Toy vehicle with stabilized front wheel
A toy vehicle with a flywheel operatively associated with a front wheel. The toy vehicle comprises a chassis having a front end supported by the front wheel and a rear end supported by a rear wheel. A motor is operatively connected to the flywheel to rotate the flywheel and generate a gyroscopic effect while the toy vehicle is moving. The flywheel is adapted to rotate independently of the front wheel. Accordingly, the front wheel rotates about the axle whenever the toy vehicle is in motion whereas the flywheel rotates about a front axle whenever the motor is energized. The motion of the toy vehicle may be controlled by a propulsion drive operatively associated with the chassis and drivingly coupled to the rear wheel. The direction of the toy vehicle may be controlled by a steering drive.
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This application claims the benefit of and priority to prior filed co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/586,561 to Hoeting et al., filed Jul. 9, 2004, entitled “Toy Vehicle with Stabilized Front Wheel,” having Attorney Docket No. BGZ-32, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a toy vehicle, and more particularly, to a toy vehicle with a stabilized front wheel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONToy vehicles, and in particular toy motorcycles are generally known in the art. Toy motorcycles typically include a chassis supported along a longitudinal axis by front and rear wheels. Because a toy motorcycle must balance upon those two wheels, wind and other external forces can easily cause the toy motorcycle to fall over. For example, when a toy motorcycle is in motion, bumps in the terrain can cause the motorcycle to become off balance. Without the use of any stabilization system, toy motorcycles, and especially remotely controlled toy motorcycles, are difficult to operate and likely to fall over.
Several approaches have been tried to enhance a toy motorcycle's stability. For example, the stability of the motorcycle can be enhanced by utilizing a four-bar linkage steering mechanism as described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,891 (“the '891 patent”), issued to Hoeting et. al. and entitled “Remote Control Toy with Improved Stability.” The four-bar linkage projects a castering axis ahead of the front wheel to help stabilize the toy motorcycle, especially over rough terrain.
Gyroscopic flywheels can also enhance the stability of the toy wheels. For example, the '891 patent discloses a weighted flywheel assembly housed within and operatively associated with the rear wheel of the toy vehicle. A propulsion drive is operatively coupled to both the rear wheel and the flywheel assembly, and drivingly rotates both the rear wheel and the flywheel assembly. During operation, the flywheel assembly rotates substantially faster than the rear wheel thereby causing a gyroscopic effect that tends to prevent the toy vehicle from falling over.
While the stabilization approaches discussed above improve the stability of toy motorcycles, Applicants believe that stabilization can be achieved via other approaches as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a toy vehicle with a flywheel operatively associated with a front wheel. The toy vehicle comprises a chassis having a front end supported by the front wheel and a rear end supported by a rear wheel. A motor is operatively connected to the flywheel to rotate the flywheel and generate a gyroscopic effect while the toy vehicle is moving.
The flywheel of the present invention is adapted to rotate independently of the front wheel. For example, the front wheel may be adapted to freely rotate about an axle that is fixedly attached to the front end of the chassis. The motor may be positioned in a motor mount that is fixedly connected to the axle such that the motor does not rotate about the axle. Accordingly, the front wheel rotates about the axle whenever the toy vehicle is in motion whereas the flywheel rotates about the axle whenever the motor is energized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.
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To increase the operability of the toy vehicle 10, body extensions 48, such as foot pads, may extend outwardly from shell 30. The body extensions 48 are adapted to provide support for the chassis 12 when the toy vehicle 10 is on its side such that the rear wheel 26 remains in contact with the ground. Accordingly, the toy vehicle 10 can, in most situations, right itself when it is lying on its side without intervention from the operator. That is, upon application of drive power to the rear wheel 26, the toy vehicle 10 begins to spin in an arcuate path until the vehicle becomes upright and is able to operate on both its front and rear wheels 24, 26. This self-righting characteristic is attractive to the operator of the toy vehicle 10 because the operator does not have to walk over to where the toy vehicle 10 is on its side. Normally, the application of power to the rear wheel 26 is all that is required to get the toy vehicle 10 back into operation.
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As shown in the figures, the flywheel assembly 28 includes a weighted flywheel 130, a flywheel plate 132, and a motor 134. The weighted flywheel 130 may be coupled to the flywheel plate 132 by screws 136 that extend through bores 138 in the flywheel plate 132 and anchor into corresponding threaded bores 140 (
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To operate the toy vehicle 10 shown in
The forward movement of the toy vehicle 10 is controlled by the rear drive motor 60, which may be any suitable lightweight motor but typically is a battery powered DC motor or a lightweight internal combustion engine. When the rear drive motor 60 is activated, the rear wheel 26 propels the toy vehicle 10 forward and the front wheel 24 freely rotates about the front axle 118. Because the flywheel assembly 28 is not coupled to the wheel halves 114, 116 and tire 112, the flywheel 130 and front wheel 24 rotate independently of each other. The rotational speed of the flywheel 130 is determined by type of motor 134, along with the sizes of the belt 156 and pulleys 152, 154 (or gears 162, 164) being used. These components may be chosen in a manner that enables the flywheel 130 to rotate substantially faster than the front wheel 24 during normal operation of the toy vehicle 10. This rotation of the flywheel 130 creates a gyroscopic effect that helps make the toy vehicle 10 less likely to fall over because of wind or other external forces, including rough terrain. For example, when the toy vehicle 10 encounters a bump along its path of motion, the gyroscopic effect helps keep the vehicle upright and maintain its current path of travel.
Additional stability is provided to the toy vehicle 10 by the castering axis 84. As shown in
Although the toy vehicle 10 could function without the assistance of an operator, it is contemplated that an operator will remotely control the toy vehicle 10 by means of a radio transmitter. For example, to initiate forward motion, the operator sends a propulsion signal which is received by receiver 66. The propulsion signal is then transmitted to the control board 64, which energizes rear drive motor 60. Accordingly, the forward motion of the toy vehicle 10 may be controlled by the operator sending an appropriate propulsion signal to the toy vehicle 10. Similarly, steering signals may also be transmitted by the operator to control the operation of the steering servo 62. Thus, by using a two-channel transmitter the operator can remotely and independently control both the forward motion and direction of the toy vehicle 10.
The motor 134 may be controlled with or without use of the remote radio transmitter. For example, the toy vehicle 10 may be adapted such that the motor 134 is activated whenever the switch 200 is placed in the “on” position. In such an embodiment the motor 134 operates independently of the two-channel transmitter and rotates the flywheel 130 about the front axle 118, even when the toy vehicle 10 is not in motion. Alternatively, the motor 134 may be operatively connected to the receiver 66 such that the motor 134 becomes operative when the receiver 66 receives a propulsion signal. By only activating the motor 134 when the toy vehicle is in motion, the toy vehicle helps prolong the operable life of power supply 58 by utilizing less energy over a given period of time. In a further embodiment, the control board 64 may have a timing mechanism adapted to deactivate the motor 134 after a predetermined time period of inactivity by the propulsion drive 54. Such an arrangement helps prolong the operable life of power supply 58 as well.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of one or more embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the general inventive concept.
Claims
1. A toy vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis having front and rear ends
- front and rear wheels operatively connected to and supporting the respective front and rear ends, the front wheel being moveable to steer the toy vehicle;
- a flywheel operatively associated with the front wheel, the flywheel being adapted to rotate independently of the front wheel; and
- a motor operatively connected to the flywheel to rotate the flywheel and generate a gyroscopic effect to stabilize the toy vehicle while the toy vehicle is moving.
2. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- a fixed axle, the front wheel being rotatably mounted about the fixed axle; and
- a motor mount fixedly connected to the axle, the motor being positioned within the motor mount.
3. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- two or more intermeshing gears operatively connecting the motor and the flywheel.
4. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- a drive belt operatively connecting the motor and the flywheel.
5. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- a power supply operatively associated with the chassis; and
- one or more wires electrically coupling the power supply to the motor.
6. The toy vehicle of claim 5, further comprising:
- a front fork operatively connecting the front wheel to the front end of the chassis, the front fork having substantially parallel first and second members operatively connected to each other; and
- an axle fixedly attached to the front fork, the front wheel being rotatably mounted about the fixed axle and positioned between the first and second members;
- wherein at least one of the first and second members is hollow so that the one or more wires may be routed therethrough from the power supply to the motor.
7. The toy vehicle of claim 6 wherein at least a portion of the fixed axle is hollow so that the one or more wires may be further routed from the at least one hollow member to the motor without interfering with the rotation of the flywheel or front wheel.
8. The toy vehicle of claim 5, further comprising
- a first set of wires operatively connecting the power supply to a first end of the front fork; and
- a second set of wires operatively connecting a second end of the front fork to the motor;
- wherein the first and second members are adapted to conduct electricity.
9. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- a front fork operatively connecting the front wheel to the front end of the chassis, the front fork having substantially parallel first and second members operatively connected to each other; and
- a steering drive supported by the chassis and operatively connected to the front fork, the steering drive being adapted to generate steering outputs to steer the toy vehicle.
10. The toy vehicle of claim 9, further comprising:
- a fork coupler pivotally connected to the front end of the chassis, the front fork being connected to the fork coupler so as to pivot about a castering axis.
11. The toy vehicle of claim 10 wherein when the toy vehicle travels on a surface and the castering axis projects ahead of where the front wheel contacts the surface.
12. The toy vehicle of claim 9, further comprising:
- a receiver operatively connected to the steering drive, the receiver being adapted to receive remotely generated steering signals to selectively move the steering drive and steer the toy vehicle.
13. The toy vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
- a propulsion drive operatively associated with the chassis and drivingly coupled to the rear wheel.
14. The toy vehicle of claim 13, further comprising:
- a plurality of intermeshing gears drivingly coupling the motor to the rear wheel.
15. The toy vehicle of claim 13, further comprising:
- a drive chain drivingly coupling the motor to the rear wheel.
16. A remotely controlled, wheel-supported toy vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis having front and rear ends;
- front and rear wheels, the front wheel being moveable to steer the toy vehicle, the rear wheel being operatively connected to the rear end;
- a front fork operatively connecting the front wheel to the front end of the chassis;
- an axle fixedly attached to the front fork, the front wheel being rotatably mounted about the fixed axle;
- a flywheel operatively associated with the front wheel, the flywheel being adapted to rotate independently of the front wheel;
- a motor operatively connected to the flywheel to rotate the flywheel and generate a gyroscopic effect to stabilize the toy vehicle while the toy vehicle is moving;
- a steering drive supported by the chassis and operatively connected to the front fork, the steering drive being adapted to generate steering outputs to steer the toy vehicle;
- a propulsion drive operatively associated with the chassis and drivingly coupled to the rear wheel; and
- a receiver adapted to receive remotely generated steering and propulsion signals, the receiver being operatively connected to the steering drive such that upon receiving a steering signal the steering drive generates a steering output to steer the toy vehicle, the receiver also being operatively connected to the propulsion drive such that upon receiving a propulsion signal the propulsion drive becomes operative.
17. The toy vehicle of claim 16, further comprising:
- a power supply operatively associated with the chassis; and
- one or more wires electrically coupling the power supply to the motor.
18. The toy vehicle of claim 17, further comprising:
- a switch operatively associated with the power supply such that when the switch is placed in an on position the motor becomes operative to rotate the flywheel.
19. The toy vehicle of claim 17 wherein the motor is operatively connected to the receiver such that the motor becomes operative when the receiver receives a propulsion signal.
20. The toy vehicle of claim 17, further comprising:
- a control board supported by the chassis and electrically coupled to the receiver, the control board having a timing mechanism adapted to deactivate the motor after a predetermined time period of inactivity by the propulsion drive.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2005
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2006
Applicant: BANG ZOOM design Ltd. (Cincinnati, OH)
Inventors: Michael Hoeting (Cincinnati, OH), Neil Hamilton (Taylor Mill, KY)
Application Number: 11/085,341
International Classification: A63H 17/16 (20060101);