Radio controlled wheel toy

• US 4,213,270 A
• Filed: 08/07/1978
• Issued: 07/22/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nobuo Oda
• Original Assignee: Nobuo Oda
• Inventors: Oda, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Charles E.
• Application Number:
  US05/931,936
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 46/254, 46/255, 46/210, 46/252, 46/253, 46/256, 46/262, 46/213, 273/86 B, 343/225
• US Class Current: 446/456
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/36 Steering-mechanisms for toy vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission

Abstract

The direction of movement of a battery-powered wheel toy such as a toy car is controlled by a remotely located, hand-held transmitter. The car has a receiver and two motors mounted thereon, one motor being connected to drive at least one wheel of a first pair of wheels located at a first axle position, and the other motor being connected to drive at least one wheel of a second pair of wheels located at a second axle position. One of the wheel pairs and driving motor are mounted for pivotal rotation about an axis normal to the plane of the support platform for the car. The transmitter sends a modulated carrier signal to the receiver. The carrier is modulated by tone bursts. The duration of the tone bursts is determined by a variable potentiometer that is controlled by the operator at the transmitter. At the receiver, the tone-modulated carrier is detected and demodulated. The duration of the demodulated tone bursts determines the time duration that current is supplied to one DC motor. The duration of the absence of a tone determines the time duration that current is supplied to the other DC motor. By thus controlling the current to the motors, their speed of rotation is controlled which causes the toy car to turn left or right, depending on which motor is rotating faster. The difference in speed of rotation of the two motors determines the turning circle radius of the toy car.

Claims

1. A radio-controlled wheel toy having a first pair and a second pair of wheels wherein a hand-held transmitter with a manually manipulateable means therein transmits signals to a receiver mounted on a support platform of the wheel toy for controlling the direction of movement of said wheel toy, the improvement therein comprising:

p1 said first pair of wheels rotatably mounted on a wheel platform, said platform being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said support platform of the wheel toy;

a first motor means mounted on said wheel platform in proximity to said first pair of wheels and connected for driving one of said pair of wheels; and

a second motor means mounted in proximity to said second pair of wheels and connected for driving at least one of said second pair of wheels wherein the wheel that is driven by the second motor is positioned on the opposite side of the car from at least one of the wheels driven by said first motor.

2. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 1 wherein said second motor means is connected for driving the one of said second pair of wheels that is on the side of the wheel toy opposite to the side of the driven wheel of said first pair of wheels.

3. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 1 wherein said second motor means is connected for driving both of said second pair of wheels.

4. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 1 further comprising spring means connected between said wheel platform and said support platform for housing said wheel platform to align the wheels mounted thereon substantially parallel with the support platform.

5. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 1 wherein said first motor means and said second motor means are DC motors.

6. A radio-controlled wheel toy having a first pair and a second pair of wheels and a hand-held transmitter with a manually manipulateable means transmitting signals to a receiver mounted on a support platform of the wheel toy for controlling the direction of movement of the wheel toy, the improvement therein comprising:

said first pair of wheels rotatably mounted on a wheel platform, said platform being mounted for pivoted movement relative to said support platform of the wheel toy;

a first motor means mounted on said wheel platform in proximity to said first pair of wheels and connected for driving one of said pair of wheels;

a second motor means mounted in proximity to said second pair of wheels and connected for driving both of said second pair of wheels;

said transmitter including a pulse generating means for generating pulses having varying widths as determined by a manually manipulated variable resistor;

a tone generator for generating an audio frequency tone;

means for modulating the variable width pulses from said pulse generating means on said tone from said tone generator; and

means for modulating the modulated tone signal on a high frequency carrier wave

said receiver including demodulating means for detecting and receiving the modulated tone signal; and

means responsive to said modulated tone for supplying current to said first motor means as long as said tone is present and for supplying current to said second motor means as long as said tone is absent.

7. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 6 wherein said tone responsive means comprises:

a voltage source connected to said first motor and said second motor at a common end;

a switch means connecting said voltage source to the other end of either said first or said second motor depending on whether the switch is actuated or unactuated; and

means for actuating said switch means for the duration of the reception of a tone signal.

8. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 6 wherein said tone responsive means comprises:

a voltage source connected to said first motor and said second motor at a common end;

a switch means closing a current path for said first motor or said second motor; and

a squaring circuit means for generating pulses having a duration that is equal to the duration for which said tone is not received, the pulses of said squaring circuit actuating said switch means.

9. The radio-controlled wheel toy of claim 6 wherein said tone responsive means comprises:

a voltage source connected to said first motor and said second motor at a common end;

a squaring circuit means for generating pulses having a duration that is equal to the duration for which said tone is not received;

a first transistor switch means connected to said first motor means and ground, said switch means actuated by the pulses from said squaring circuit for closing the path between said first motor means and ground; and

a second transistor switch means connected to said second motor means and ground, said second switch means being actuated when said first switch means is unactuated.