Patent ID: 7950978

Claim:
A toy vehicle operable by a person, the toy vehicle comprising: a battery operable to provide power to electrical components of the toy vehicle; a motor operating as a drive mechanism of the toy vehicle in response to a switch controlled by a person; a throttle switch operable to be controlled by a person in physical contact with the toy vehicle, the throttle switch electrically coupled between the battery and the motor, and operable to provide power to the motor using a throttle signal; and a circuit having a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal being coupled to the battery and the second terminal being coupled to the motor, the circuit being operable to: detect a change in the throttle signal from a first level to a second level or from the second level to the first level, the throttle signal operable to induce motion via the motor, wherein the first level corresponds to the throttle signal produced when the person engages the throttle switch, and wherein the second level corresponds to the throttle signal produced when the person disengages the throttle switch; generate a transition signal based on the change in the throttle signal from the throttle switch, the transition signal comprising at least one signal level intermediate to a third signal level corresponding to the first level and a fourth signal level corresponding to the second level, wherein a transition from the third signal level to the at least one intermediate signal level to the fourth signal level occurs over a significantly longer time period than a time period for the change in the throttle signal from the first level to the second level, and apply the transition signal to affect operation of the motor.