Acrobatic rotary-wing toy helicopter

• US 7,798,883 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2008
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spin Master Limited (Spin Master Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Spin Master Limited (Spin Master Corp.)
• Inventors: Sink, Charles, Elson, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEGESSE, NINI F
• Application Number:
  US12/072,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20090215355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• Field of Search: 446 30- 45, 446/230, 446/231, 446/232, 244/17.11, 244/17.13
• US Class Current: 446/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops

Abstract

A rotary-wing toy helicopter generally comprising a transverse shaft, a plane body fixedly attached to the transverse shaft and a rotor assembly rotatably attached to the transverse shaft. The rotor assembly generally comprises a primary drive connected to a drive shaft for driving at least one set of lifting blades and a secondary drive connected to the transverse shaft for driving rotation of the transverse shaft and the plane body clockwise or counter-clockwise around the axis of transverse shaft.

Claims

1. A rotary-wing toy helicopter comprising:

a transverse shaft;

a plane body fixedly attached to said transverse shaft, said plane body comprising a nose end and a tail end; and

a rotor assembly rotatably attached to said transverse shaft, said rotor assembly comprising;

a primary drive means connected to a drive shaft for driving at least one set of lifting blades, said drive shaft being generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said transverse shaft;

a secondary drive means connected to said transverse shaft for driving rotation of said transverse shaft and said plane body clockwise or counterclockwise around the longitudinal axis of said transverse shaft, said plane body being selectively retainable at angles between 0 and 360 degrees relative to said drive shaft; and

control means for controlling said primary drive means and said secondary drive means.

2. The toy helicopter of claim 1, wherein said transverse shaft passes approximately through a center of gravity of the toy helicopter.

3. The toy helicopter of claim 1, wherein said drive shaft is a coaxial drive shaft;

and said primary drive means is connected to said coaxial drive shaft for driving at least two sets of lifting blades, said two sets of lifting blades being located one above the other; and

wherein said primary drive means drives the at least two sets of lifting blades at an angular velocity, a first set of said lifting blades being driven by said primary drive means in a first direction of rotation, and a second set of said lifting blades being driven by said primary drive means in a second direction of rotation opposite to said first direction.

4. The toy helicopter of claim 3, wherein said first set and said second set of lifting blades are independently rotatable at different relative speeds for rotating the toy helicopter clockwise or counterclockwise on a horizontal plane.

5. The toy helicopter of claim 1, wherein a horizontal center of gravity of the toy helicopter is approximately centered on said drive shaft when said plane body is generally parallel to said drive shaft.

6. The toy helicopter of claim 5, wherein said plane body of the toy helicopter is weighted to position the horizontal center of gravity of the toy helicopter:

in front of said drive shaft when said nose end of said plane body is in front of said drive shaft;

behind said drive shaft when said nose end of said plane body is behind said drive shaft.

7. The toy helicopter of claim 6, wherein said control means respond to a user command to fly in a forward direction by rotating said nose end of said plane body in front of said drive shaft.

8. The toy helicopter of claim 6, wherein said control means respond to a user command to fly in a backward direction by rotating said nose end of said plane body behind said drive shaft.