pivot member  120  is restricted by sidewall portions  126 ,  128  which form part of front portion  14  of chassis  12 . As illustrated in FIG. 6, axle  116  can pivot slightly further than elongated member  112  because axle  116  can pivot within slot  114 .  
         [0025]    In operation, an operator remotely controls the toy vehicle  10  with a remote control transmitter  134  (FIG. 9) which selectively transmits control signals. Advantageously, the remote control transmitter  134  transmits control signals over two independent channel so that the drive motors  60 ,  62  may be controlled independently of one another. The toy vehicle  10  includes an electronic circuit board  136  position directly over protective cover  86  that includes a remote control receiver  138  and a controller  140 . The receiver  138  is operative connected to the battery  80  and controller  140 . The controller  140  is operative connected to battery  80  and drive motors  60 ,  62 . The toy vehicle further includes an antenna  142  which receives the control signals from the remote control transmitter  134  and relays those signals to the remote control receiver  138 .  
         [0026]    The remote control receiver  138  receives control signals from the remote control transmitter  134  as the operator directs the toy vehicle  10  to move is a particular direction. With a two channel remote transmitter  134 , the operator can independently control the operation of each drive motor  60 ,  62  independently of the other. In other words, the operator can remotely operate both drive motors  60 ,  62  in a forward direction, in a rearward direction, or alternatively, one drive motor in a forward direction and the other drive motor in a rearward direction or not at all. Thus, the direction the toy vehicle  10  travels depends on which direction the drive motors  60 ,  62  are operated. If, for example, both drive motors  60 ,  62  are operated a forward direction, the toy vehicle  10  will move forward in a straight line.  
         [0027]    The toy vehicle, however, will turn sharply should only one drive motor be operated and even more sharply should one drive motor be operated in a forward direction and the other drive motor be operated in a rearward direction. When one drive motor  60 ,  62  is operated alone in the forward direction, the associated swing arm  26 ,  28  pivots from the first position illustrated in FIG. 2 to the second position illustrated in FIG. 5. By way of example and as illustrated in FIG. 5, drive motor  60  is operating to spin rear wheel  22  in a forward direction as shown by arrow  144  such that swing arm  26  is pivoted from the first position to the second position. As swing arm  26  pivots to and remains in the second position, the steering mechanism  110  pivots clockwise as viewed looking down on the toy vehicle  10  until the steering mechanism  110  engages sidewall portion  126 . In this configuration, the toy vehicle  10  spins in clockwise circle as indicated by arrows  128 , with the circle having a first radius. Should drive motor  62  be operated to spin rear wheel  24  in the rearward direction as shown by arrow  146  with drive motor  60  operating in the forward direction, toy vehicle  10  will spin in a clockwise circle having a second radius smaller than the first radius.  
         [0028]    Should both drive motors  60 ,  62  be operated in the rearward direction, the toy vehicle  10  will move rearwardly in a substantially straight line. If the operator were to command that both drive motors  60 ,  62  be switched instantly from the rearward direction to a forward direction, both swing arms  26 ,  28  would pivot from the first position to the second position as shown in FIG. 4. With both swing arms  26 ,  28  in the second position, rollers  100 ,  102  located at the respective ends of wheelie bars  96 ,  98  contact support surface  124 . As such, the toy vehicle  10  will move forward while being supported by rear wheels  22 ,  24  and rollers  100 ,  102 . In this configuration, should drive motor  62  then be shut off, swing arm  28  will return to its first position and the toy vehicle  10  will begin to spin clockwise as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0029]    The toy vehicle  10  described above is a four-wheeled vehicle. The toy vehicle  10 , however, may operate as a three-wheeled vehicle. One such embodiment of a three-wheeled version of toy vehicle  10  is shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, steering mechanism  110  and front wheels  18 ,  20  are replaced by a single castering wheel  150  connected to front portion  14  of chassis  12  by support member  152 . The steering characteristics of this embodiment are similar to those of the embodiment described above. That is, when swing arm  26  moves from the first position to the second position, castering wheel  150  will pivot such that the toy vehicle  10  will spin in a clockwise direction. When swing arm  26  returns to its first position, castering wheel  150  will pivot such that the toy vehicle  10  will continue along a straight path.  
         [0030]    During normal operation, the toy vehicle  10  operates in an upright position as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4, and  5 . In this context, upright position means that, while toy vehicle  10  is operating, at least the two rear wheels  22 ,  24  remain in contact with the support surface  124  whether the toy vehicle is traveling straight, spinning, or up on rear wheels  22 ,  24  and rollers  100 ,  102 . While operating, the toy vehicle  10  may encounter some obstacle, such as a wall, a door, or a chair leg, causing the toy vehicle  10  to flip over to a non-upright position, such that both rear wheels  22 ,  24  no longer contact support surface  40 . To accommodate for those instances when the toy vehicle  10  flips over to a non-upright position, toy vehicle  10  includes a self-righting member or roll bar  160 . Roll bar  160  is configured such that when toy vehicle  10  is in any non-upright position, the toy vehicle  10  will rest upon the roll bar  160  with at least one rear wheel  22 ,  24  contacting support surface  124 . With one rear wheel  22 ,  24  in contact with the support surface  124 , the operator can activate that particular rear wheel  22 ,  24  to start the toy vehicle  10  spinning. The spinning, non-upright toy vehicle  10  should flip back to the upright position after of couple of spins, allowing the toy vehicle  10  to operate normally without requiring the operator to physically touch the toy vehicle.  
         [0031]    While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail in order to describe the best mode of practicing the invention, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein we claim: