Toy vehicle

• US 8,038,504 B1
• Filed: 12/10/2010
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silverlit Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverlit Limited
• Inventors: Wong, Kwok Leung
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hylinski; Alyssa
• Application Number:
  US12/965,696
• Time in Patent Office: 312 Days
• Field of Search: 446/431, 446/441, 446/443, 446454-457, 446/460, 446/465, 446/466, 446/468, 446/470, 446/484
• US Class Current: 446/454
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/004 Stunt-cars, e.g. lifting front wheels, roll-over or invertible cars
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission

Abstract

A toy includes a vehicle body having a front portion and a rear portion. A pair of rear wheels is coupled with the rear portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the rear portion. A first electric motor is drivingly coupled with the at least one rear wheel. There is a pair of front wheels coupled with the front portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the front portion. An electrically operated steering actuator is mounted on the front portion and is drivingly coupled to the at least one front wheel to rotate the front wheels to steer the toy vehicle. When the vehicle is inverted, the sensor detects the orientation change and signals a microprocessor inside the vehicle, the microprocessor responds to the signal and changes the left/right motor control signal to the steering motor and the forward/backward motor control signal on the driving motor.

Claims

1. A toy vehicle comprising a movable vehicle and a remote control device having controls for a user to regulate the movement of the vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle body with a front portion and a rear portion and a longitudinal axis extending through the front and rear portions;

at least one rear wheel coupled with the rear portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the rear portion;

an electric steering motor drivingly coupled with at least one steered wheel, at least one front wheel coupled with the front portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the front portion;

the steering motor drivingly steering the toy vehicle;

a driving motor for rotating at least one driven wheel;

wherein the body includes first and second body housings, and extremities of the first and second housings having a height between the extremities, and wherein the wheels have a diameter greater than the height, and an orientation sensor for determining whether the vehicle body is in a first upright position or a second inverse upside down position about the longitudinal axis, the orientation sensor acting through a microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the driven wheel independently of a user changing the controls on the remote control device;

the orientation sensor signals the microprocessor inside the vehicle, the microprocessor responds to the signal and signal to the steering motor and a forward/backward motor control signal on the driving motor, the orientation sensor acting through the microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the driven wheel and the left/right motor control signal of the steered wheel, a transceiver located with the vehicle for communicating with the remote control device having controls for the user to regulate the movement of the vehicle, such that when the remote control device communicates with the transceiver, and the orientation has been inverted, and the driven wheel rotation direction is switched and the left/right motor control signal of the steered wheel is changed, the remote control device can retain control of the driven wheel and the steered wheel of the vehicle without switching the orientation of the controls for the user on the remote control device.

2. The toy vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the orientation sensor acting through the microprocessor acts to switch the steering control of the steered wheel according to the orientation of the vehicle independently of a user changing the controls on the remote control device, and thereby retain the vehicle travelling in the same steered direction without intervening action by the user.

3. The toy vehicle according to claim 1, including an elastic linkage coupling the front and rear portions together, and wherein the at least one rear wheel is the driven wheel.

4. The toy vehicle according to claim 2, including a pair of front wheels spaced apart to either side of the vehicle body, a pair of rear wheels spaced apart to either side of the vehicle body, a pair of spaced elastic linkages arranged to either side of the longitudinal axis which is centrally located between the front and rear portions of the vehicle, and the driving motor drives the rear wheels.

5. The toy vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second body housing is a chassis for the first body housing, the first body housing is a chassis for the second body housing.

6. The toy vehicle according to claim 2 wherein the controls of the remote control device include a controller for regulating the rotation of the driven wheel, and when the vehicle is orientated in a first direction the wheels rotate in a first direction, the orientation sensor acting through the microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the driven wheel when the vehicle orientation is inverted, and thereby retain the vehicle travelling in the same driven direction without intervening action by the user.

7. The toy vehicle according to claim 6, and when the remote control communicates with the transceiver, and the orientation has been inverted, and the driven wheel rotation direction is switched the remote control device can retain control of the vehicle without switching the orientation of the controller on the remote control device, and wherein the controller is a control lever.

8. A toy vehicle comprising a movable vehicle and a remote control device having controls for a user to regulate the movement of the vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle body with a front portion and a rear portion and a longitudinal axis extending through the front and rear portions;

at least one rear wheel coupled with the rear portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the rear portion;

an electric steering motor drivingly coupled with at least one steered wheel, at least one front wheel coupled with the front portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the front portion;

the steering motor drivingly steering the toy vehicle;

a driving motor for rotating at least one driven wheel;

wherein the body includes first and second body housings, and extremities of the first and second housings having a height between the extremities, and wherein the wheels have a diameter greater than the height, and an orientation sensor for determining whether the vehicle body is in a first upright position or a second inverse upside down position about the longitudinal axis, the orientation sensor acting through a microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the driven wheel independently of a user changing the controls on the remote control device the orientation sensor signals the microprocessor inside the vehicle, the microprocessor responds to the signal and changes a left/right motor control signal to the steering motor and a forward/backward motor control signal on the driving motor, the orientation sensor acting through the microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the driven wheel and the left/right motor control signal of the steered wheel, a transceiver located with the vehicle for communicating with the remote control device having controls for the user to regulate the movement of the vehicle, such that when the remote control device communicates with the transceiver, and the orientation has been inverted, and the driven wheel rotation direction is switched and the left/right motor control signal of the steered wheel is changed, the remote control device can retain control of the driven wheel and the steered wheel of the vehicle without switching the orientation of the controls for the user on the remote control device, and wherein the wheels are formed of low density material.

9. A toy vehicle comprising a vehicle body having a front portion and a rear portion and a longitudinal axis extending through the front and rear portions;

a pair of rear wheels coupled with the rear portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the rear portion;

a first electric driving motor drivingly coupled with at least one rear wheel;

a pair of front wheels coupled with the front portion and located on the vehicle so as to at least partially support the front portion;

an electrically operated steering motor mounted on the front portion and drivingly coupled to at least one front wheel to steer the toy vehicle;

wherein the body includes first and second body housings, and extremities of the first and second housings having a height between the extremities, and wherein the wheels have a diameter greater than the height, and an orientation sensor for determining whether the vehicle body is in a first upright position or a second inverse upside down position about the longitudinal axis, wherein when the vehicle is inverted, the orientation sensor detects the orientation change and signals a microprocessor inside the vehicle, the microprocessor responds to the signal and changes a left/right motor control signal to the steering motor and a forward/backward motor control signal on the driving motor, the orientation sensor acting through the microprocessor to switch the direction of rotation of the at least one rear wheel and the left/right motor control signal of the at least one front wheel independently of action by a user playing with the vehicle, a transceiver located with the vehicle for communicating with a remote control device having controls for the user to regulate the movement of the vehicle, the orientation sensor action being independent of the user changing the controls on the remote control device, such that when the remote control device communicates with the transceiver, and the orientation has been inverted, and the at least one rear wheel rotation direction is switched and the left/right motor control signal of the at least one front wheel is changed, the remote control device can retain control of the at least one rear wheel and the at least one front wheel of the vehicle without switching the orientation of the controls for the user on the remote control device and wherein the wheels are formed of low density material.