Patent GB-630163-A (GB)
Title: An electrically operated toy capable of travelling on a solid surface or on water
IPC: A63H17/00
Filed: 1947-03-13
Abstract: 630,163. Remotely-controlled toys. POPPE; A. March 13, 1947, No. 6966. Convention date, March 14, 1946. [Class 132 (iii)] [Also in Group XXXVI]  A remotely-controlled, electricallyoperated toy capable of travelling on  a solid surface or on water comprises an electric propelling motor for forward and backward travel, an electric magnetic device to control the steering, electric circuits capable of controlling elements or accessories such as headlights and the like and a distributer device pivoted on the toy to which a cable containing several conductors is attached, the other end of which is connected to a control box. The cable is suspended by an elastic sup-. port. The electric motor used for propulsion requires only two conductors leading current to the stator ; one lead of the. rotor is attached to the centre of the stator winding and the other is attached to the chassis. Power is transmitted from the motor to the wheels (or the like) by gears such as the worm gear 57 (Fig. 14) and the toothed wheel 58. The electro-magnetic device controlling direction, shown in Fig. 2, has a bipolar rotor 41 and is wired similarly to the propulsion motor. Steering is effected, as shown in Fig. 3, by hingeing one end of a control rod 9 eccentrically to the rotor and hingeing the other end 10 to an arm of the usual steering mechanism 17, to the other end of which is attached a return spring 13 secured at the end 16 to the chassis. Instead of attaching the rod 9 to the rotor it may be attached eccentrically to a wheel geared to the rotor. Otherwise the rod 9 may be attached to the lever 20 as shown in Fig. 7. The spring 13 may be attached to a collar which is held on a rod 21 between two nuts 22, the rod being screwed through a threaded hole in the chassis so that the steering mechanism is adjustable. The return spring 13 may be attached to the rotor instead of the actual steering mechanism 17. As shown in Fig. 6 a lever may be attached to the rotor, one end of which is attached to the spring 13 and the other end of which is attached to the rod 9 which is adjustable. It is made in two parts with screw-threaded ends which are joined by a sleeve 19 into which they are screwed. The steering mechanism may be controlled, as shown in Fig. 8, by the core 24 of a solenoid which comprises two coils 27 and 28 having a common return conductor 29. The core is hinged at 26 to the rod 9 and the core moves into the coil in which the current is flowing. The vehicle may be maintained in a straight path, when not actually being steered, by dividing the bar 17 into two parts, having at their ends screw threads 92 and 93 (Fig. 10), coupled by a sleeve 89 provided with a circular collar 88. The bell crank levers 86 are hinged at 85 to a plate 84 integral with the chassis. At one end the levers are attached to tension springs 90, the other ends of which are secured to the plate 84, and the arms 87 are limited by the stop 95. Thus the sleeve 89 may be adjusted so that the vehicle maintains a straight path. A shock absorber, as shown in Fig. 9, which displaces the crank arm 20, consists of two plates 30, 31 attached to springs 32 and 33, the other ends of which are fixed and which act on either side of the arm 20. The vehicle may be braked by means of the control for the propulsion motor, but a separate brake is also provided which consists, as shown in Fig. 11, of a solenoid 38 with a core 39 to which is attached, by a spring, the brake block 37 which acts on a brake drum 30. Other electric circuits control the headlamps and their dimmer mechanism and the other accessories. The controls for the electric circuits are contained in the control box 41 (Fig. 12) which has a steering wheel 42,. a lever 43 to control the propulsion motor, a braking lever 44, a stud 45 to control the sound signal and a commutator 46 to control the headlamps. The current supply is attached to terminals 48. The arrangement of the circuits in the control box is shown in Fig. 13, wherein circuit I is connected to the chassis, circuits II and III are for the propelling motor, circuit IV is for the independent brake control, circuit V is for the sound signal, circuits VI and VII are for the steering, circuits VIII and IX are for the position lights, and circuit X is for the headlamps. The leads from the control box are connected to the socket 49. A multipin plug 51, to which is attached a cable 50, fits into this socket. The other end of this cable is attached to a distributer pivoted on the toy. The distributer comprises (Figs. 14 and 17) an insulating tube 64, with longitudinal grooves, and a pivot 84 engaged in a crossbar 75. A second crossbar 76 is secured above 75 by insulating members 73 and 74 joining the two crossbars. Metal collars 70 separated by insulating washers 69 are mounted on the tube '64. A conductor leads from each collar up one of the grooves in tube 64 to the collar 68 on which there are terminals 67, and one of the leads of the cable is attached to each terminal. The current is led from the collars to the various parts of the toy by brushes 72, which are maintained in contact with the collars 70 as the distributer rotates, and which are attached to terminals 83 on the insulating members 73 and 74. In Fig. 14 a toy automobile has an electromagnetic device 60 used for steering and a motor 56 used for propulsion. The cable 50 is suspended from an elastic cord or spring stretched across the floor or the like on which the toy travels. Instead of an automobile the toy machine may be a sidecar, lorry, army vehicle, motor boat, steamer, battleship or the like. Specification 607,346 is referred to. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 also describes a fighting vehicle with two separate electric motors each operating a caterpillar track or train of wheels and arranged so that their speed and direction of rotation may be controlled as described, whereby the vehicle is steered. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.