Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND ~ND SU~$ARY OF THE INVENTTON:
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The present invention relates to an unpowered carrier
vehicle having a cargo portion sufficlently large to
accommodate a powered vehicle of the type having a power source
which can be wound by depressing the powered vehicle while
rolling it across a floor. The cargo portion of the carrier
vehicle of the present invention is provided with openings
above the drive wheels, and the powered vehicle can be
inserted within the cargo portion with its drive wheels
frictionally engaging the drive wheels of the carrier vehicle
through these openings. The powered vehicle can be wound `
while enclosed within the carrier vehicle by depresslng
members positioned on the top of the carrier vehicle, so as
to hold the powered vehicle in a position which allows
winding, and rolling the carrier vehicle across the floor.
After the powered vehicle has ~een wound it can be retained
within the cargo portion of the carrier vehicle to provide
a source of power for the carrier vehicle. Alternately,
the powered vehicle can be released from the carrier
vehicle to speed away by itself.
The carrier vehicle of the present invention can be
used with powered vehicles of the type which can be wound
by rotating the drive wheels thereof in either direction,
or the type wound by rotating the drive wheels in one
direction only. The novel construction of the unpowered
carrier vehicle disclosed herein allows a single power source
to be used to operate two seperate but associated toys.
Moreover the present invention allows the unpowered carrier
vehicle to be transformed into a powered vehicle by the simple
expedient o~ inserting the powered vehicle into the unpowered
vehicle.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIO~I OF THE DRAWINGS:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a powered vehicle,
illustrating in particular the chasis and the dual gearing
mechanisms mounted therein;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line .
2-2 of Figure 1, illustrating one of the gear trains which :;
operatively winds the eneryy storing spring when the powered
vehicle is pressed downwardly and moved rearwardly;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of
Figure 1, illustrating the other of the gear trains which
operatively winds the energy storing spring when the powered
vehicle is pressed downwardly and moved forwardly;
Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the chasis within
which the gearing mechanisms are mounted, illustrating in
particular the spring plate which normally biases the rear
axle to which the wheels are attached downwardly out of
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e~g~4me~t with the gear trains;
Figure 5 is a side view partially in section illustrating
the powèred vehicle within the cargo portion of the un-
powered carrier vehicle, the motion of the contact surface
which depresses the powered vehicle when the cargo depression
members are depressed, and the unlatching of the ramp member
when the latch activating member is depressed; .
Figure 6 is a sectional rear view taken along the dot-dash
line 6-6 in Figure 5; and
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the carrier vehicle
of the present invention with its ramp member lowered to
allow the powered vehicle to be loaded.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:
The toy carrier vehicle of the present invention is
illus-trated in Figure ~; and consists of an unpowered carrier
vehicle 8 having sufficient space the.rein to accommodate
a toy powered vehicle 10. The term "unpowered" refers to
the fact that carrier vehicle 8 does not have a source of
power permanently attached to it, but instead co-operates with
powered vehicle 10 when it is contained within carrier vehicle ..
8. Power vehicle 10 per se is distinct from the present
invention.
A powered vehicle of the type which can be used with :
the toy carrier vehicle of the present invention is.
designated generally by the reference number 10 in Figures
1 through 4, and includes front wheels 12, rear or drive wheels
14 and a chasis 16 to which the subject gearing mechanisms
are mounted. The chassis 16 consists of walls 18, 20 and
22 which are positioned in spaced relationship with the elements
24. . .
As illustrated in Figure 4, there is positioned on the
outside of each of the walls 18 and 22 a spring plate 26
which is mounted freely about a shaft 28 extending outwardly
from the walls 18 and 22. Abutments 30 extend outwardly
from the walls 18 and 22 engaging the forward ends 32 of
the plates 26. The other ends of the plates 26 are formed
with slotted openings 34 through which the ends of the axle
36, to which the rear wheels 14 are rigidly mounted, extend.
The walls 18 and 22 are provided with slots 38 through
which the ends of the axle 36 extend such that it is possible
when pressing downwardly against the top of the vehicle 10
to move the axle 36 upwardly within the slots 38 for the
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¦purpose of engaging the gearing mechanisms to be described
hereinafter, during which time the mid-section of the spring
plate 26 bends. Release of the top of the vehicle 10 permits the .
resilient characteristics of the plates 26 to return the axle
36 to its original position midway of the slots 38, as illustrated
in Figure 4.
Mounted to the chassis 16 is a casing 42 within which
a coiled spring 44 is located. One end 46 of ~he coiled
spring 44 is attached to a shaft 48 which extends through
the walls 18, 20 and 22 while the other end 49 thereof is
I attached to the casing 42. The gears 50 and 52 are also se-
curely mounted to the shaft 48 so as to rotate therewith.
; It will be apparent from Figure 3 that a gear wheel
54 is attached to a sha~t 56, the ends of which are mounted
! with slots 58 within the walls 18 and 20, thus permitting
the gear 54 to move as the sha~t 56 moves within the slots
58. ~ gear 60 is moun~ed to t~e axle 36. From the foregoing
- ¦ it will be apparent that when the vehicle is pressed
¦ downwardly and moved forwardly as illustrated in Figure 3,
the counter-clockwise rotation of the rear wheels 14 and
the axle 36 causes the gear 60 to rotate counterclockwise
and be brought into engagement with the gear 54, at which
time the shaft 56 moves downwardly within the slots 58
bringing the gear 54 into engagement with the gear 50 which,
in turn, rotates the shaft 48 coiling the spring 44 and
storing energy therein.
As illustrated in Figure 2, the gears 62 and 64 are
unitary in construction and mounted to a shaft 66 which
is appropriately journaled between the walls 20 and 22.
In similar manner, the gears 67 and 68 are unitary in
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construct.ion and mounted to a shaft 70, the ends of which
are mounted within elongated slots 72 provided within the
walls 20 and 22, thus permitting the shaft 70 to move up
and down within the slots 72. Finally, the gear 7~ is
fixedly secured to the axle 36~ Thus, as the vehicle 10
is pressed downwardly and moved rearwardl~ as illustrated
in Figure 2, the clockwise rotation of the rear wheels 14
causes the axle 36 and the gear 74 attached thereto to
turn clockwise. The rotating gear 74 meshes with the gear 67
urging the shaft 70, to which the gears 67 and 68 are attached, .
to move upwardly thus forcing the gear 68 into engagement with
the gear 64 and thus rotating the gear 64 clockwise. The simil-
arly clockwise rotating gear 62 meshes with-the gear 52,
xotating same counte~clockwise and coiling the spring 44 to
store energy therein. From the foregoing, it will be
apparent that both the forward and rearward movement of the
vehicle 10 causes the spring 44 to be coiled within the casing
42.
It will also be apparent from Figure 3 that during the
time the vehicle is being moved rearwardly (Figure 2),
the shaft 56 moves upwardly within the slots 58, disengaging
the gears 50 and 54. In similar manner, it will be apparent
from Figure 2 that when the vehicle is moved forwardly
(Figure 3) the shaft 70 moves downwardly within the slot 72
disengaging the gears 67 and 74. In this manner, there is
no interference between the gearing mechnisms when the
vehicle is moved forwardly and rearwardly.
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It will be understood, of course, that upon releasing
the vehicle 10 the spring plates 26 assume their normal
positions causing the axle 36 to move downwardly within
the slots 38 to resume their normal position, at which time
the gears 60 and 74 are disengaged from the gears 54 and 67,
respectively, after which the shaft 48 is rotated in a
clockwise direction under the influence of the energy
stored in the sprin~ 44. This causes the gears 62 and 64 to
rotate cou~terclockwise, at which time the gear 64 engages
the gear 68 causing same to rotate clockwise, at which time
the shaft 70 moves upwardly within the slots 72. The
clockwise rotation of the gear 67 causes the gear 74,
which meshes therewith and which is attached to the axle
36, to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, thus causing
the counterclockwise rotation of the wheels 14 to propel
the vehicle 10 forwardly.
It will be apparent from the above description that
spring 44 of powered vehicle 10 can be wound by depressing
the vehicle and rotatin~ rear wheels 14 in either direction.
When the vehicle is released spring 44 is unwound, turning
rear or drive wheels 14 in the direction (counterclockwise in
Figure 3) which will move vehicle 10 forward, ïf it is free to
move. The fact that power can be delivered to rear wheels
14 b~ turning them in either direction, and that the power
released by spring 44 turns rear wheels 14 in one direction
only, allows powered vehicle 10 to operate either as an
independent vehicle or as the power source for unpowered carrier
vehicle 8. The mechanisms which allow this`dual use of the
power source within powered vehlcle 10 will now be described.
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I Turning now to Figure 5, carrier vehicle 8 is provided
¦with cab portion 80 and cargo portion 82, which has sufficient
~space therein to accommodate the powered vehicle 10 selected.
¦Vehicle 8 is also provided with pàlrs of wheels 84, 86, and
88 which are suitably ~ournaled for rotation. Wheels 86
are the drive wheels.
As illustrated in Figure 7 cargo portion 82 is provided
with windows 90 and 92, rectangular opening 94 in top 95
through which cargo depression members 96 extend, opening 98
(best illustrated in Figure 5) through which latch activating
member 100 extends, cargo access opening 102, and two drive
wheel openings 10~ in,the floor 105 which allow rear or drive
wheels 14 a powered vehicle 10 to engage wheels 86 of
carrier vehicle 8. It will be apparent from the figures
that, although cargo depression members 96 and latch activating
member 100 are ~unctional, they can easily be disguised to
attractively resemble operative elements of a real vehicle~
Returning now to Figure 5, the cargo depression members
96 are fixedly attached to resilient plastic member 106,
which extends beneath the roof of cargo portion 82 and is
mounted thereto by screw 108, which extends through mounting
hole 110 in member 106 and into threaded screw hole 112 in
cargo portion 82. Toward the cab portion 80 of carrier
vehicle 8, resilient plastic member 106 is provided with end
portion 114 having contact surface 116 and two legs 118.
It will be apparent that, when powered vehicle 10 is within
carrier vehicle 10, depression of members 96 will bend
resilient plastic member 106 downward so th~at contact surface
116 engages vehicle 10 and exerts downward pressure on it
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near rear wheels 14. As illustrated in Figure 6, the in-
terior of the cab portion 82 is provided with walls 120,
which not only insure that vehicle 10 is properly positioned
when it is within carrier vehicle 8, but which also provide a
surface for engaging legs 118 to prevent excessive pressure
from being applied to vehicle 10. When vehicle 10 is not
within vehicle 8, legs 118 infringe upon walls 120 to prevent
resilient plastic member 106 from being broken from in- .
advertant depression o~ members 96.
At the rear of cargo portion 82, the ramp member 122 is
pivotably mounted to vehicle 8 by pin 124, which extends
through holes 126 in cargo portion 82 and tunnels 128 (not
shown) at one end of member 122. It will be apparent from .
Figure 7 that when ramp member 122 is extended outward power
vehicle 10 can be easily rolled into the interi.or o~ cab por-
tion 80. As is seen in Figure 5, ramp member 122 can be folded
up to securely enclose vehicle 10 within vehicle 8. A hook .
130 provided at one end of plastic member 106 is positioned
to engage slot 132 in ramp member 122 so as to lock the latter
when it is closed. It will be apparent that depression of.
latch activating member 100, which is fixedly attached to
member 106 by screw 134, will disengage hook 130 from slot
132 and allow ramp member 122 ~o be lowered. Flanges 136 on .
either side of member 106 are provided with projections 138
having mountings cylinders 140 extending from them. As is
seen on Figure 7, mountings cylinders 140 pivotably engage
holes 142 and thereby guide the movement of resilient plastic
mem~)e= 106 hen it is depres ;e~. `
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Turning now to Figure 6, it will be apparent that drive
wheels 86 are pivotably mounted on axle 142 and are provided
~with toothed surfaces 144 to reduce friction as the wheels
86 engage rear wheels 14 of vehicle 10 through openings 104
in cargo portion 82.
With reference to Figure 5 the operation of carrier
vehicle 8 can now be described. A child can wind spring
44 within vehicle 10 by depressing members g6 as he grasps
vehicle 8 and rolls it along a level surface. The rotary
movement thereby imparted to wheels 86 is frictionally
transferred to wheels 14 of vehicle 10, which is held in a
depressed ~winding) state due to the force exerted by contact
surface 116. Since rotation of wheels 14 in either direction
will wind spring 44, it is apparent that spring 44 can be wound
by moving vehicle 8 by either backwards or forwards. Upon
completion of the winding process vehicle 8 can be released
and the resiliency of member 106 will withdraw contact surface
116 from vehicle 10, whose rear wheels 14 will begin rotating
clockwise tas sho~ in Figure 5). This rotation o rear
wheels 14 will impart a counterclockwise (as shown in Figure 5)
rotation to wheels 86 and drive vehicle 8. Vehicle 10 should,
o course, be sufficiently heavy to ensure adequate traction
against toothed surfaces 114. Alternately, latch activating
member 100 can ~e depressed to unlock ramp member 122 and
allow power vehicle 10 to speed off. In summary, an unwound
powered vehicle 10 can be wound by inserting it in an unpowered
carrier vehicle and treating the latter, in essence, as a powered
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¦vehicle. Upon completion o~ a winding operation the unpowered . .
carrier vehicle 8 can continue to operate as a power vehicle
by keeping the powered vehicle 10 enclosed within cargo
portion ~2. Alternately, the child may release the now- .
wound vehicle 10 to speed away under its own power.
Although the operation of the unpowered carrier
vehicle of the present invention has been described in con-
junction with a power vehicle 10 having a spring motor .
which can be wound by rotating rear wheels clockwise or
counterclockwise, it will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that other types of powered vehicles can be used.
For example, a powered vehicle of the type which can be wound
by rotating the rear wheels in one directiononly could be .
used. Moreover, it is unimportant whether the powered vehicle
10 uses.a spring such as sprin~ 44 to store energy, or some
other means such as rubber hands. ~s electxically powered
vehicle 10 could be used but, of course, could not be
energlzed by rolling unpower^d carrier vehicle ~.
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