Source: http://www.google.de/patents/US7762867
Timestamp: 2013-05-19 17:14:52
Document Index: 508693278

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 376', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 376', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 376', 'art 370', 'art 370', 'art 670', 'art 670', 'art 670', 'arts 670', 'art 670', 'art 670', 'art 770', 'art 770', 'art 770', 'art 770', 'art 770', 'art 770', 'art 770']

Patent US7762867 - Lever and wheel activated toy vehicles - Google PatenteSuche Bilder Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive Mehr » Erweiterte Patentsuche | Webprotokoll | Anmelden Erweiterte Patentsuche PatenteA lever activated toy vehicle includes a body, a chassis and a lever. The chassis accommodates the body and has a front wheel and a rear wheel. A motor is disposed within the chassis and is drivingly coupled to at least one of the wheels. The lever is movably supported on the toy vehicle so as to be...http://www.google.de/patents/US7762867?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7762867 - Lever and wheel activated toy vehicles Ver�ffentlichungsnummerUS7762867 B2PublikationstypErteilung Anmeldenummer10/846,490 Ver�ffentlichungsdatum27. Juli 2010Eingetragen14. Mai 2004 Priorit�tsdatum16. Mai 2003Auch ver�ffentlicht unterCN1791451ACN1791451BEP1626788A2EP1626788A4US20050042974WO2004103504A2WO2004103504A3 ErfinderMatthew Felix AgostiniWilliam Francis Michael DoughertyMary Ellen Gertrude FosbennerRobert Jude HenryGregory John SisolakUrspr�nglich Bevollm�chtigterMattel, Inc. US-Klassifikation446/431446/93446/470446/465Internationale KlassifikationA63H17/32A63H17/28A63H5/00A63H17/25A63H17/00A63H17/26 UnternehmensklassifikationA63H17/25A63H17/28A63H17/26A63H17/32A63H5/00 Europ�ische KlassifikationA63H5/00A63H17/32A63H17/28A63H17/25A63H17/26ReferenzenPatentzitate (31)Nichtpatentzitate (2) Referenziert von (1)Externe LinksUSPTO USPTO-Zuordnung EspacenetLever and wheel activated toy vehiclesUS 7762867 B2 Zusammenfassung A lever activated toy vehicle includes a body, a chassis and a lever. The chassis accommodates the body and has a front wheel and a rear wheel. A motor is disposed within the chassis and is drivingly coupled to at least one of the wheels. The lever is movably supported on the toy vehicle so as to be accessible by a user for movement between a first position and a second position. The toy vehicle further includes a moveable part and an actuator mechanism. The moveable part has at least a portion on the exterior of the body and a portion on the interior of the body. The actuator mechanism is operably coupled with the motor and the moveable part and is configured to move the moveable part from the concealed position to the revealed position after the lever is moved from the first position to the second position.
21. The lever activated toy vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the motor is an electric motor. Beschreibung
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/471,184, filed May 16, 2003, entitled �Lever and Wheel Activated Toy Vehicles.�
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to activation devices for toy vehicles and for toy vehicle accessories and, more particularly, to lever and wheel activated toy vehicles and toy vehicle accessories.
Toy vehicles, such as toy cars and trucks, are widely available in various configurations including those operated by a small electric motor or purely mechanical vehicles with wheels that spin freely (�free-wheeling�). Some of these toy vehicles include a mechanized accessory or body part which gives the toy added novelty for the user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,727 (�Swisher et al.�) discloses a purely mechanical toy vehicle having a base or chassis with six freely spinning wheels and a top or body portion which is pivotally linked to the base of the toy vehicle by a pair of standoffs. The Swisher toy vehicle provides an external handle that is basically an extension of a lower part of the link which allows the user to rotate the entire top portion of the vehicle to a position higher than the base to give the toy vehicle a different overall appearance.
Another toy vehicle that is purely mechanical and that has a mechanized accessory is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,619 B1 (�Agostini et al.�). Agostini discloses a toy fire truck of the free-wheeling variety that has a projectile launching tube rotatably mounted to the roof. The projectile launching tube is accompanied by a launching handle and a sound effect control handle. The launching handle is used to compress and release a launching spring. The sound effect control handle is used to raise and lower the launching tube and provides various buttons for initiating sound effects.
Yet another more complicated, purely mechanical toy vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,384 (�Ryan et al.�). Ryan discloses a rocket launching truck where the launcher is located on the bed of the truck and is capable of being raised and lowered. A lever is provided which is used to actuate a spring and flywheel system for both launching a toy rocket and for propelling the toy truck.
Another variety of toy vehicle includes a small motor and gear system for propulsion and for operation of vehicle accessories, such as the toy fire truck disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,056 (�Tsai�). Tsai discloses a fire truck having a ladder that raises and lowers automatically by a power train that also causes a miniature fireman figure to scale and descend the ladder. The same power train also provides propulsion for the fire truck by way of a set of small drive wheels and causes other fireman figurines to partially rotate out the sides of the doors.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, in one aspect, the present invention is a lever activated toy vehicle including a body, a chassis and a lever. The body has a front end, a rear end, an interior and an exterior. The chassis accommodates the body and has at least a front wheel proximate the front end and a rear wheel proximate the rear end. The motor is disposed within one of the body and the chassis and is drivingly coupled to at least one of the wheels. The lever is movably supported on one of the chassis and the body of the toy vehicle so as to be accessible by a user for movement between a first position and a second position. The toy vehicle further includes a moveable part and an actuator mechanism. The moveable part has at least a portion on the exterior of the body and a portion on the interior of the body. The moveable part is supported on at least one of the chassis and the body for movement between a concealed position and a revealed position. The actuator mechanism is operably coupled with the motor and the moveable part. The actuator mechanism is configured to move the moveable part from the concealed position to the revealed position by power from the motor after the lever is moved from the first position to the second position and is configured to move the moveable part from the revealed position back to the concealed position after a predetermined time.
The moveable part 70 of the lever activated toy vehicle 20 has a first surface 72 visible on the vehicle 20 in at least the concealed position and a second surface 74 visible on the vehicle 20 only in the revealed position. Each of the first and second surfaces 72, 74 has sufficiently different features to differentiate from the other of the first and second surfaces 72, 74. In the presently preferred embodiment, the moveable part 70 is a hatch or a portion of a �truck cap� 31 that is hingedly connected to the remaining portion of the truck cap by a hinge mechanism 71. Of course, the moveable part 70 could also be a door, a window, a cap, a cab, a roof, a sun roof, a moon roof, a trunk lid, a hatchback and the like without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The lever activated toy vehicle 20 further includes a figurine 76 disposed at least partially within the body 30 of the vehicle 20. The figurine 76 is hidden from view when the moveable part 70 is in the concealed position (FIG. 1A) and the figurine 76 is viewable when the moveable part is in the revealed position (FIG. 1B). Preferably, the figurine 76 moves (or �pops-up�) from a withdrawn position to an extended position when the moveable part moves from the concealed position to the revealed position. In the presently preferred embodiment, the figurine 76 has the overall appearance of a fireman, or at least the upper torso, arms and head of a fireman. Additionally, the fireman figurine 76 is aiming a water cannon or nozzle 78 which also moves from a first position to a second position in concert with the moveable part 70 and the fireman figurine 76. The figurine 76 includes a ramped surface 77 (FIG. 2) protruding beneath the figurine 76 and configured to engage the lobe 87 of the cam 86. The ramped surface 77 rides along the lobe 87 during operation thereby causing the figurine 76 to emerge.
The first moveable part 370 a of the lever activated toy vehicle 320 is a �tinted,� driver-side door window that is �up� in a concealed position (FIG. 7A) and �down� in a revealed position (FIG. 7B). The first figurine 376 a is disposed within the body 330 of the vehicle 320 behind the first moveable part 370 a. Thus, the first figurine 376 a is hidden from view when the moveable part 370 a is in the �up� or concealed position (FIG. 7A) and the first figurine 376 a is viewable when the first moveable part 376 a is in the �down� or revealed position (FIG. 7B). In the presently preferred embodiment, the lever 350 is directly coupled to a first rotatable arm 383 having a protrusion 383 a for engagement with a slot 371 in the first moveable part 370 a. When the lever 350 is moved from a first position to a second position, the first arm 383 correspondingly rotates from a position holding the window 370 a up to a position holding the window 370 a down by purely mechanical means. The first figurine 376 a has the overall appearance of a policeman, or at least the upper torso, arms and head of a policeman. Preferably, the first figurine 376 a also includes a �bobbing-head� feature.
The second moveable pail 370 b of the lever activated toy vehicle 320 is a tinted, driver-side rear window that is �up� in a concealed position (FIG. 7A) and �out� in a revealed position (FIG. 7B). The second moveable part 370 b preferably rotates to the out or revealed position thereby extending outward from the body 330 of the toy vehicle 320. The second figurine 376 b is disposed within the body 330 of the vehicle 320 behind the second moveable part 370 b. Thus, the second figurine 376 b is hidden from view when the moveable part 370 b is in the �up� or concealed position (FIG. 7A) and the second figurine 376 b is viewable when the second moveable part 376 b is in the �down� or revealed position (FIG. 7B). The second figurine 376 b has the overall appearance of a police dog. Preferably, the second figurine 376 b is attached to the inner-surface of the second moveable part 370 b so as to move out from the body 330 of the toy vehicle 320 as the second moveable part 370 b moves out from the body 330.
The third moveable part 370 c of the lever activated toy vehicle 320 is a hatch or a portion of a �truck cap� 331 that is hingedly connected to the remaining portion of the truck cap 331. The third figurine 376 c is disposed within the body 330 of the vehicle 320 beneath the third moveable part 370 c. Thus, the third figurine 376 c is hidden from view when the moveable part 370 c is in the concealed position (FIG. 7A) and the third figurine 376 c is viewable when the third moveable part 376 c is in the revealed position (FIG. 7B). Preferably, the figurine 376 c moves from a withdrawn position to an extended position when the third moveable part 370 c moves from the concealed position to the revealed position. The third figurine 376 c has the overall appearance of a policeman, or at least the upper torso, arms and head of a policeman. Additionally, the third figurine 376 c is speaking into a bullhorn 378. The moveable part 370 c of the lever activated toy vehicle 320 has a first surface 372 visible on the vehicle 320 in at least the concealed position and a second surface 374 visible on the vehicle 320 only in the revealed position. Each of the first and second surfaces 372, 374 has sufficiently different features to differentiate from the other of the first and second surfaces 372, 374.
The first moveable part 670 a is a driver-side window which moves from an �up� or concealed position to a �down� or revealed position. Behind the first moveable part 670 a is a first construction worker figurine 676 a which is revealed when the first moveable part 670 a is in the revealed position, i.e., when the window is �rolled down.� The second and third moveable parts 670 b, 670 c are hatches on a roof 633 of the toy vehicle 620. Underneath the second moveable part 670 b is a second pop-up construction worker figurine 676 b holding a pair of binoculars and looking in a rearward direction. Underneath the third moveable part 670 c is a third pop-up construction worker figurine 676 c which appears to be operating controls for the moveable accessory 670 d. The moveable accessory 670 d has the overall appearance of a bucket on a boom. The moveable accessory 670 d moves from a lowered position (FIG. 13A) to a raised position (FIG. 13B) in relation to corresponding rotation of the crank wheel 650 by a user.
The first moveable part 770 a is a hatch on top of the bucket 768 which rotates from a concealed position (FIG. 15A) to a revealed position (FIG. 15B). Under the first moveable part 770 a is a first figurine 776 a having the overall appearance of a fireman who appears to be operating the water guns 769 a and which pops-up when the first moveable part 770 a moves to the revealed position. The second moveable part 770 b is a driver-side rear window which rotates from an �up� or concealed position (FIG. 15A) to an �out� or revealed position (FIG. 15B). Behind the second moveable part 770 b is second figurine 776 b having the overall appearance of a firehouse dog (e.g., a dalmatian). The third moveable part 770 c is a driver-side rear panel which rotates from an �up� or concealed position (FIG. 15A) to an �out� or revealed position (FIG. 15B). Behind the third moveable part 770 c is third figurine 776 c having the overall appearance of a fireman laying down and operating another water gun 769 c. The moveable accessory 770 d moves from a lowered position (FIG. 15A) to a raised position (FIG. 15B) in relation to corresponding rotation of the crank wheel 750 by a user.
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