Abstract:
A play set for use with unpowered (e.g. {fraction (1/64)} scale) toy vehicles having non-steerable, free rotating wheels includes a closed loop track with a conveyor that raises such unpowered toy vehicles from a lower end to an upper, elevated end and a driven, tilting roadway that randomly directs toy vehicles from the upper level to either of two track branches. At least part of each track branch can be opened to release a toy vehicle from the track. A merge track section joins together a lower level end of each of the two track branches and leads to the lower end of the conveyor. The upper end of the conveyor and the tilting roadway are simultaneously supported by a single and driven by a single motor.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/267,554 filed Feb. 9, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Present invention relates to a play set for use with small (e.g. {fraction (1/64)} scale), unpowered, toy vehicles having non-steerable, free rotating wheels  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    An unpowered toy vehicle play set includes a closed loop track comprising: a conveyor having a lower end and an upper end, a motor and a conveying element driven by the motor and configured to engage unpowered toy vehicles at the lower end and raise the engaged toy vehicles to the upper end; at least one tilting roadway along a portion of the closed loop track extending from the upper end to the lower end of the conveyor, the tilting roadway being mounted to tilt laterally side to side generally transversely to a direction of the closed loop track along the tilting roadway; and at least two track branches leading away and down from the at least one tilting roadway towards the lower end of the conveyor, the at least one tilting roadway being sufficiently proximal to the two track branches to direct unpowered toy vehicles coasting across the tilting roadway onto either of the at least two branches. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]    The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.  
         [0005]    In the drawings:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a conveyor equipped unpowered toy vehicle play set of the present invention;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a first elevation showing the side of the conveyor connecting a lower end of a track portion of the device with a higher end at the top of a tower;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a second side elevation view rotated 90 degrees from the FIG. 2 view and depicting a lower side of a tilting roadway portion of the device;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a third side elevation view rotated 90 degrees around the device from the view of FIG. 2;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a fourth side elevation view rotated approximately 45 degrees from the view of FIG. 4 around the device;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a fifth side elevation view rotated approximately 45 degrees from the view of FIG. 5;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the tower;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the conveyor/gear box assembly; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the gear box components; 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    In the various FIGS.  1 - 6 , a unpowered (i.e. non-motorized) toy vehicle play set according to the present invention is indicated generally at  10 . The play set  10  includes a closed loop track indicated generally at  12  formed by several interconnected track sections and other components. These other components include a tower  14 , a tilting roadway  16  located on one side of the tower  14  and a conveyor  18  extending from a lower end  18 A up to an upper end  18 B on a side of the tower adjoining the tilting roadway  16 . The interconnecting track sections define two track branches  20 ,  22  leading away and down from the tilting roadway  16 , a merge portion indicated generally at  24  where the two branches  20 ,  22  meet and combine, and a single lane connection portion indicated generally at  26  extending from the merge portion to a lower level of the conveyor  18 . The interconnected track sections further include an access ramp  28  which connects with the single lane connection portion  26 . The set  10  further includes a double road support  30  (FIG. 2) interconnecting with and supporting upper ends of each of the two track branches  20  and  22  at the outer/lower/discharge end of the tilting roadway  16 . As can be seen in FIG. 2, the double road support  30  connects with a base  32  extending from the bottom of tower  14 . One track branch  20  is further supported by pairs of single road supports  34  and  36 , which are preferably snapped into another base  38 . The second branch  22  is supported by a member  40  (see FIG. 4) extending from the side of the first branch  20  where the second branch  22  passes over the first branch. Other supports  42  and  44  are provided beneath the merge portion  24  and single lane connection portion  26  to downwardly direct those portions to the lower end  18 A of conveyor  18 .  
         [0016]    Conveyor  18  may have any of several configurations. The depicted conveyor  18  includes a stationary conveyor frame  46 , which defines a portion of the track  12  with a center slot  48  through which an endless belt  50  moves. The belt  50  has a plurality of teeth  80  or other upwardly extending engagement members, preferably spaced at regularly spaced intervals, which engage with the toy vehicles previously described that are directed to the base of the conveyor  18  by the connection portion  26 . The belt  50  pulls or pushes the unpowered toy vehicles of the type previously described to the top of the tower  14  where the vehicles are deposited upon a curving, descending ramp  54  which is located in the top floor of the tower  14  and which directs the vehicles by gravity onto the tilting roadway track section  16 .  
         [0017]    The tilting roadway  16  is configured by being supported on a cylindrical boss  16   a  to tilt or rock laterally side-to-side generally about a central longitudinal axis coincident with the central axis of the circular boss  16   a . This rocking or tilting is generally transverse to a direction of the closed loop track  12  along the tilting roadway  16 . The tilting roadway  16  has a base  56  forming a roadway portion of the track  12  and a pair of upright outer side walls  57 ,  58  forming opposing lateral retaining walls of the track  12 . The base  56  widens as it extends away from the tower  14  and conveyor  16 . A longitudinally extending, upright divider  59  is provided at the distal end of the roadway  16  to divide the distal end into two lanes. Preferably, one of the two lanes aligns generally with the upper end of the first branch  20  at one end of the rocking motion of the tilting roadway  16  while the other lane aligns with the entrance to the second branch  22  at the other end of the rocking motion of the tilting roadway  16 . The remainder of the closed loop track  12  including the branches  20 ,  22 , the merge portion  24 , the connection portion  26  and the conveyor  18  are all provided with a base surface for supporting the toy vehicles and a pair retaining walls along the side edges of the support surface to direct and retain the toy vehicles along the closed loop track  12 .  
         [0018]    A plurality of hazards are preferably provided along the closed loop track  12  to enhance the play value of the play set  10 . For example, the first branch  20  is, in top plan view, generally in the form of a reverse “S”. A portion  62  of the outer retaining wall of the branch  20  at the second, lower curve, can be pivotally mounted with the remainder of the roadway of the branch  20  to move outwardly from the remainder of the roadway and permit cars coming down the branch  20  to exit the track  12  and crash into the surface supporting the play set  10 . A lever  64  may be provided disguised as a road sign to permit manual movement of the portion  62  of the outer retaining wall. Another track section of the branch  20  can include a roadway surface formed by a door  66  pivotally mounted at its upper end so as to be pitched downwardly from the remainder roadway of the branch  20  to define another hidden hazard/exit from the closed loop track  12 . A lever  68  coupled with the door  66  to permit manual movement of the door can be provided and also disguised as a road sign. If desired, a ramp  70  can be provided beneath door  66  positioned to receive any vehicles exiting the track  12  through door  66  to direct them away from the play set.  
         [0019]    The second branch  22  can also be provided with a hazard in a form of a pair of adjoining roadway panels  72 ,  74  which are pivotally coupled at their far ends with the remainder of the structure of the branch  22  so as to pivot down creating a gap in the roadway along the branch  22 . An actuating lever  76  may also be provided and disguised as a road sign for selective manual movement of the panels  72 ,  74 . Vehicles that traverse the branches  20 ,  22  without leaving the track  12  enter the merge portion  24  where they are directed to the connection portion  26  and the bottom of the conveyor  18  for another loop of the track  12 .  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 depicts the tower  14  in an exploded view with a separate top portion seen in the first six figures removed. The tower  14  can be formed in two pieces: a three sided or walled portion  142  and a separate fourth side or wall  144  which can be snapped or screwed together with portion  142 . The fourth side is added after the internal elements are mounted in the three sided portion  142 . This would include a coupling at the upper end  18   b  of the conveyor  18 , the provision of a drive assembly, the mounting of an on/off switch  140  and any other components that may be provided. For example, a sound generation chip  150  indicated in phantom could be supplied with a speaker  152  suitable mounting means such as a retainer  154  and its own on/off switch  156  to generate sound effects while the device is operating. A power supply in the form of several batteries (not depicted) are contained in the battery box  130  which is mounted to the inner side of the fourth wall member which is further provided with an access opening  132  and battery box cover  134 . A generally square opening  146  in the three walled member  142  receives the upper end  18   b  of the conveyor while circular opening  148  provides an exit for the outdrive to the tilting roadway  16 .  
         [0021]    Referring now to FIG. 8, there shown an exemplary construction of the conveyor  18 . Conveyor  18  includes a toy tank tread-type endless belt  50  having regularly spaced, outwardly protruding teeth  80  and regular spaced, inwardly projecting, side by side pairs of inner teeth  82 . The conveyor frame  46  is provided by a first conveyor side  84  and a substantially mirror image second conveyor side  86 . Each side  84 ,  86  includes a retaining wall “A” supporting an inwardly projecting belt guide“B”, which also serves as part of the track surface supporting the toy vehicles being guided up the conveyor  18 . Each side  84 ,  86  includes a plurality of inwardly projecting, truncated triangular support guides  88 . Pins  90  projecting from the guides  88  of the one side  86  are received in openings in the other support guides to hold the sides  84 ,  86  together. A pulley wheel  92  with a raised center ring  93  is provided at the lower end of the conveyor. The ring at  93  extends into the space between the pairs of inner teeth  82  on the belt  50 . A drive gear  94  with a circumstantially raised center ring  95  and transverse, raised teeth  96  to pass between teeth  82  and to engage teeth  82 , respectively, is provided on a drive axle  97  at the upper end of the conveyor. Several rollers  98  are provided between the pairs of the support guides  88 . The drive axle  97  is extended through the vertical wall of the conveyor side  86  and into a drive housing including a base  100  and cover  102 . The drive housing is configured to preferably support and retain a prime mover and the other drive train components which operate the conveyor  18  and tilting roadway  16 .  
         [0022]    The components of one possible exemplary drive are depicted in FIG. 9. An electric motor  220  or other suitable prime mover drives a pinion  230 , which engages the larger gear of a compound gear  231  mounted on a jack shaft  260 . The smaller gear of compound gear  231  drives the larger gear of a second compound gear  234  also riding on a jack shaft  260 . The smaller gear of compound gear  234  drives the larger gear of a third compound gear  235 . Compound gear  235  includes two smaller gears on either side of the larger gear. One smaller gear drives an idler  238  which in turn drives a conveyor gear  239 . Conveyor gear  239  can be fixed to conveyor drive axle  97  which in turn can be fixed to the drive gear  94  making a solid connection between the motor  220  and the conveyor  18 . However, if desired, a clutch can be interposed between the conveyor gear  239  and the conveyor drive gear  194  for safety. Rotation can be passed from the conveyor gear  239  through a clutch spring  261  pressing against a first clutch member  245 , which frictionally or slightly interferingly engages a second clutch member  249 . Second clutch member  249  can have a polygonal drive shaft  250  which would key into a similar recess provided in the conveyor drive gear  94 . The second small gear on the other side of compound gear  235  can engage and drive the larger gear of yet another compound gear  236 , the smaller gear of which drives yet another compound gear  237 , a smaller gear of which drives an eccentric gear  241 . Gears  235  and  241  can be supported on the same longer jack shaft  260   a . Shaft  260   a  passes through the center of the eccentric gear  241 . The eccentric gear  241  supports a cam in the form of an off centered cylinder  241   a , which is received in the circular opening  242   a  of an eccentric arm  242 . The distal end of the arm  242  supports a connector  242   b  which is received in a slot  243   a  of an eccentric link  243 . The link  243  is mounted by a circular boss  243   b  into a suitable support inside the gear box so as to be able to rock back and forth as the eccentric arm  242  is pulled up and down by the cam  241   a  on the eccentric gear  241 . A clutch member  244  is secured to the eccentric linkage and is designed to key into and engage a bore in the circular boss  16   a  on the bottom side of the tilting roadway sections  16  (see FIG. 3). The clutch member  244  is preferably molded plastic and has fingers that can collapse inwardly to release engagement with the roadway section  16  to prevent damage.  
         [0023]    A user can simply drop vehicles onto the track  12  or use the access ramp  28  in a play mode. The track  12  extends in a generally downward direction from the upper end  18   b  and tilting roadway section  16  to the lower end  18   a  of the conveyor  18  so the vehicles on the track  12  are gravity fed to the lower end of the conveyor  18  where they are engaged and lifted by the conveyor  18  to the upper end  18   b  at the top of the tower  14 . The conveyor  18  deposits each raised vehicle onto the top of the ramp  54  in the tower  14 , which directs the vehicles by gravity onto the tilting roadway  16 . The tilting roadway  16  rocks back and forth through a predetermined range, for example about 30 degrees up and down with respect to a horizontal plane, to align the distal end of either lane with the upper end of each of the two branches  20 ,  22 . The drive may be geared in such a way that the tilting roadway  16  completes one complete cycle approximately every second while the conveyor moves at a speed of about three to six inches per second. The tilting roadway  16  randomly directs toy vehicles onto one of the two branches  20 ,  22 . While the vehicles travel along a branch, the user may move the portion  62  of the retaining wall or open the door  66  in one branch  20  or drop the roadway panels  72 ,  74  in the other branch  22  to selectively cause one or more vehicles to leave the track. Vehicles which traverse either branch  20 ,  22  are directed by the merge portion  24  to the connection portion  26  and back to the lower end  18 B of the conveyor  18  where they will be raised by the conveyor  18  for transit again through the loop  12 .  
         [0024]    If desired, lighting effects can be added to the system with or without sound effects. Also, the various hazards of retaining wall portion  62 , door  66  and panels  72 ,  74  can be configured to be actuated and reset automatically, either at the branches or remotely by the user, or configured to operate automatically, in a predetermined or random fashion using a timing control with such automatic actuators. Also, a portion the outer retaining wall along the single lane connection portion  26  can be provided with an exit ramp and a moveable gate or guard which user can use to close or provide access to the ramp. The device can be powered by other motors including, but not limited to, spring motors, gas engines and fluid turbines. While a belt has been described as the conveying element of the conveyor, other conveying elements including lines, chains or an endless screw can be used to convey unpowered toy vehicles up to the top of the conveyor.  
         [0025]    U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/267,554 filed Feb. 9, 2001 is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
         [0026]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.