Patent Publication Number: US-7717767-B2

Title: Modular toy vehicle accessory mounts

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates generally to toy vehicles and, more particularly, to modularity of toy vehicles. 
     2. Background Art 
     Radio-controlled (RC) cars as well as other toy cars, have been very popular with children of various ages over the years. However, a disadvantage of many toy cars is that generally speaking they are fixed in design and cannot be changed. This means that a child can often become bored with them after a period of time. Furthermore, many children express satisfaction with being able to build or work on a toy themselves. Yet, many radio-controlled cars and other toy cars have a complex construction and have components which are complicated and not easily adapted to be built or switched out by children. What is needed is a toy vehicle having universally and easily interchangeable components such that a child may be able to build or customize their own toys. 
     Attempts have been made to design toy vehicles with interchangeable components, however, the interchangeable modules for a given vehicle design can each have a distinctly different attachment mechanisms. For example, for a given vehicle, there can be multiple types of attachment mechanisms for the front bumper area of the vehicle and a totally different set of attachment mechanisms for the sides and rear of the vehicle. A more simple design is needed for attachments and accessories where the attachment mechanisms are more universal and easy for children of all ages to install. 
     Attempts have been made to develop less complex designs and with more universal attachment mechanisms, however, the designs are quite convoluted in that a child can place any accessory at any location on the toy vehicle, even at locations where the accessory is not intended to be installed. A design is needed where the attachment mechanisms are universal, but the design is such that accessories can only be installed at their intended locations. Further, many attempts to develop a design that addresses this need has resulted in a design with a less than appealing appearance having unsightly holes or contact points at locations that take away from the appearance of the vehicle, particularly when an accessory is not installed. This is particularly important when the owner of the toy vehicle is concerned about whether the appearance of the vehicle closely mimics the appearance of a full size vehicle. Unsightly holes or contact points all over the vehicle negates the attempt to mimic the appearance of a full size vehicle. 
     Further, the attempts to develop a design having interchangeable accessories and attachments have not provided mechanisms for supplying power to accessories, such as for example, providing power to accessories having LED lights and/or sound emitting devices. There are various toy vehicle designs that exist that include light emitting and/or sound emitting devices, however, these devices are not interchangeable accessories. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The invention is a modular toy vehicle system having a plurality of accessory attach mechanisms whereby any number of toy vehicle accessories can be attached on, removed from and replaced on various areas of the vehicle with no visible means of attachment to detract from the appearance of the vehicle once the accessories is installed. The toy retail business model typically does not require that a large number of after-market customizing accessories be sold for the variety of vehicles—vehicles of different sizes and genres. One challenge is that accessories have not been developed that can attach to the front, top, side, bottom and rear of toy vehicles and a more standardized universal method (or methods) of attachment has not been developed that would allow for the attachment of all these various accessories to all these vehicles without compromising the aesthetic integrity of the vehicle&#39;s design and form. Toy vehicles, such as for example radio controlled (RC) vehicles, have not been designed with the proper universal docking mechanisms or receptacles that would allow various different accessories having the mating universal mechanism to attach to the vehicle. 
     A typical toy vehicle design includes a body and a chassis. Though not necessary, the body can substantially lower the rear, top, left and right portions of the chassis. Depending on the type of accessory desired, it may be more desirable to attach the accessory to the chassis or it may be more desirable to attach it to the body. Therefore, there can be multiple types of universal docking mechanisms integrated into the toy vehicle where each of the universal docking types are designed based on the general category or type of docking location (for example under chassis docking) and to accommodate an anticipated accessory type for a given docking location (for example front, side, or rear). 
     The present invention is a toy vehicle design having two distinctly different universal methods to attach accessories. Accessories that attach to the front, sides, or rear and near the bottom of the vehicle can connect to the chassis via a tab and slot system. Strategically positioned slots on the chassis undercarriage extending or protruding from an underside surface of the chassis can accept tabs that extend from those accessories. The tabs of the accessories can simply laterally “plug in” to the slots on the chassis. The slots can be positioned adjacent the rear end, front end, left side and/or right side. The various accessories can be interchangeable and can be easily attached and removed without the need for tools. For front, side, rear and bottom fitting accessories, slots can be located along the outer perimeter of the vehicle chassis&#39; undercarriage. The tabs can extend from the various accessories. The slots shown in the drawing are stirrup-like slots with an open ended through-hole or eyelet. However the slots can take on other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, such as for example, elongated slots open on both ends or close on one end. 
     The slots can be made of a durable resilient plastic. The slot can essentially be plastic loops with a center eyelet through which the tab of the accessory can be inserted. The loop can be pliable enough allowing a tab of an accessory to pass there through, but resilient enough to maintain its form for securely holding the accessory in place. The tabs can be made of a similar plastic and can have two parallel prongs with a lengthwise uniform gap there between for inserting into the slot. When the prongs of the tabs can be laterally inserted or press fitted through the slots, the prongs will be urged to bend inwardly, one toward the other, due to the dimension of the opening of the slot. The resiliency of the prongs will cause the prongs to apply an outward force against the inside of the slot thereby holding the accessory securely in place. The tabs could include detents or cut outs for receiving the slots and locking the accessory in place. 
     For accessories that attach to the hood, roof and truck beds, magnets can be built into the underside of the vehicle body or embedded in the body beneath the surface of the body with magnets of the opposite polarity attached to the inside of the accessories. The result is an invisible connection. The accessory and body can be formed of plastic. The magnets can be formed inside the plastic just beneath the outer surface. The magnets can have sufficient strength to attract each other through the thin layers of plastic. 
     For electronic accessories, the present invention can utilize female electrical chassis connectors that can be located along the sides of the chassis undercarriage to accept male electrical accessory connectors attached to accessories. This allows the accessory to be powered by the vehicle&#39;s internal power source. The female connectors can be electrically connected to the battery power source of the toy vehicle. 
     The drawing shows an example of a powered accessory, which in this case is an under carriage light. The accessory is shown having a tab which has two prongs. The prongs of the tab can be laterally inserted into the slots. This accessory can have a male electrical contact for inserting into the female receptacle to establish a power connection for the accessory. 
     The type of magnetic accessories that could be attached include magnetized hood scoops, magnetized emergency lights, side pipes, under carriage lighting and various other accessory items. Please refer to the drawing and detailed description for further details relating to this invention. 
     These and other advantageous features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a body and chassis; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a chassis side mount with integral electrical connector; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a chassis side mount with a light equipped accessory partially inserted; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a chassis front mount; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the magnetic body mounts; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the magnetic body mounts. 
     
    
    
     While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     According to the embodiment(s) of the present invention, various views are illustrated in  FIG. 1-6  and like reference numerals are being used consistently throughout to refer to like and corresponding parts of the invention for all of the various views and figures of the drawing. Also, please note that the first digit(s) of the reference number for a given item or part of the invention should correspond to the Fig. number in which the item or part is first identified. 
     One embodiment of the present invention is a customizable toy comprising a toy vehicle having magnetic body mounts and bottom chassis mounts with an electrical connection, which teaches a novel apparatus and method for a toy vehicle having interchangeable universally mountable accessories. 
     The details of the invention and various embodiments can be better understood by referring to the figures of the drawing. Referring to  FIG. 1 , and the exploded perspective view of a toy vehicle  100  including a body  102  and chassis  104 . The body  102  mounts on top of a chassis  104  thereby providing the exterior appearance of the vehicle. The body can typically substantially cover the chassis  104  such that minimal portions of the chassis are in view. The chassis underside  106  can be fully exposed. The chassis can have two sides  108 , a chassis rear end  110  and a chassis front end  112 . The toy vehicle is designed such that various accessories can be attached with no degradation to the appearance of the vehicle particularly when the body is mounted on the chassis. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a chassis side mount  200  is shown. The mounts are shown located on the underside of the chassis proximate the side edge. The left side front mount  202  is a stirrup-like slot or loop such that a mounting tab can be installed there through. The left side chassis mount is shown comprising a left side front mount  202  and a left side rear mount  204 . Also, right side front and rear mounts are illustrated as  206 . The front left and right mounts are shown  202  and  212 . The rear left side and right side mounts  204  and  214  are also shown. The stirrup-like slots or loops can be combined with an electrical connector  218  for providing power to an accessory. The stirrup-like slot or loop provides for a universal docking mount that can be utilized for the sides, the front and the rear. The location of the stirrup-like slot or loop can be on the underside proximate an edge of the chassis, which provides a discreet location that does not take away from the appearance of the vehicle. The stirrup-like slots or loops can be provided in pairs for increased stability, however, a single stirrup can also be provided. The spacing between a pair of stirrup-like slots or loops can be different for the front, rear and sides to assure that an accessory is not installed at the improper location. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a light equipped accessory  300  is shown partially installed on a side mount. The accessory is shown having a light  302  and an accessory male connector  304  for mating with electrical chassis connector  218 . The accessory is shown having a front mounting tab  306  and a rear mounting tab  308 . Each tab can be constricted having two prongs  310  that are parallel having a uniform gap  311  there between. The prongs can be constructed of a resilient flexible material that allows the prongs to press inward, one towards the other, when being inserted into the slot of the mount. The resiliency of the prongs will tend to urge outward one with respect to the other thereby pressing on the inside of the slot and securely fixing the accessory to the mount. The spacing between the tabs can be designed to correspond with the spacing between the slots. For accessories designed to be side mounted, the spacing between the tabs will correspond to the spacing between the slots for the side mount. Similarly, for accessories designed to be front or rear mounted will have spacing between the tabs to correspond with the spacing between the slots for the rear or forward mount. Please note that accessories not requiring power for lightning, sound or otherwise, do not require the electrical connector  304  as shown. An example of an accessory not having connector  304  is now shown in the drawing, however one skilled in the art would understand this description.  FIG. 4  provides a perspective view of a front mount  206 . The front mounts and rear mounts can be similarly designed and can also have a connector for electrical power to the accessory. The universal design of the stirrup-like slots can allow for various types of accessories to be attached to the toy vehicle without taking away from the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle. The mounting slot location on the underside of the vehicle chassis provides a discreet location that cannot be readily seen by an observer. Accessories that don&#39;t need power can eliminate the center male connector  304 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a perspective view showing the location of the magnetic body mounts is shown. There can be magnetic body mounts located at various positions on the body. For example, a roof magnet mount  500  is shown along with a hood magnet mount  502  and a similarly designed rear magnet mount (not shown). The accessory to be attached in these areas can have a magnet of a particular polarity imbedded therein before attaching the accessory having opposite polarity to the respective locations.  FIG. 6  reveals a sectional view of the magnetic body mounts indicating that the magnets can be located just beneath the surface of the body such that accessories can be readily attached. The magnets beneath the surface can have sufficient strength to attached the magnet having opposite polarity that is within the given accessory. The magnets for the body mount and for the magnetic accessory can be embedded within the structure of the respective items beneath the outer surface or just simply placed on an opposing interior side surface. Various accessories can be attached such as for example hood scoops, emergency lighting or other ornamental accessories. The magnetic mounts provide an alternative universal mount that can be utilized for mounting various types of accessories to different portions of the chassis body. The locations indicated in the view shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 5  are not the only locations where magnetic mounts can be placed. Magnetic mounts can be imbedded in the chassis body in other areas including the doors and corner panels. 
     The various examples shown above illustrate a novel method and apparatus for providing a universal docketing mechanism for accessories of toy vehicles. A user of the present invention may choose any of the above accessory system embodiments, or an equivalent thereof, depending upon the desired application. In this regard, it is recognized that various forms of the subject toy vehicle accessory mounts could be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. It is accordingly intended that the claims shall cover all such modifications and applications that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.