Steering mechanism for a toy vehicle
First Claim
1. A steering mechanism for a toy vehicle having a chassis having opposing right and left sides and opposing front and rear ends, a right road wheel on said right side of said chassis and a left road wheel on said left side of said chassis, a right turning member pivotally mounted to said chassis steerably supporting the right road wheel on chassis and a left turning member pivotally mounted to said chassis steerably supporting the left road wheel, said steering mechanism comprising:
- a control member extending across said chassis in a width direction, said control member having a right end, a left end and a central portion therebetween, said right and left ends of said control member being operatively connected with said right and left turning members, respectively, said central portion including an elongated slot extending vertically to said control member;
a magnetic body mounted onto said chassis to pivot on a pivot axis extending longitudinally front and rear in said vehicle;
wherein said magnet body has a central axis at least generally perpendicular to said pivot axis and two opposite magnetic poles along said central axis at opposing distal ends of said magnetic body on opposite sides of said pivot axis said magnetic body having an outer wall surrounding said central axis and distinct, opposing end walls extending transversely across said outer wall and the central axis, said magnetic body having a different magnetic pole at each of said opposing end walls, and said outer wall surrounding said central axis being cylindrical in shape;
said magnetic body being supported by a magnet housing pivotally mounted on said chassis and receiving said magnetic body to pivot the magnetic body about said pivot axis, the magnet housing being in the form of a sphere truncated proximal each of the ends of the magnetic body;
a crank on said pivot axis connected with said magnetic body to pivot with said magnetic body and operatively connected with said central portion to move said control member side to side on said vehicle; and
coil means fixedly attached to said chassis so as to encircle said magnetic body for pivoting said magnetic body on said pivot axis and thereby pivot said right and left road wheels by passing a selected electric current through said coil means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A toy vehicle has a chassis with road wheels movement including one or two each mounted to pivot about a general vertical axis to steer. A steering mechanism includes a turning member mounted so as to pivot about the generally vertical axis and supporting one road wheel for rotation about a horizontal axis for movement of the vehicle and about the generally vertical axis to steer the vehicle. A control member slides across the chassis. A magnetic body pivots on a pivot axis extending front and rear. The magnetic body has a central axis perpendicular to the pivot axis with opposite magnetic poles of the body locate along the central axis on opposite sides of the pivot axis. A crank is connected at one end with the magnetic body and at an opposite end with the elongated opening of the control member. A coil surrounds the magnetic body and rotates the magnetic body by the passage of an electric current in a selected direction through the coil thereby pivoting each road wheel connected with the control member.
59 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A steering mechanism for a toy vehicle having a chassis having opposing right and left sides and opposing front and rear ends, a right road wheel on said right side of said chassis and a left road wheel on said left side of said chassis, a right turning member pivotally mounted to said chassis steerably supporting the right road wheel on chassis and a left turning member pivotally mounted to said chassis steerably supporting the left road wheel, said steering mechanism comprising:
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a control member extending across said chassis in a width direction, said control member having a right end, a left end and a central portion therebetween, said right and left ends of said control member being operatively connected with said right and left turning members, respectively, said central portion including an elongated slot extending vertically to said control member; a magnetic body mounted onto said chassis to pivot on a pivot axis extending longitudinally front and rear in said vehicle;
wherein said magnet body has a central axis at least generally perpendicular to said pivot axis and two opposite magnetic poles along said central axis at opposing distal ends of said magnetic body on opposite sides of said pivot axis said magnetic body having an outer wall surrounding said central axis and distinct, opposing end walls extending transversely across said outer wall and the central axis, said magnetic body having a different magnetic pole at each of said opposing end walls, and said outer wall surrounding said central axis being cylindrical in shape;said magnetic body being supported by a magnet housing pivotally mounted on said chassis and receiving said magnetic body to pivot the magnetic body about said pivot axis, the magnet housing being in the form of a sphere truncated proximal each of the ends of the magnetic body; a crank on said pivot axis connected with said magnetic body to pivot with said magnetic body and operatively connected with said central portion to move said control member side to side on said vehicle; and coil means fixedly attached to said chassis so as to encircle said magnetic body for pivoting said magnetic body on said pivot axis and thereby pivot said right and left road wheels by passing a selected electric current through said coil means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A steering mechanism for a toy vehicle having a chassis with opposing right and left sides and opposing front and rear ends extending across a width direction of the chassis between the right and left sides, a right road wheel proximal the right side of the chassis and a left road wheel proximal the left side of the chassis, a right turning member pivotally mounted to the chassis steerably supporting the right road wheel on the chassis and a left turning member pivotally mounted to the chassis steerably supporting the right road wheel on the chassis, the steering mechanism comprising:
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a control member extending elongatedly in the width direction entirely across the chassis, the control member having a right end, a left end and a central portion therebetween, the right and left ends of the control member being directly engaged with the right and left turning members, respectively, and the central portion including a vertically elongated opening; a magnetic body of a cylindrical shape and having a central axis, an outer wall surrounding the central axis and extending in a direction of the central axis, and two distal ends distinct from the outer wall and extending across the central axis at opposite ends of the outer wall, the magnetic body having a different magnetic pole at each of the two distal ends; a magnet holder mounted on the chassis to pivot on a pivot axis extending longitudinally front and rear on the chassis, the magnet holder supporting the magnetic body to pivot the magnetic body on the pivot axis with the central axis of the magnetic body perpendicular to the pivot axis, the magnet holder being in the form of a sphere truncated proximal each of the distal ends of the cylindrical shape of the magnetic body; a crank arm extending transversely from the pivot axis and connected with the magnet holder so as to pivot with the magnet holder and the magnetic body on the pivot axis; a crank pin extending transversely from the crank arm and into the elongated vertical opening of the central portion so as to operatively connect the magnetic body with the control member to move the control member side to side on the chassis; coil means mounted on the chassis so as to encircle the magnetic body and the magnet holder and pivot the magnetic body and magnet holder on the pivot axis and thereby pivot the right and left road wheels by passage of a select electric current through the coil means; and a torsional spring member operably connected between the crank pin and the chassis so as to maintains the control member a neutral straight ahead steering configuration with a lack of current flow through the coil means, the torsional spring member having one end connected with the chassis and including a pair of free arms extending away from the one end along and past opposite sides of the crank pin at least with the control member in the neutral, straight ahead steering configuration. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification