Two-way slotless road racing game

• US 4,415,157 A
• Filed: 09/28/1981
• Issued: 11/15/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ideal Loisirs
• Original Assignee: Ideal Toy Corporation (Escalade Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lahr, Robert G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oechsle, Anton O.
• Application Number:
  US06/306,043
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 273/86 B, 46/262, 104/304, 104/305, 238/10 E, 238/10 F, 238/10 A
• US Class Current: 104/304
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/12 Electric current supply to toy vehicles through the track

Abstract

A toy vehicle game includes a relatively flat slotless track having spaced sidewalls defining a pair of lanes therebetween. A pair of toy vehicles each having a body, a reversible electric motor and means for steering and/or biasing said vehicle into one or the other of the lanes depending upon the polarity of current supplied to the vehicle are provided for use on the track. Current is selectively and independently provided to the toy vehicles through current supply strips on the track and control means allows independent reversal of current supplied to the vehicles. Current pick-ups are provided on the vehicles in predetermined relation to one another and to the current supply strips on the track so that each vehicle is respectively associated with only one of the current supply strips, regardless of the direction of travel of the vehicle on the track.

Claims

1. A toy vehicle game comprising a track having at least two vehicle lanes therein, a pair of separately controllable toy vehicles having electric motors therein and a plurality of current collectors mounted thereon for collecting current from said track, said vehicles each having at least one drive wheel operatively connected to and driven by said motor therein;

and a control system controlling at least the speed of movement of said toy vehicles including at least three electrically conductive contact strips on said track in each of said lanes located in generally parallel relation to each other, with each strip in each lane being electrically connected to a corresponding strip in the other lane to define pairs of electrically connected contact strips with one of said pairs of strips being connected to electrical ground;

means for separately controlling current flow to the other two pairs of strips thereby to separately control the speed of the vehicles;

one of said current collectors on each of said vehicles being positioned to contact the contact strip connected to ground regardless of the direction of travel of the vehicle;

the other of said current collectors on each of said vehicles being positioned thereon and correlated to the positions of the other contact strips such that one of said other current collectors on each vehicle will only contact the contact strip of one of said pairs of electrically connected contact strips regardless of the direction of travel of the vehicle on the track whereby the vehicles may be separately controlled while moving in either lane and in either direction.

2. A toy vehicle game as defined in claim 1 wherein said grounded contact strip is positioned between the other two strips in each lane.

3. A toy vehicle game as defined in claim 2 wherein one of said other strips in each lane is spaced further from the ground strip than the other strip.

4. A toy vehicle game as defined in claim 1 wherein said ground strips are adjacent to each other.

5. A toy vehicle game as defined in claim 1 wherein the ground strip is the furthermost strip in each lane away from the center of the track.

8. A toy vehicle game as defined in any of claims 1, 6 or 7 wherein said track has at least one intersection therein where one of said lanes forms a turn while the other lane continues in a straight line.

9. A toy vehicle game as defined in claim 8 including at least two such intersections.

6. A toy vehicle game including a relatively flat slotless track having spaced sidewalls defining a pair of lanes therebetween;

a pair of toy vehicles each having a body, reversible electric motor and means for steering said vehicle into one or the other of said lanes depending upon the polarity of current supplied to the vehicle'"'"'s motor;

means for supplying current of the same polarity to each reversible electric motor regardless of the direction of travel of said toy vehicles;

means for selectively and independently reversing the polarity of current supplied to the motors of said toy vehicles regardless of the lane each vehicle is in and the direction in which the vehicle is traveling on the track.

7. A toy vehicle game including a track having at least two lanes, a pair of toy vehicles having reversible electric motors therein and a plurality of current collector contacts thereon for collecting current from said track, means in each of said vehicles responsive to the polarity of current supplied to the vehicle'"'"'s motor for steering and/or biasing the respective vehicles into one or the other of said lanes, and a control system for separately supplying current to said vehicles including three electrically conductive contact strips in each of said lanes with each strip in each lane being electrically connected to a correspondingly positioned strip in the other lane to define electrically connected pairs of strips, one of which pairs is connected to electrical ground;

means for electrically connecting said power source to said pairs of strips and means for selectively and independently revesing the polarity of current from said power source to the other two pairs of strips;

said current collector contacts on said vehicles being positioned thereon in a predetermined relationship to each other and to the contact strips in said lanes such that one of said current collector contacts in each vehicle contacts the ground connected strip when in either lane and the other current collector contacts on one of the vehicles will only contact the contact strip of one of said other two pairs of strips regardless of the lane it is in or its direction of travel while the other current collector contacts on the other of the vehicles will only contact the contact strip of the other of said other two pairs of strips regardless of the lane that vehicle is in or its direction of travel whereby said vehicles are separately and independently controllable regardless of the lane they are in or their direction of travel.

10. A toy vehicle game including a relatively flat slotless track having spaced side walls defining a pair of lanes therebetween;

a pair of toy vehicles each having a body, reversible electric motor and means for steering said vehicle into one or the other of said lanes depending upon the polarity of current supplied to the vehicle'"'"'s motor;

means for supplying current of the same polarity to each reversible electric motor regardless of the direction of travel of said toy vehicle; and

means separate from said means for supplying current for selectively and independently reversing the polarity of current supplied to the motors of said toy vehicles regardless of the lane each vehicle is in and the direction in which the vehicle is travelling on the track.