SINGLE CHANNEL RADIO CONTROL SYSTEM

Abstract: Radio control of a vehicle by a single channel continuous wave transmitter and receiver to change the direction of the drive motor (1) and to use this change of direction as an actuator mechanism to cycle a cam (11) that controls the steering wheels (22) of the vehicle. Because the actuator mechanism responds to the change in direction of the drive motor (1) the invention eliminates the use of a relay escapement mechanism or second motor driven actuator to obtain control of more than one function.

Description: SINGLE CHANNEL RADIO CONTROL SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to toys and more particularly to radio controlled toy vehicles. BACKGROUND ART Single channel continuous wave radio control systems can only control one function. One approach used in the past to expand the number of functions controlled was to utilize some sort of modulation of the carrier wave by the transmitter with a decoding of the modulated signal by the receiver to actuate the different f nctions. This method requires more sophisticated electronics in the transmitter, receiver and control devices with an increase in cost and maintenance of the system. The simplest control signal is the transmission of a continuous wave to indicate that the controlled item is to be in one state and when the continuous wave is no longer transmitted the controlled item reverts to another state. Methods have been developed to expand this on/off signal to be able to control more than one function These methods have used an escapement or a cascade of escapements to perform control of several functions. These escapements have typically utilized relays as the actuating mechanism. The use of relays increased the weight and the power drain of the control system. Other escapements have consisted of a motor to drive the control plates. This motor is in addition to the vehicle drive motor and is best controlled by following pulse rate and pulse length changes detected by the receiver which adds to the weight, cost and power drain of the control mechanism. Disclosure of the Invention This invention relates in general to the single channel continuous wave (cw) radio control systems but has a distinct advantage in that it does not utilize a relay escapement or additional motorized sequencing servo to achieve control of more than one function. This invention receives the cw signal and changes the direction of the vehicle drive motor as long as the cw signal is present. As soon as the cw signal stops, the original direction of the vehicle drive motor is resumed. This invention then utilizes the change in direction of the vehicle drive motor to generate the control force that advances the steering cam. The speed of the reation to the change in direction and the inertia of the vehicle combine to allow the advancement of the steering cam without significant loss in momentum of the vehicle. This method of utilizing the vehicle drive motor to power the actuation of the cam allows the control of forward and reverse in the three direction of left, right, and straight to be controlled by a simple, single channel cw radio control device without the addition of an actuator that requires additional power and weighs more than the invention mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a horizontal view of the invention depicting the motor, actuator mechanism, 'and cam. Figure 2 is a vertical view of the invention depicting the actuator mechanism and cam. Figure 3 is a horizontal view of the invention as applied to a toy automobile. Figure 4 is a block diagram of a typical continuous wave transmitter. Figure 5 is a block diagram of a typical continuous wave receiver and motor control. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrate all of the essential elements of the actuator of the present invention. A motor 1 is fixed to a motor mount 2. The power gear 4 is attached to the shaft of the rotor of the motor 1. A movable ring 3 is held in place, coaxially with the shaft of the rotor of the motor 1 by the motor mount 2 and has limited rotary motion. The ring 3 has two knobs 15 and 16 attached near the perimeter of the ring 3. A set of two planetary gears 5 are coaxially and rotatably mounted on a knob 16 for uniform movement so that the larger gear meshes with the power gear 4. The smaller gear is attached to the larger gear to form the set of planetary gears 5. When the power gear 4 rotates counter¬ clockwise, it exerts a force on the set of planetary gears 5 such that the set of planetary gears 5 and ring 3 rotate counterclockwise until the knob 16 engages a stop 18 that is a part of the mount 2. The location of the stop 18 is chosen so that the set of planetary gears 5 is held in position wherein the smaller of the planetary gears 5 can engage the _ OMFI primary drive gear 6. The primary drive gear 6 is fixed to the shaft of the vehicle drive means such as the axle of one or both of a pair of drive wheels, or, for example, the drive shaft of a boat. When the power gear 4 rotates clockwise, it exerts a force on the set of planetary gears 5 such that the set of planetary gears 5 and the ring 3 rotate clockwise until the knob 15 engages a stop 17 that is part of the mount 2. The stop 17 is located such that the smaller gear of the set of planetary gears 5 meshes with the secondary drive gear 7. The secondary drive gear 7 is mounted such that it engages an intermediate gear 8 which engages the primary drive gear 6. The stops 17 and 18 together with the knobs 15 and 16 comprise a motion limiting means for limiting the motion of the ring 3. Thus, through the action of reversing the direction of the motor 1, the direction of the final drive gear 6 is reversed. A simple wire spring 19 is attached to the mount 2 and positioned between the primary drive gear 6 and the secondary drive gear 7 such that the largest of the set of planetary gears 5 will engage the wire spring 19 as a step from one drive gear to the other. The movement of knob 15 with the ring 3 is utilized as the activator force to control the steering means of the vehicle through the following described mechanism. One end of connector 9 is attached to knob 15. The other end of connector 9 is attached to plate 10. Plate 10 is free to rotate around shaft 14. The bottom of plate 10 is equipped with a set of teeth so as to engage and rotate the cam 11 while the plate is rotated counter¬ clockwise but will slip over the cam 11 while the plate is rotated clockwise. Plate 12 is fixed to the body of the vehicle and does not rotate. When the plate 10 is rotating clockwise and slipping over cam 11, the teeth of the plate 12 engage the cam 11 and prevent the cam 11 from rotating in a clockwise manner. The movement of knob 15 and placement of the attachment of connector 9 to plate 10 are selected to provide 90° of rotation of plate 10 each time the direction of the motor 1 is changed. The spring 13 allows vertical movement of the cam 11 and plate 10 as each in turn slips over the teeth of plate 12 and cam 11 respectively. Figure 3 illustrates the use of the actuator in a toy motor vehicle. The cam 11 is mounted so that it engages a box 20 that is connected to the steering wheels 22 of the vehicle by means of connecting rods 21. As the cam 11 rotates in 90° increments, it moves the box 20 to the right, then center, then left, and then back to center. The block diagram of a single channel continuous wave transmitter of the type well known for radio control is shown in Figure 4. It is crystal controlled to meet • FCC regulations and set to transmit on a selected channel in the 27 or 72 Mhz radio control band. A block diagram of a single channel continuous wave receiver of the type well known for radio control is shown in Figure 5. The motor control responds to the detection by the receiver of the transmitted signal and reverses the direction of the motor. If the motor is a direct current motor, the motor control simply reverses the polarity of the current applied to the motor in response to the detected signal and changes the polarity back when the signal is no longer detected. Since certain changes may be made in the above apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description as shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A system for remotely controlling the direction and motion of a vehicle which has a means to steer the vehicle, a motor, and a drive means comprising: means to transmit a single channel continuous wave control signal; means to receive said control signal; means to couple said motor to said drive means; means to change the direction of said motor in response to said control signal; and means to change the attitude of said means to steer said vehicle in response to the same control signal. 2. A remote control system as defined in Claim 1 wherein said means to couple said motor to said drive means includes: a primary drive gear attached to said drive means; a secondary drive gear wherein said secondary drive gear is in direct drive with said primary drive gear means of an intermediate gear; a power gear attached to the rotor of said motor; a ring mounted so that it rotates around the axis of said motor rotor; a planetary gear member mounted on said ring and being meshed with said power gear whereby the motion of said motor rotor in one direction causes said ring and said planetary gear member to rotate until said planetary gear member becomes meshed with said primary drive gear and the motion of said motor rotor in the other direction causes said ring and said planetary gear member to rotate until said planetary gear member becomes meshed with said secondary drive gear. OMPI 3. The system defined in Claim 2 wherein said vehicle is a four wheel vehicle and said drive means comprises one of the said four wheels. 4. The system defined in Claim 2 wherein said planetary gear member comprises a pair of gears coupled together for unitary rotation. 5. The system defined in Claim 4 wherein a first gear of said pair of gears has a larger diameter than a second gear of said pair of gears. 6 * The system defined in Claim 5 wherein said second gear of said pair of gears is selectively engagable with said primary drive gear and said secondary drive gear. 7. The system defined in Claim 6 wherein said first gear of said pair of gears engages said power gear. 8. The system defined in Calim 7 and further comprising motion limiting means for limiting the rotation of said ring. 9. The system defined in* Claim 8 wherein said motion limiting means further comprises a pair of knobs mounted on said ring in spaced apart relationship and a pair of stops for selectively engaging said knobs. 10. The system defined in Claim 9 wherein said planatary gear is rotatably mounted on a first of said pair of knobs. 11. The system defined in Claim 10 wherein said vehicle is a four wheel vehicle and a first of said wheels comprises said drive means. 12. A remote control system as defined in Claim 1 wherein said means to change the attitude of said means to steer the vehicle in response to the same control signal that changes the direction of said motor includes: a power gear attached to a rotor of said motor, a ring mounted so that said ring rotates around the axis of said motor rotor; a planetary gear member .mounted on said ring and being meshed with said power gear whereby the motion of said motor rotor is in one direction and causes said ring and said planetary gear member to rotate in one direction and motion of said the motor rotor in the other direction causes said ring and said planetary gear member to rotate in the other direction; a cam coupled with said means to steer said vehicle whereby the rotation of said cam causes said means to steer to change attitude; and means for coupling said cam to said ring whereby said cam is advanced each time said ring is caused to rotate in one direction but not advanced when said ring is caused to rotate in the other direction. 13. The system defined in Claim 12 wherein said motor is a DC motor and said means to change direction of said motor further comprises means for reversing the polarity of the current applied to said motor. 14. The system defined in Claim 13 and further comprising motion limiting means for limiting the rotation of said ring. 15. The system defined in Claim 14 wherein said motion limiting means further comprises a pair of knobs mounted on said ring in spaced-apart relationship and a pair of stops for selectively engaging said knobs. 16. The system defined in Claim 15 wherein said planetary gear is rotatably mounted on a first of said pair of knobs. 17. The system defined in. Claim 16 wherein said vehicle is a four wheel. ehicle and a first of said wheels comprises said drive means. 18. The system defined in Claim 17 wherein a second and a third of said four wheels comprises said means to steer said vehicle.

Inventors: CHEN FENG I, WESSELS JOHN ALBERT, CHEN, FENG, I., WESSELS, JOHN, ALBERT
Applicants: ENTEX IND INC, ENTEX INDUSTRIES, INC.
Application year: 1982
Main classification: G08C19
IPC codes: A63H17, A63H30