Abstract:
A combined toy model catcher/launcher includes a catching chute and a launching chute. An internal drive wheel is selectively rotated by a switch controlled by a user. When a toy model is received in the catching chute, it is put into tangential contact with an engaging surface of the drive wheel and is accelerated through a semi-circular shaped track around the drive wheel and ejected out the launching chute. Two or more catcher/launchers can be used in a free form environment without requiring tracks or other guide means to receive the toy model in the catching chute. An adjustable implementation allows for a change in angular directions between the catching and launching performed by the single device

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present principles relate to toy models. More particularly, they relate to an apparatus for catching and launching toy models such as toy cars. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Toy car launching devices are known and have been employed in toy car or model racing tracks. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,052,972, 6,695,675 and 3,590,524. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    According to one aspect of the present principles, the combined toy model catcher/launcher includes a catching chute for receiving a toy model traveling in a first direction, a drive mechanism in communication with the catching chute for receiving the toy model and applying accelerating forces to the same, a launching chute in communication with said drive mechanism and configured to enable the toy model to be ejected from the launching chute in a second direction that is different than the first direction, and a control mechanism connected to the drive mechanism for selectively activating said drive mechanism. 
         [0006]    The drive mechanism can include a drive wheel having a drive gear centered about a rotation axis and a circumferential toy model engaging surface, and a motor having at least one gear in communication with the drive gear and being in electrical communication with the control mechanism. 
         [0007]    The body includes internal sides defining an internal semi-circular track, where the semi-circular track is in communication on one side with the catching chute and in communication on the other side with the launching chute. The drive mechanism is configured within the body to tangentially impart acceleration forces on the toy model as it moves around the semi-circular internal track. 
         [0008]    The control mechanism can include handle fixedly connected to the body, and a trigger disposed on the handle and configured so as to selectively activate the drive mechanism. 
         [0009]    According to one implementation, the first direction and the second direction are opposite directions. According to another implementation, the second direction is in a range of 180-0 degrees with respect to the first direction. 
         [0010]    According to a further aspect, the combined catcher/launcher includes a catching chute for receiving a toy model traveling in a first direction, a launching chute for launching the received toy model in a second direction different than said first direction, and drive means for accelerating a speed of the received toy model as it travels between the catching chute and the launching chute. 
         [0011]    Other aspects and features of the present principles will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the present principles, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    In the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote similar components throughout the views: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is perspective view of the combined toy model catcher/launcher according to an implementation of the present principles; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the internal workings of the combined toy model catcher/launcher according to an implementation of the present principles; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the combined toy model catcher/launcher according to an implementation of the present principles; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is plan view of two combined toy model catcher/launcher devices showing an exemplary use of the same; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of three combined toy model catcher/launcher devices showing another exemplary use of the same. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the combined model catcher/launcher  10  according to an implementation of the present principles. The catcher/launcher  10  includes a body  12  having a catching chute  14  and launching chute  16 . A handle  18  is connected to the top of the body  12  and includes a trigger  20  for selectively activating the same. A battery compartment  22  is positioned at one side of the device and can alternatively be provided in any area of the body without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. A power switch  19  is in electrical communication with the batteries  34  contained in the battery compartment  22  and is a simple on/off switch for turning the device on and off. 
         [0019]    In the implementation shown, the body  12  is not adjustable and is fixed in the semi-circular shape shown. This provides for a semi-circular internal track along which the toy model  44  (see  FIG. 4 ) will travel from the catching chute  14  through and out the launching chute  16 . This implementation and other contemplated implementations are discussed in greater detail below with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0020]      FIGS. 2 and 3  shows the internal workings of the combined catcher/launcher  10  showing the drive wheel  26  having a drive gear  29  concentrically connected to the same. When engaged, the drive gear  29  causes the drive wheel  26  rotates about a central axis  27  in a rotation direction R, which is counterclockwise in the current implementation. The rotation direction R is such that it is in the same direction of the launching chute  16 . The drive wheel  26  includes a circumferential model engaging surface  28  that frictionally engages the toy model in a tangential manner as it received in the catching chute  14 . By way of example, the circumferential model engaging surface can include plurality of rubber or resilient tines  28  as shown. However, the actual engaging surface  28  can be other known materials that have some degree of resiliency, for example, a foam, sponge like substances rubber, soft plastics, elastic polymers (chemical soft/resilient materials) and/or any other suitable material. 
         [0021]    The trigger  20  is in communication with an electric switch  32  that provides power from the batteries  34  to the motor  30 . The motor  30  has a gear (not shown) that drives a transmission gear  31 , which is communication with the driver gear  29 . During operation, the trigger  20  is activated by a user to rotate the drive wheel  26 . A toy model entering the catching chute  14  will tangentially come into contact with the model engaging surface  28  of the drive wheel  26 . Once activated, the semi-circular shape of the internal track formed by the body  12  will cause the toy model to travel along the same while increasing its speed. Once the toy model comes out of tangential contact with the drive wheel  26  it is launched out the launching chute  16 . It will be clear to those of skill in the art that the rotational speed of the drive wheel  26  will have a direct effect on the speed at which the toy model is launched from the launching chute  16 . 
         [0022]    In other contemplated implementations, a speed switch  40  can be provided on body  12  and can include, for example, a low and hi setting. The speed switch  40  can electrically alter the speed of motor  30  and/or have a transmission changing effect on gear  31  such that the user&#39;s activation of trigger  20  results in a corresponding speed translation to drive gear  26 . Examples of a low and high setting could be a 100 rpm for low and 200 rpm for high. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that the rpm values can be changed based on the toy model or desired operation of the combined catcher/launcher and are not provided as a limitation of the present principles. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , there are shown two model launcher/catchers  10   a  and  10   b  positioned facing each other according to one implementation of the present principles. The distance between the two devices  10   a  and  10   b  is dependent on the toy model being used (e.g., its own coefficient of friction between the wheels and mechanisms allowing the wheels to rotate), the speed at which the device is being operated (i.e., the speed of the drive wheel  26 ), and the coefficient of friction for the surface on which the toy model is traveling. According to the present implementation, the distance between the device  10   a  and  10   b  can be anywhere in a range from 1-40 feet and maybe higher depending on the factors mentioned above. When using two catcher/launchers  10   a  and  10   b , it can be seen that the launching chute  16   a  of the first device  10   a  is positioned on the same side as the catching chute  14   b  of the opposing device  10   b . The same relation will be obvious for the launching chute  16   b  and catching chute  14   a . Thus, a player using device  10   a  can launch a toy model (from chute  16   a ) to another player using device  10   b  who can catch the same with catching chute  14   b.    
         [0024]    It will be clear from the above description that upon catching the toy model in chute  14   b , the subsequent launching out launching chute  16   b  will occur very quickly depending on the speed of the drive wheel  26 , thus providing a fast action, fast paced game experience for the players. The devices  10   a  and  10   b  shown in  FIG. 4  are fixed devices and as such have a fixed semi-circular shape with corresponding semi-circular internal track for the toy model  44  to travel along. Thus, the devices  10   a  and  10   b  are configured such that the toy model is turned a complete 180 degrees between the incoming (catching) and outgoing (launching) positions. In this configuration, the toy model  44  is launched in a direction L that is opposite to the catching direction C, but is substantially parallel to the same with respect to each device  10 . This fixed implementation provides the highest amount of tangential contact (e.g., substantially 180 degrees of contact with the rotating drive wheel  26 ) between the engaging surface  28  of the drive wheel and the toy model  44  as it travels from the catching chute  14  to the launching chute  16 . 
         [0025]    Another aspect of the present principles is that the catcher/launchers  10  are free form devices and are not fixed to or require any type of track or other guide means in order for the toy model to be received by the catching chute. As such, the users/players have complete freedom of operation of the devices in an open floor or space. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  shows another embodiment of the devices  10   a ,  10   b , and  10   c , where the launching chute  16  and catching chute  14  can be angularly adjusted with respect to each other such that the launching direction L of the toy model is not in the directly opposite and parallel to the catching direction C. This angular displacement can be achieved by forming body  12  into two parts that slidably mate with each other and include an indexing or other similar type system to retain a selected position. 
         [0027]    As shown, an angle A between one extreme position of the launching chute  16   b  and the other extreme position can be anywhere from 0-180 degrees (shown in  FIG. 5  as 0-90 degrees). Thus, the launching direction L has a range of 180 degrees with respect to the catching direction C, where the initial or starting launching direction L position is 180 degrees different than the catching direction C. 
         [0028]    In this manner, more than two devices  10   a ,  10   b ,  10   c  can be used to provide fast paced action for 3, and potentially more, players. By changing the angular displacement of the launching (L) and catching (C) directions with respect to each other, the actual physical contact between the toy model  44  and the engaging surface  28  of the drive wheel  2 G will be decreased from the above mentioned 180 degrees of contact provided in the fixed implementation. As such, those of skill in the art will recognize that the larger the angle A, the lower the amount of tangential (driving) contact the toy model will have with the drive wheel. 
         [0029]    Although this idea of the adjustable device  10  shown in  FIG. 5  as reducing the physical contact of the drive wheel with the toy model may seem to suggest that higher toy model speeds may be compromised, through the use of more than two devices (e.g.,  10   a - 10   c ), it is actually possible that the toy model speeds may be increased (compared to the use of just two devices) by such implementation. 
         [0030]    While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the present principles, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the methods described and devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the same. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the present principles. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or implementation of the present principles may be incorporated in any other disclosed, described or suggested form or implementation as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.