Miniature toy vehicle manually urged in motion

• US 6,071,173 A
• Filed: 11/03/1997
• Issued: 06/06/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William J. Kelley
• Original Assignee: William J. Kelley
• Inventors: Kelley, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafer, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carlson, Jeffrey D.
• Application Number:
  US08/963,460
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 446/431, 446/465, 446/471, 446/168, 446/462
• US Class Current: 446/465
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/00 Toy vehicles, e.g. with self-drive; convertible into other toys A63H33/003; Cranes, winches or the like; Accessories therefor traffic games with figures moved by players A63F9/14
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 29/08 Driving mechanisms actuated by balls or weights

Abstract

A miniature-sized toy vehicle that is set in motion with a push along an intended straight-ahead path of movement and which rides on a ball bearing in depending relation from the vehicle chassis, the revolving mode of which ball bearing contributes to an optimum length of travel, and wherein the vehicle chassis has a rotative degree of movement about the ball bearing and during its travel will realign itself, if inadvertently released at an angle to the movement path, into a proper position for travel along the intended straight-ahead path of movement, to further increase the length of travel of the toy vehicle.

Claims

1. Improvements for a miniature-sized toy vehicle of a type having a rectangular chassis, four wheels for display only each of which is mounted adjacent a corner of said chassis, and wherein said toy vehicle is adapted in use to be urged by a manual push in motion along a straight-ahead path of movement, said improvements comprising a ball bearing-mounting plate having a centrally located circular wall bounding a ball bearing-mounting opening, a spherical ball bearing revolvably seated in said ball bearing-mounting opening with a spherical portion thereof projected through said ball bearing-mounting opening and in depending relation from said ball bearing-mounting plate so as to contact a riding surface for said toy vehicle, a chassis with wall means bounding a centrally-located ball bearing-positioning compartment positioned above said ball bearing-mounting opening, said spherical ball bearing disposed in said ball bearing-position compartment with a selected diameter of said ball bearing effective to provide a depending surface thereof projected through said ball bearing-mounting opening and into contact with a riding surface and effective to hold said display four wheels in slight clearance positions with only nominal contact with said riding surface, and means attaching said ball bearing-mounting plate with said ball bearing seated in said ball bearing-mounting opening thereof to said chassis so that said chassis has a circular degree of movement relative to said seated ball bearing, whereby in response to a manual push said toy vehicle is transported on said revolving ball bearing in a straight ahead path of movement and said chassis undergoes a circular movement adjusting said chassis from an angular orientation to an orientation in alignment with said straight ahead path of movement to contribute to a length of travel of said toy vehicle along said path of movement.