Abstract:
A toy doll is articulated and removably attached to a toy scooter so that the doll&#39;s arms appear to steer the scooter and the doll&#39;s foot appears to tilt downward to push back against the ground and propel the scooter. Additionally, the animated toy doll and scooter assembly is controlled by a radio remote control unit itself shaped like a scooter and having a toy foot attached to it. The toy foot is slid forward or back to control the forward and reverse motion of the scooter and is turned to steer the scooter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to toys, and more particularly to an animated toy doll and scooter assembly. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,969 to Cleveland and Wilson discloses a toy doll and scooter assembly wherein a doll is attached to a scooter and uses a walking motion to push the scooter along. However, Clevland lacks realistic animation of the doll. The scooter tilts from side to side, as in a walking motion, rather than remaining substantially vertical as do real scooters. Additionally, Cleveland is only able to travel forward and cannot be turned like a real scooter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A general object of the present invention is to provide a more realistically animated toy doll and scooter assembly. 
     In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, a toy doll is articulated and removably attached to a toy scooter so that the doll&#39;s arms appear to steer the scooter and the doll&#39;s foot appears to propel the scooter. Additionally, the animated toy doll and scooter assembly is controlled by a radio remote control unit itself shaped like a scooter and having a toy foot attached to it. The remote control unit provides a highly intuitive method for controlling the animated toy doll and scooter assembly. By sliding the attached foot forwards or backwards, the animated toy doll and scooter assembly is commanded to travel forwards or backwards. By turning the attached left or right the animated toy doll and scooter assembly is commanded to turn left or right. 
     More specifically, an animated toy doll and scooter assembly is provided which includes a toy scooter having front and rear large size main wheels and several smaller stabilizing wheels. The scooter has a pivotal front wheel for turning, and handlebars linked to the front wheel. A doll is mounted on the scooter with its arms secured to the handlebars. The scooter has a motor mounted thereon for actuating at least one of the wheels for forward movement. The doll has a leg and foot assembly linked to the motor for movement up and down, or tilting, and front to rear to simulate scooter actuation motion. In addition, a second motor may be provided, or a coupler from the first motor may be provided, to turn the front wheel of the scooter. 
     These objects as well as other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a top-perspective view of the animated toy doll and scooter assembly and remote control unit illustrating the principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom-perspective view of the scooter of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of the scooter of FIG. 1 with the top section removed to show the inside. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toy doll of FIG. 1 showing the bending joints. 
     FIG. 5 is a semi-diagrammatic fragmentary partial side elevational view of the scooter showing the foot-pedaling mechanism. 
     FIG. 6 is a semi-diagrammatic partial side elevational view of the scooter showing the steering mechanism. 
     FIGS. 7-10 are semi-diagrammatic side elevational views showing the operating principal of the foot-pedaling mechanism. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Disclosed herein is a detailed description of the best presently known modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention. The overall organization of the present detailed description is for the purpose of convenience only and is not intended to limit the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 shows an animated toy doll and scooter assembly  12  including a toy doll  14  positioned on a toy scooter  16 . Arms  18  are secured to scooter handlebars  20 . A foot  22  supports the doll on a floorboard  26  of the scooter. Another foot  24  is positioned on a foot movement actuating member  28 . Also shown are front  36  and rear  38  large size main wheels. The rear wheel  38  can be used to propel the scooter  16  while the front wheel  36  is used to steer the scooter  16 . A steering assembly  48  is made up of the handlebars  20 , a steering column housing  44 , a steering actuating assembly  46  and the front wheel  36 . 
     In one embodiment the animated toy doll and scooter assembly is controlled by a radio remote control unit  30 . The radio remote control unit  30  contains a radio transmitter as known in the art. The remote control unit  30  is shaped as a smaller version of the toy scooter  16 . The remote control unit can transmit radio signals through an antenna extending along the remote control unit  30  handlebars  34 . The remote control unit  30  can be two-thirds or less of the size of the toy scooter  16  so that it can be easily held by a child. Mounted on a sliding switch is a toy shoe  32 . By sliding the toy shoe forward and backward along a remote control floorboard  33 , a user can make the toy scooter  16  move forwards and backwards. Positioning the toy shoe to an intermediate position stops the scooter and moving the toy shoe further to the front or rear increases the forward or reverse speed of the toy scooter. By turning the foot  32  clockwise or counterclockwise, a user can similarly make the scooter handlebars  20  turn clockwise or counterclockwise, and turn a front wheel  36 , causing the forward moving scooter to turn right or left. Radio remote control units are known in the art, however, the remote control unit  30  of the present invention provides special advantages when included with the animated toy doll and scooter assembly of the present invention. The design of the remote control unit  30  makes its use in controlling the toy scooter  16  highly intuitive, allowing younger children to quickly comprehend how to use the remote control unit  30  to control the toy scooter  16 . 
     FIG. 2 shows the toy scooter  16  from a bottom perspective. Three small stabilizing wheels  40  are shown. The stabilizing wheels  40  can have diameters less than two-thirds the diameter of the main wheels  36 ,  38 . The stabilizing wheels are mounted on opposite sides of the scooter. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the doll tends to move the center of gravity of the animated toy doll and scooter assembly  12  away from the center of the floorboard  26  and towards the foot movement actuating member  28 . It is therefore particularly important to have at least one stabilizing wheel positioned on the same side of the scooter as the foot movement actuating member  28 . Also shown is a battery compartment cover  42  for allowing insertion and removal of batteries. In one embodiment 6 AA batteries, providing approximately 9 V, can be used to power the animated toy doll and scooter assembly. 
     FIG. 3 shows a top view of the scooter with the top section and the steering assembly  48  removed from casing walls  49  to show the inner operating mechanisms. The scooter  16  is propelled by a drive motor  44  powered by the batteries or other power source. The motor  44  turns the rear wheel through a step-down gear train  50 . The gear train  50  transfers the relatively fast spinning of the motor to a relatively slow, but more powerful, spinning of the wheel  38 . Included in the gear train  50  is a clutch  52  for preventing the burning out of the motor  44  when the wheel  38  experiences an excess amount of resistance to spinning. The speed of the motor is controlled by sliding the toy foot  32  of the remote control  30  forward and backward. As the toy foot  32  is slid further forward, the motor  44  spins faster in the forward driving direction. As the toy foot  32  is slid further backward, the motor  44  spins faster in the reverse driving direction. The motor  44  stops spinning when the toy foot  32  is positioned and an intermediate position approximately between the furthest forward and furthest back sliding positions. 
     Driven by the same motor  44  is a foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54 . The foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  gives the foot  24  and leg segments  58 ,  60  of the doll  14  (see FIG. 4) a pedaling motion whereby the foot is tilted and moved from front to rear, simulating a driving engagement of the foot with the ground. The motor  44  actuates the pedaling mechanism  54  through a step-down gear train  56 . The gear trains  50 ,  56  share some of the same gears. Thus, the foot  24  pedaling motion corresponds to the speed of the scooter  16 . As the scooter  16  goes faster, the foot  24  pedals faster, and as the scooter  16  goes slower, the foot  24  pedals slower. Alternatively, separate motors can be used to propel the scooter  16  and move the foot movement actuating member  28 . 
     The foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  is described with reference to FIGS. 3,  5  and  7 - 10 . The foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  includes a pedal drive cam  62  rotated by a shaft  64  which is rotated by the gear train  56 . A peg  66  extends outwardly from the cam  62  to engage a linear cam follower  68 . The follower  68  has a vertical slot  84  along which the peg  68  rides up and down. On the face of the follower  68  opposite the slot  84  is a horizontal slot  86  into which a shelf  88  extends from the casing wall  49 . The horizontal slot  86  and shelf  88  limit the follower to substantially horizontal motion. Pivotally connected to the follower  68  at a pivot point  70  is a foot-tilting follower  72 . Rigidly connected to the follower  72  is foot tilting shaft  74  having a foot movement actuating member  28  and a foot securing pin  76  attached at the opposite end. The pin  76  is used to help removably secure the foot  24  to the foot movement actuating member  28 . Extending from the follower  72  is a peg  78  which rides inside a groove  80  within a camming groove piece  82 . 
     The operation of the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  is now described with particular reference to FIGS. 7-10. The pedal drive cam  62  rotates about a fixed axis causing the peg  66  to ride up and down in the vertical slot  84  formed in the linear cam follower  68 . The follower  68  is constrained to substantially horizontal motion by the shelf  88  around which the horizontal slot  86  slides. Thus the rotation of the cam  62  leads to substantially linear horizontal motion of the follower  68 . As the follower  68  moves horizontally, the foot-tilting follower  72  moves forward and back and pivots relative to the follower  68  about the pivot point  70 . The peg  78  is driven around the groove  80  of the stationary camming groove piece  82 . The foot  24 , attached to the foot tilting shaft  74 , is thus tilted up and down and moved from front to rear, simulating a driving engagement of the foot with the ground. During forward motion the cam spins in the clockwise direction illustrated by arrows  90 , driving the peg  78  around the groove  80  in the clockwise direction illustrated by arrows  92 . During reverse motion the directions are also reversed. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  with the foot  24  driven to its forward-most position by the cam  62 . At the same time, the foot is tilted downwards to a toe-down position by the peg  78  reaching the bottom-forward position in of groove  80 . This position simulates the foot  24  at the forward position with the toes down and ready to push back against the ground to drive the toy scooter  16 . 
     FIG. 8 illustrates the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  with the foot  24  driven to an intermediate position by the cam  62  with the peg  78  reaching the bottom-rear position of the groove  80 . This position simulates the foot  24  final position at which the toes have finished pushing back against the ground yet are still pointing down. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  with the foot  24  driven to its rear-most position by the cam  62 . At the same time, the foot is returned to a raised, toe-up horizontal position by the peg  78  reaching the top-rear position in of groove  80 . This position simulates the foot  24  lifted up from engagement with the ground and ready to move forward. 
     FIG. 10 illustrates the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  with the foot  24  driven to an intermediate position by the cam  62  and with the peg  78  reaching the top-front position of the groove  80 . This position simulates the foot  24  returned to a forward position just before lowering the toes again in preparation for pushing back against the ground. 
     FIG. 5 diagrammatically shows a side view of the foot-pedal actuation mechanism  54  relative to the scooter  16 . The forward and back motion of the foot tilting shaft is illustrated within a slot  94 . Also illustrated is the motion of the peg  78  around the camming groove piece  82 . An optional spring  108  is shown attaching the follower  68  to a rearward fixed position. The spring is stretched as the foot  24  moves forward so that the foot will move faster during the backward motion than the forward motion giving the doll  14  an appearance of strongly pushing back against ground. 
     When the scooter  16  travels in the backward direction all directions illustrated FIGS. 3,  5  and  7 - 10  and described in the corresponding descriptions are reversed. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 4, the doll  14  is articulated with ankle joints  96 , knee joints  98  and hip joints  100  so that the foot  24  can be tilted down and lifted up and so that the entire leg can move forward and backward with the foot movement actuating member  28 . 
     The operation of the steering mechanism is now described with particular reference to FIG. 6. A steering motor  102  turns a drive train  104  comprising step down gears. The drive train  104  transfers spinning motion to a pinion  106  which then causes a rack  110  to turn a steering column  112 . The steering column  112  then causes the front wheel  36  and handlebars  20  to turn together. The step down gears  104  transfer the relatively fast spinning motion of the motor  102  to a relatively slow motion of the pinion  106 . The steering column  112  can be biased with a centering spring. In one embodiment, the front wheel  36  can be steered through a 74 degree range. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the doll  14  is articulated with wrist joints  114 , elbow joints  116 , shoulder joints  118  and a waist joint  120 . When the doll  14  is placed on the scooter  16 , the foot  24  is removably secured to the floorboard  26  using two pegs  124 ,  126  disposed to fit within two holes formed in the bottom of the foot  22 . Also, the peg  76  is fit within a hole formed in the bottom of the foot  24 . Hands  28  are then removably secured to the handlebars  20  as illustrate in FIG.  1 . The shoulder joints  118  are used to raise the hands to the proper level. The wrist joints  114  are especially designed to generally pivot within a plane approximately formed between the elbows and the handlebars. The elbow joints  16  also pivot within the same plane as the wrist joints  114 . Thus, as the handlebars  20  turn the jointed arms  18  appear to be steering the scooter  16  in a life-like manner. 
     Returning to FIG. 3, within an electronics area  128  are conventional radio receiving circuits for receiving commands from the remote control  30 . Also within the electronics area  128  are circuits for controlling the motors  44 ,  102 . The 6 AA batteries are located at the bottom of the electronics area  128 . 
     In one embodiment, the scooter is less than two feet long, and in particular approximately one foot long measured from the furthest forward part of the wheel  36  to the furthest rearward part of the wheel  38 . The floorboard  26  can have a length of approximately 7.5 inches and a width of approximately 3.5 inches. The scooter can have a height of approximately 9 inches from the bottom of the wheels  36 ,  38  to the top of the handlebars  20 . The height from the bottom of the wheels  36 ,  38  to the top of the floorboard can be approximately 1.5 inches. The wheels  36 ,  38  can have diameters of approximately 2.25 inches. The stabilizing wheels  40  can have diameters of approximately 0.5 inches. 
     As for the remote control unit  30 , the total length can be approximately 7.5 inches, and the height from the bottom of the wheels to the handlebars can be approximately 5 inches. The width can be approximately 2.75 inches. 
     The present invention is not limited to scooters. The invention can take the form of other types of vehicles as well, such as skateboards or motorcycles, by way of examples, but not of limitation. For example, it can take the form of vehicles having one, three, four or other numbers of wheels. Also, instead of using wheels, slides can be used as the main or stabilizing structures. Furthermore, different types of dolls can be used to ride the vehicle. Also, the invention is not limited to use with a particular type of controller. Any kind of controller can be used or else the animated toy doll and scooter assembly can have a memory and processor onboard, for example, to lead the animated toy doll and scooter assembly on a particular predetermined or random course. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments described in detail hereinbefore.