AN APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING A RUNNING TRACK OF A RACING TOY

Abstract: An apparatus for transferring a running track of a toy car racer in a racing toy is disclosed, in which a motor-driven running body (16) runs on a base (10) having a plurality of guide tracks (12) in parallel, said body having a guide element engageable with said guide track wherein the running body is provided with an electromagentic coil (32) for engaging and disengaging the guide element with the guide track (12), said electromagnetic coil (32) at its pole portions being provided with yokes (40,42) each energizable to a different polarity and protruding in parallel to a predetermined direction to form a pair of magnetic pole portions (44,46), opposite to which is swingably arranged a rod (48) for controlling wheel-steerage, including a magnet (50) at its middle portion so as to arrange adjacently to the magnetic pole portions.

Description: The invention relates to a racing toy, according to the preamble portion of claim 1. Such a racing toy is known from DE-U-6934026. This racing toy comprises a racing toy car having a retractable guide member which is intended to engage a slot provided in a racing base. By manual operation, the engaging pin may be lifted such that it is retracted from the slot. However, no flexible operation of such a racing toy is possible. Also, a conventional racing toy is known which includes a single running or racing base provided thereon with a plurality of endless guided tracks in parallel spaced apart at a predetermined distance from each other, on which one or more racing toy cars or running bodies may run simultaneously. The racing toy car for use in such type of racing toy is generally known to have a driving motor and a circuit for controlling the motor drive. As a power-supply system therefore, an electric path is provided extending along the guide tracks on the base, or a radio-controllable system containing an additional battery. In the conventional racing toy of such type, however, the power supplying system of the electric power along the guide track does not allow the change of the running direction or the steering control independently for the racing toy car to transfer from one track to another, adjacent track. On the other hand, the power supplying system containing the additional battery may utilize the radio-controllable system for conducting not only the drive-control and stop-control but also the steering-control. In the latter case, however, utilization of a slot as the guide track for inserting a protruded guide pin of the running body into the slot makes the track-transfer impossible or extremely difficult with the radio-controllable system during the running phase. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in a racing toy car, in which instructions from a controller of a radio-transmitter or the like may readily and conveniently conduct the engagement and disengagement of the track with an engaging means of the toy car, as well as the steering-control thereby enabling an optional track-transfer at any time of the running phase. In order to achieve the above object, the invention provides an apparatus in a racing toy for transferrring a running track of a racing toy car, in which a motor-driven running body runs on a base having a plurality of guide tracks in parallel, said body having a guide element engageable with said guide track, characterized in that the running body is provided with an electromagentic coil for engaging and disengaging the guide element with the guide track, said electromagnetic coil at its pole portions being provided with yokes each energizable to a different polarity and protruding in parallel to a predetermined direction to form a pair of magnetic pole portions, opposite to which is swingably arranged rods for controlling wheel-steerage, including a magnet at its middle portion so as to be arranged adjacently to the magnetic pole portions. In the apparatus according to the invention, the guide element engageable with the guide track is a guide pin which is protruded from a front end of a movable iron core supported with a spring at one end of the electromagnetic coil. Furthermore, the electromagnetic coil is preferably energized to provide the opposite selected polarity by means of a radio-controllable system. In the apparatus according to the invention, conducting lines are provided at both sides of the running base so as to transmit therethrough operational instructions to a pick-up coil mounted on a motor-driven body running on the base. In accordance with the invention, the engagement and disengagement of the guide element with the track on the base may be achieved by use of the controlling circuit utilizing the radio-controllable system for energizing the electromagnetic coil, while the magnetic polarity generated by the electromagnetic coil may control the wheel-steerage, thereby readily selecting a desired track and optionally changing the track for running. The invention will now be described in more detail for its preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a running body of the racing toy useful in the apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the base for running the toy of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the base taken along the III-III line of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view of the running body taken along the IV-IV line of Figure 1 for illustrating main portions of a transferring mechanism; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the transferring mechanism for actuating a steering control mechanism of the running body of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a connecting block diagram of a control circuit for driving or operating the running body of Figure 1; and Figure 7 is a connecting diagram of conducting lines for transmitting operational instructions to remote-control the running body. Figure 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of the racing car useful in the apparatus according to the invention, while Figure 2 is a plan view of the base for running the toy car of Figure 1. In Figure 2, the numerical reference 10 represents a racing base which is provided thereon, as described hereinafter in detail, with a plurality of endless slots 12 in parallel spaced apart at a predetermined distance from each other. Further, the base 10 at its either edge is provided with side walls 14, 14 for preventing a running body from going out of the track (See Figure 3). The running toy 16 having the apparatus for transferring the track according to the invention to be utilized for the racing base 10 includes a car body 22 having front and rear wheels 18 and 20, respectively, as shown in Figure 1. Further, the car body 22 contains a motor 24 for driving the rear wheels 20, a track-transferring mechanism 26, a steering-control mechanism 28 for steering front wheels 18, and a power battery 30 for energizing the motor 24 and the track-transferring mechanism 26. The running body 16 is provided with a controlling circuit (not shown in Figure 1) for receiving operational instructions transmitted from a controller of a radio-transmitter or the like to conduct the drive-control of the motor 24 and the operation-controls of the track-transferring mechanism 26 and the steering-control mechanism 28. Connecting structures of the motor 24 to the rear wheels 20 and of the steering-control mechanism 28 to the front wheels 18 may be conventional in the art of the radio-controlling system. According to this embodiment, the track-transferring mechanism 26, as shown in Figure 4, is provided with an electromagnetic coil 32 into a hollow space of which is inserted a movable iron core 34 which at its lower portion is supported with a spring 36 and at its front end connected to a guide pin 38 in the same orientation of the axle. Further, the electromagnetic coil 32 at its upper and lower ends is provided with yokes 40, 42 which each in part protrude in a fixed direction as well as bend opposite to each other so as to provide in parallel with a pair of magnetic pole portions 44, 46 (See Figure 5). Accordingly, the track-transferring mechanism 26 thus constructed may change the polarities of the magnetic pole portions 44, 46 as well as attractively support the movable iron core 34 to upwardly move the guide pin 38, depending upon an energized state of the electromagnetic coil 32 or the direction of current flow. The magnetic pole portions 44, 46 provided at the track-transferring mechanism 26 is directed to the central portion of a steering rod 48 of the steering-control mechanism 28 as well as ajacently correspond to one of the polar face of a magnet 50 mounted on the central portion of the steering rod 48. Such construction enables the polarities generated in the magnetic pole portions 44, 46, to be determined depending on an energized state of the hereinbefore-described track-transferring mechanism 26, while the magnet 50 is attracted to either of the magnetic pole portions 44, 46 and subsequently the steering rod 48 shifts to steering-control the front wheels 18. Simultane- ously it makes possible to transfer the track of the running body 16. Figures 6 and 7 show one embodiment of a controlling circuit for preferably operating a racing toy according to the invention. Namely, the running body 16 is provided with a receiving circuit 54 having a pick-up coil 52 for receiving operational instructions. The receiving circuit 54 receives a motor-drive control signal to transmit a motor-driving circuit 56 for driving the motor 24, thereby conducting a straight operation, a reversible operation or a stoppage of the rear wheels 20. Furthermore, an operational instruction for transferring the track (and also serving as an operational instruction for controlling wheel-steerage) received in the receiving circuit 54 is transmitted to the track-transferring circuit 58 to energize the electromagnetic coil 32 and to shift the steering rod 48 and the guide pin 38, thereby controlling a steerage of the front wheels 18 and tansferring the running body. In this case, in order to conveniently transmit operational instructions to the running body 16 on the racing base 10, along the outer faces of the side walls 14, 14 of the plastic racing base 10 as shown in Figure 3 are provided conducting lines 60, to which operative instructions from the controller 62 are induced, so that the running body 16, at any position on the racing base 10, may receive proper operational instructions through the pick-up coil 52. The operation of the apparatus according to the invention will be described below. Referring to Figure 2, the running body 16 is now running along the B slot 12. At any time of this running phase, the controller 62 is operated to generate an instruction for reducing a rotation rate of the motor 24 and hence of the rear wheels 20. When the running body comes to a straight course of the B slot 12, the controller 62 is again operated to generate another instruction for energizing the electromagnetic coil 32. In this case, the electromagnetic coil 32 may be energized to determine the polarity of the magnetic pole portions 44, 46, so that the magnet 50 shifts in a fixed direction together with the steering rod 48, while the movable iron core 34 is attracted to the electromagnetic coil 34 against a force of the spring 36 and held in the hollow space thereby removing the guide pin 38 from the B slot 12. Consequently, the slowly running car body 16 is transferred from the B slot 12 toward the adjacent A or C slot 12. When the running body 16 has arrived at the intended position, the operational instruction from the controller 62 is then released to allow the guide pin 38 to restore its insertion into the transferred slot 12 with the action of the spring 36, thereby again achieving the stable running operation. It will be appreciated from the above embodiment that according to the invention the guide pin of the running body may be engaged and disengaged with the track by the electromagnetic coil, which is energized to change the magnetic polarity generated in the yokes, while a steering rod is provided with a permanent magnet for shifting to control steerage of wheels. Thus, a conventional radio-controlling system for the toy racer may be empolyed to achieve the convenient and reliable track-transfer. In particular, the apparatus according to the invention comprising a combination of an electromagnetic coil and a guide pin may conveniently employ a steering-control system by means of a conventional radio-controlling system without any special control circuit, thereby providing a very interesting racing toy with superior operability of transferring a running track at a low cost. Furthermore, the apparatus in accordance with to the invention may be useful in not only the hereinbefore-described embodiment including a power battery in the running body, but also a racing toy provided with a power generating line along the track so as to conduct the drive-control of the running body by means of an outer power source.

Claims: Racing toy, having a base (10) and a racing toy car (22) and having means for transfering a running track (slot 12), said racing toy car (22) having a guide element (pin 38) engageable with and retractable from said guide track (slot 12), characterized in that the racing base (10) has a plurality of guided tracks (slots 12) in parallel, that said racing toy car (22) is provided with an electro-magnetic coil (32) for engaging and disengaging the guide element (pin 38) with the guided track (12), said electro-magnetic coil (32) at its pole portions being provided with yokes (40, 42) each energizable to a different polarity and protruding in parallel to a predetermined direction to form a pair of magnetic pole portions (44, 46), opposite to which a rod (48) is swingably arranged for controlling wheel-steerage, including a magnet (50) at its middle portion so as to be arranged adjacently to the magnetic pole portions (44, 46). Racing toy according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide element (pin 38) engageable with said guide track (slot 12) is a guide pin (38) which protrudes from a front end of a movable iron core (34) supported with a spring (36) at one end of the electro-magnetic coil (32). Racing toy according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electromagnetic coil (32) is energized to provide the opposite selected polarity by means of a radiocontrollable system. Racing toy according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that conducting lines (60) are provided on both sides of the racing base (10) so as to transmit there-through operational instructions to a pick-up coil (52) mounted on the racing toy car (22) running on the base (10).

Inventors: ISHIMOTO, ZENICHI
Applicants: NIKKO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A63H18
IPC codes: A63H18