Radio-controllable spherical toy vehicle

• US 4,726,800 A
• Filed: 10/21/1985
• Issued: 02/23/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shinsei Kogyo Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Shinsei Kogyo Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Stouffer, Richard T.
• Application Number:
  US06/789,393
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 446/431, 446/454, 446/456, 446/458, 446/460, 446/462, 446/484, 273/58 B, 273/58 G, 280/205, 280/206, 280/207, 180/21
• US Class Current: 446/458
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/005 Motorised rolling toys

Abstract

A radio-controllable spherical toy vehicle including a spherical toy body, a running mechanism, a fixing shaft, and a direction-control mechanism is disclosed, in which the running mechanism is rotatable circumferentially on the center-shaft by a driving motor, and the direction-control mechanism is swingable on the axle of the fixing shaft by a servo-motor.

Claims

1. A radio-controllable substantially spherical toy vehicle, which comprises a hollow, substantially spherical toy body having at its center a horizontal center-shaft;

a running means mounted to an axial center of said center-shaft so as to be rotatable circumferentially on said center-shaft;

a fixing shaft horizontally secured to a base frame of said running means normally to the axial direction of said center-shaft; and

a direction-control means mounted to said fixing shaft so as to be swingable on an axis of the latter;

said running means being rotatable circumferentially on said center-shaft by a driving motor, said direction-control means being swingable on said axis of said fixing shaft by a servo-motor and wherein said substantially spherical toy body comprises a central element of substantially annular strip, a right-side element of substantially hemispherical shell and a left-side element of substantially hemispherical shell, said central element at its peripheral edge being provided circumferentially with a fitting groove, while said right-side and left-side elements at their peripheral open edges being provided circumferentially with respective fitting protrusions fittable into said fitting groove;

a rotatable and slidable switch-activating element having a rotatable knob inserted into a hole passing through a concave bottom wall of said spherical toy body;

said switch-activating element having at its base a switch-pushing disk into which said center-shaft is inserted;

a switch button fixed to said base frame of said running means;

said knob, when rotated, causing said disk to slide along said center-shaft to push said switch button to permit switch operation of said driving motor.

2. A radio-controllable substantially spherical toy vehicle according to claim 1 wherein a shock-absorbing means having appropriate elasticity is inserted between at least one end of the center-shaft and the spherical toy body for mounting the center-shaft to the spherical toy body.

3. A radio-controllable substantially spherical toy vehicle, according to claim 2, wherein said shock-absorbing means comprises a rubber casing adapted to receive said at least one end of said horizontal center-shaft.

4. A radio-controllable substantially spherical toy vehicle, according to claim 3, wherein said shock-absorbing means further comprises a rubber cylinder adapted to receive said horizontal center-shaft and be received within said rubber casing.

5. A radio-controllable substantially spherical toy vehicle, according to claim 1, wherein said substantially annular strip has an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter measured across said right-side and left-side elements.