Toy combination resembling a tractor trailer

• US 4,869,700 A
• Filed: 11/13/1987
• Issued: 09/26/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lionell Trains Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lionel Trains, Inc.
• Inventors: Cooney, Daniel J., Reiling, Victor G. Jr., Dean, Brian L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yu, Mickey
• Application Number:
  US07/120,636
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 446/90, 446/93-95, 446/434, 446/462, 446/471, 446/464, 446/431, 446/465, 446/470, 446/290, 446/291, 446/289
• US Class Current: 446/90
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/05 Trucks; Lorries
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/264 Coupling mechanisms for model railway vehicles A63H19/18

Abstract

The toy combination includes a self-powered toy vehicle with driven wheels adjacent the front thereof and a toy trailer with non-driven wheels and with a receptacle on the trailer in front of its wheels releasably receiving the rear of the toy vehicle. The toy vehicle and trailer include cooperative details for locating and interlocking them together when the rear of the vehicle is received in the receptacle. The toy vehicle and trailer are configured such that the toy combination formed thereby resembles a tractor-trailer type truck whose front wheels comprise the driven wheels of the toy vehicle and whose rear wheels comprise the wheels of the trailer.

Claims

1. A toy combination comprising:

(a) a self-propelled toy vehicle having a body with opposite lateral sides, driven wheel means on the body and motor means for driving the wheel means,

(b) a toy vehicle appendage having a body with non-driven wheel means thereon and with wall means adjacent an end of the appendage body for defining a receptacle thereon for releasably receiving the opposite lateral sides of the toy vehicle,

(c) means on said toy vehicle and toy vehicle appendage for locating and interlocking the toy vehicle and the toy vehicle appendage when the opposite lateral sides are received in the receptacle to form a toy combination whose front wheel means comprises one of said driven wheel means or said non-driven wheel means and whose rear wheel means comprises the other of said driven wheel means or said non-driven wheel means, said driven wheel means propelling said toy combination across a surface, and

(d) said means for locating and interlocking the toy vehicle and toy vehicle appendage comprising (1) a peripheral shoulder on the opposite lateral sides of the toy vehicle and a surface on said wall means adapted to abut the shoulder and (2) a channel on each opposite lateral side of said toy vehicle beneath said shoulder and a rib on said wall means of said toy vehicle appendage beneath said surface for mating in a respective channel.

2. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the wall means overlies said opposite lateral sides and a rear of the toy vehicle when the lateral sides are received in the receptacle.

3. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the body of the toy vehicle includes a rear compartment behind the driven wheel means and having a polygonal profile.

4. The toy combination of claim 3 wherein the receptacle is disposed adjacent a front of the toy vehicle appendage and includes a polygonal profile complementary to that of the rear compartment for releasably receiving same.

5. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the receptacle includes opposite lateral sides formed by a pair of spaced apart wall means extending forward from the appendage body and said wall means each have said rib on the forwardmost end thereof.

6. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the mating channel and rib extend transverse to the shoulder.

7. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein mating channel and rib extend substantially perpendicular to the shoulder.

8. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the toy vehicle appendage includes coupling means on the rear for coupling to another toy vehicle.

9. The toy combination of claim 1 wherein the toy vehicle appendage comprises a trailer with a support deck behind the receptacle and above the wheel means thereof.

10. The toy combination of claim 8 further including another toy trailer coupled to the coupling means.

11. A toy combination comprising:

(a) a self-propelled toy vehicle having an upstanding body with a front and rear and opposite lateral sides between the front and rear, a pair of driven wheels adjacent the front and means on the body for driving the wheels in rotation,

(b) a toy trailer having a trailer body with a front and rear, a pair of wheels on the trailer body, wall means adjacent the front of the trailer body for defining a receptacle in front of the wheels thereon for releasably receiving the rear of the toy vehicle behind the driven wheels,

(c) means on said toy vehicle and toy trailer for locating and interlocking the rear of the toy vehicle and wall means of the toy trailer when the rear is received in the receptacle to form a toy combination whose front wheels comprise the driven wheels of the toy vehicle and whose rear wheels comprise the wheels of the toy trailer, and

(d) said means for locating and interlocking the rear of the toy vehicle and the wall means of the toy trailer comprising a channel on each opposite lateral side of said toy vehicle and a rib on said wall means of said toy trailer for mating in a respective channel.

12. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein opposite lateral sides of the receptacle are formed by a pair of spaced apart wall means extending forward from the trailer and said wall means each intersect a respective rib on the forwardmost end thereof.

13. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the toy trailer includes a support deck behind the receptacle and above the wheel means thereof.

14. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the toy trailer includes coupling means adjacent the rear and another toy trailer is coupled thereto.

15. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the toy trailer includes a support deck above the wheels of the trailer and below the uppermost portion of the upstanding body when they are combined so that the toy combination resembles a tractor-trailer type truck.

16. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the toy trailer includes a support deck and wherein the upstanding body includes a lower wheeled portion having the driven wheels thereon, an upper portion and an intermediate waist portion, said support deck being at the level of the waist portion when the rear is received in the receptacle so that the toy combination resembles a tractor-trailer type of truck.

17. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the wall means overlies the lateral sides and rear of the toy vehicle behind the driven wheel means when the rear is received in the receptacle.

18. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein the body of the toy vehicle includes a rear compartment behind the driven wheels and having a polygonal profile.

19. The toy combination of claim 18 wherein the receptacle includes a polygonal profile complementary to that of the rear compartment for releasably receiving same.

20. The toy combination of claim 11 wherein said means for locating and interlocking includes a peripheral flange around the body of the toy vehicle and a surface on said wall means adapted to abut the flange.

21. The toy combination of claim 20 wherein the mating channel and rib extend transverse to the flange.

22. The toy combination of claim 21 wherein mating channel and rib extend substantially orthogonal to the flange.

23. A toy combination comprising:

(a) a self propelled toy vehicle having an upstanding body with a front and rear and opposite lateral sides between the front and rear, a pair of driven wheels adjacent the front, means for driving the wheels in rotation, a shoulder on the body around its periphery above the wheels and means on the body for forming an upstanding channel on a respective one of the opposite lateral sides behind a respective wheel and below the shoulder, and

(b) a toy trailer having a trailer body with a front and rear, a pair of wheels on the trailer body, wall means adjacent the front of the trailer body for defining a receptacle in front of the wheels for releasably receiving the rear of the toy vehicle behind the wheels, said wall means having a surface on which the shoulder rests and having a rib on each side of the receptacle adjacent a respective opposite lateral side of the toy vehicle with each rib received in a respective one of the channels whereby the toy vehicle and toy trailer are located and interlocked relative to one another to form a toy combination whose front wheels comprise the driven wheels of the toy vehicle and whose rear wheels comprise the wheels of the toy trailer and resembling a tractor-trailer type truck.

24. The toy combination of claim 23 wherein the wall means overlies the lateral sides and rear of the toy vehicle behind the driven wheel means when the rear is received in the receptacle.

25. The toy combination of claim 23 wherein the body of the toy vehicle includes a rear compartment behind the driven wheels and having a polygonal profile.

26. The toy combination of claim 25 wherein the receptacle includes a polygonal profile complementary to that of the rear compartment for releasably receiving same.

27. The toy combination of claim 23 wherein the toy trailer includes a coupling means on the rear of the trailer for operatively coupling to another toy vehicle.

28. The toy combination of claim 27 further including another toy trailer coupled to the toy trailer.