TRICK VEHICLE CAPABLE OF JUMPING

VEHICULE-JOUET APTE AU "BONDISSEMENT"

English Abstract

TITLE: TRICK VEHICLE CAPABLE OF JUMPING
ABSTRACT
A toy wheeled vehicle includes an inertial element
located so as to move between two positions. A spring is
associated with the inertial element to accelerate it
from its first position to its second position. When the
element reaches its second position the force of the
acceleration is transferred to the vehicle chassis and
the vehicle chassis "jumps" in response to the force.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A toy vehicle which comprises:
a vehicle chassis;
a plurality of wheels mounted on said chassis in
positions to contact a support surface, said vehicle moving on
said support surface by rolling on said wheels;
an axle, at least one of said wheels attaching to said
axle, said axle being rotatively mounted on said chassis for
rotation on said chassis, said axle rotated on said chassis in
response to rotation on said support surface of said one of said
wheels attached to said axle;
an inertial element movably located on said chassis, said
element vertically movable on said chassis between a locked
position and an upper elevated position wherein at least part of
said element contacts said chassis;
force means located on said chassis in operative
association with said element, said force means for accelerating
said element upwardly from said locked position into said upper
elevated position and into contact with said chassis and
transferring an impulse to said chassis to move said chassis with
respect to said support surface;
a retaining member movably located on said chassis in
operative association with said element so as to move with respect
to said element between a position where said retaining member
holds said element in said locked position and a position wherein
said retaining member releases from said element allowing said
element to be moved from said locked position by said force means;
a rotating member movably mounted on said chassis, said
rotating member vertically movable on said chassis between an
elevated position and a depressed position;
biasing means located on said chassis in operative
association with said rotating member;
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said rotating member in operative association with said
element whereby said element operatively contacts said rotating
member and holds said rotating member in its depressed position
when said element is in its locked position and said element
releases from said rotating member when said element moves towards
its elevated position and in response to said element releasing
from said rotating member said biasing means moving said rotating
member to its elevated position;
said rotating member further in operative association
with said retaining member so as to move said retaining member;
rotation transfer means for transferring rotation, said
rotation transfer means operatively associated with both said axle
and said rotating member so as to transfer rotation of said axle
to said rotating member when said rotating member is in its
depressed position, whereby
in response to rotation of said axle, said rotation
transfer means rotating said rotating member, said rotation moving
said retaining member with respect to said element releasing said
retaining member from said element such that said element moves
from said locked position into said upper elevated position.
2. A toy vehicle which comprises:
a vehicle chassis;
a plurality of wheels mounted on said chassis in
positions to contact a support surface, said vehicle moving on
said support surface by rolling on said wheels;
an axle, at least one of said wheels attaching to said
axle, said axle being rotatively mounted on said chassis for
rotation on said chassis, said axle rotated on said chassis in
response to rotation on said support surface of said one of said
wheels attached to said axle;
a chassis extension fixedly attaching to said vehicle
chassis and stationary with respect to said vehicle chassis, said
chassis extension including an elevated portion located in an
elevated position above said chassis;
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an inertial element movably located on said chassis below
said elevated portion of said chassis extension, said element
vertically movable on said chassis between a locked position and a
position wherein said element contacts said elevated portion of
said chassis extension;
force means located on said chassis in operative
association with said element, said force means for accelerating
said element upwardly from said locked position towards said
elevated portion of said chassis extension whereby said element
contacts said elevated portion of said chassis extension and
transfers an impulsive force to said chassis to move said chassis
with respect to said support surface;
a retaining member movably located on said chassis in
operative association with said element so as to move with respect
to said element between a position where said retaining member
holds said element in said locked position and a position wherein
said retaining member releases from said element allowing said
element to be moved from said locked position by said force means;
a rotating member movably mounted on said chassis, said
rotating member vertically movable on said chassis between an
elevated position and a depressed position;
biasing means located on said chassis in operative
association with said rotating member;
said rotating member in operative association with said
element whereby said element operatively contacts said rotating
member and holds said rotating member in its depressed position
when said element is in its locked position and said element
releases from said rotating member when said element moves towards
its elevated position and in response to said element releasing
from said rotating member said biasing means moving said rotating
member to its elevated position;
said rotating member further in operative association
with said retaining member so as to move said retaining member;
rotation transfer means for transferring rotation, said
rotation transfer means operatively associated with both said axle
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and said rotating member so as to transfer rotation of said axle
to said rotating member when said rotating member is in its
depressed position, whereby
in response to rotation of said axle, said rotation
transfer means rotating said rotating member, said rotation moving
said retaining member with respect to said element releasing said
retaining member from said element such that said element moves
from said locked position towards said elevated portion of said
chassis extension.
3. The toy of claim 2 including:
said retaining member being pivotably mounted on said
chassis to move horizontally on said chassis.
4. The toy of claim 3 including:
retaining member biasing means for biasing said retaining
member towards said element.
5. The toy of claim 2 including:
activation means operatively attaching to said element,
said activation means for moving said element to its locked
position.
6. The toy of claim 5 wherein:
said activation means comprises a shaft attaching to said
element and extending upwardly from said element to a position
operable on by an operator of said toy.
7. The toy of claim 6 including:
said chassis extension comprises a U-shaped extension of
said chassis, said U-shaped extension including an opening, said
shaft passing through said opening such that a portion of said
shaft is located above said U-shaped extension.

8. A toy vehicle which comprises:
a vehicle chassis;
a plurality of wheels mounted on said chassis in
positions to contact a support surface, said vehicle moving on
said support surface by rolling on said wheels;
an axle, at least one of said wheels attaching to said
axle, said axle being rotatively mounted on said chassis for
rotation on said chassis, said axle rotated on said chassis in
response to rotation on said support surface of said one of said
wheels attached to said axle;
a worm gear fixedly mounted on said axle to be rotated in
response to rotation of said axle;
a chassis extension fixedly attaching to said vehicle
chassis and stationary with respect to the remainder of said
vehicle chassis, said chassis extension including an elevated
portion located in an elevated position above said chassis;
an inertial element movably located on said chassis below
said elevated portion of said chassis extension, said element
vertically movable on said chassis between a locked position and a
position wherein said element contacts said elevated portion of
said chassis extension;
force means located on said chassis in operative
association with said element, said force means for accelerating
said element upwardly from said locked position towards said
elevated portion of said chassis extension whereby said element
contacts said elevated portion of said chassis extension and
transfers the force of said acceleration to said chassis to move
said chassis with respect to said support surface;
a retaining member movably located on said chassis in
operative association with said element so as to move with respect
to said element between positions where said retaining member
holds said element in said locked position and releases from said
element allowing said element to be moved from said locked
position by said force means;
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a rotating member movably mounted on said chassis, said
rotating member including a gear located thereon, said gear
operatively connectable to said worm gear so as to rotate by said
worm gear;
said rotating member in operative association with said
retaining member so as to move said retaining member;
in response to rotation of said axle, said worm gear
rotating said rotating member, said rotation of said rotating
member moving said retaining member with respect to said element
releasing said retaining member from said element such that said
element moves from said locked position towards said elevated
portion of said chassis extension.
9. The toy of claim 8 including:
said retaining member being pivotably mounted on said
chassis to move horizontally on said chassis.
10. The toy of claim 9 including:
retaining member biasing means for biasing said retaining
member towards said element.
11. The toy of claim 8 including:
activation means operatively attaching to said element,
said activation means for moving said element to its locked
position.
12. The toy of claim 11 wherein:
said activation means comprises a shaft attaching to said
element and extending upwardly from said element to a position so
as to be operated on by an operator of said toy.
13. The toy of claim 12 including:
said chassis extension comprises a U-shaped extension of
said chassis, said U-shaped extension including an opening, said
shaft passing through said opening such that a portion of said
shaft is located above said U-shaped extension.
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Description

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TITLE: TRICK VE~ICLE CAPABLE OF JUMPING
BACKGROUND OF IN~ENTION
This invention is directed to a toy vehicle capable
of rolling on a support surface and further of executing
a jumping motion from said support surface.
A class of toy vehicles are known which have a
member which is capable of moving downwardly toward a
support surface and contacting the support surface. In
response to contact of the member with the support sur-
face the vehicle or other toy is raised or otherwisemoved with respect to the support surface. ~Jehicles of
this type are known wherein the contact member causes
rotation of the vehicle about the center of rotation of
one of its axles to lift either the front or the back end
of the vehicle up. A further of these types of toy
vehicles locates the member to one side or the other of
the vehicle such that upon contact of the member on the
support surface one side or other of the vehicle is
elevated with respect to the other side to essentially
~ 20 tip the vehicle sideways.
:'
; Some of the vehicles noted in the previous paragraph
are capable oE being completely flipped over such that
they roll about portions of their outer body doing sum-
mersault like moves. For the most part the vehicles
which are capable of rolling utilize a member which
contacts a support surface and then, in a controlled
manner, is further extended from the vehicle to slowly
roll the vehicle on the support surface. A number of
other vehicles, however, utilize a member which is vio-
lently or very rapidly thrust towards the support surface
such that the vehicle very dramatically is flipped or
upset.
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Many children are fascinated with toy vehicles which
are capable of jumping over obstacles and the like.
Because of this a variety of toy vehicles have been
produced which are used in association with ramps or
other jumping apparatus which allows the toy to fly
through space in much the same manner as certain stunt
cars do in auto stunt shows and the like. These toys,
however, all require the use of ramps, tracks, or other
accessory items for them to perform their "jump" or other
airborne antics.
.
Thus toys are known which are capable of jumping or
being airborne but these required the use of ramps or
other accessories. Further, toys are known which are
capable of flipping or exhibiting erratic motions. How-
ever, for the most part these erratic motions are limited
to motions which will lift a portion of the toy above the
support surface, roll the toy over certain of its body
surfaces or simply cause it to oscillate up and down.
These known motions are not of a nature which will ac-
tually render the toy airborne in a known and predictablemanner as with jumping ramps and the like.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above it is a broad object of this
invention to provide a new type of toy trick vehicle
which is capable of rolling in a normal manner but which
is further capable of performing jumps or other airborne
motions without the utilization of ramps or other acces-
sories. It is a further object of this invention to
provide for ~ trick toy vehicle which does not rely on
the use of members or other elements of the toy which
must be extended away from the toy to contact a support
surface in order to move the toy with respect to this
; support surface. It is a further object of this inven-
- tion to provide a new trick toy vehicle, which because of
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its engineering principles and simplicity of the same is
capable of performing the above noted motions yet is
still susceptible to economic production of the same so
as to be conveniently and economically available to the
consuming public~
These and other objects as will be evident from the
remainder of this specification are achieved in a toy
vehicle which comprises: a vehicle chassis; a plurality
of wheels mounted on said chassis in a position to con-
tact a support surface, said vehicle moving on saidsupport surface by rolling on said wheels; an element
movably located on said chassis so as to move on said
chassis between a first position and a second position,
said element in said second position contacting a portion
of said chassis; force means located on said chassis in
operative association with said element, said force means
for accelerating said element from said first position
towards said second position and when so accelerated said
: element moving from said first position to said second
position and contacting said portion of said chassis and
transferring said force of said acceleration to said
chassis to move said chassis with respect to said support
surface; control means operatively associated with said
element and said force means, said control means for
controlling the acceleration of said element by said
force means.
In a preferred embodiment of the toy these and other
objects are achieved in a toy which comprises a vehicle
chassis; a plurality of wheels mounted on said chassis in
a position to contact a support surface, said vehicle
moving on said support surface by rolling on said wheels;
: an element movably located on said chassis so as to move
on said chassis between a first position and a second
~ position, said element in said second position contacting
:~ a portion of said chassis; force means located on said
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chassis in operative association with said element, said
force means for accelerating said element from said first
position towards said second position and when so accel-
erated said element moving from said first positi~n to
said second position and contacting said portion of said
chassis and transferring said force of said acceleration
to said chassis to move said chassis with respect to said
support surface; control means operatively associated
with said element and said force means, said control
means for controlling the acceleration of said element by
said force means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE D~AWINGS
This invention will be better understood when taken
in conjunction with the drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a toy vehicle of this
invention;
Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the toy vehicle of
Fig. 1 with certain outside housing members removed so as
to show operational parts located within the interior of
the toy;
Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the components
of the toy seen in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view in partial section of the
components of the toy as seen in Fig. 2; and
Fig. 5 is an exploded fragmentary view of certain
internal components of an alternate embodiment of the
toy.
The invention described in this specification and
shown in the drawings utilizes certain principles and/or
concepts as are set forth in the claims appended to this
specification. Those s~illed in the toy arts will rea-
lize that these principles and/or concepts are capable of
being utilized in a variety of embodiments which might
differ from the illustrative embodiments herein. For
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this reason this invention is not to be construed as
being limited to only the illustrative embodiments but
should only be construed in view of the claims.
DE~AILED DESCRIPTION
In the figures there is shown a vehicle 10 which has
a body shell 12 mounted onto a chassis 14 having front
wheels collectively identified by the numeral 16 and rear
wheels collectively identified by the numeral 18. On top
of the body shell 12 is an activation button 20.
In operation the activation button 20 is depressed
inwardly into the body shell 12. The vehicle 10 is then
propelled across a support surface by giving the vehicle
a push or shove or the like. As the vehicle rolls across
the support surface after a predetermined distance, as
hereinafter explained, the vehicle forceably lifts or
jumps from the support surface and becomes airborne for a
sort period of time and then returns to the support
surface. In one embodiment of the invention shown in
Figs. 1 through 4 certain mechanisms within the interior
of the toy are so located that the toy essentially jumps
upwardly and then lands back down on all four of its
wheels so that it can continue rolling. In other embodi-
ments of the invention, as hereinafter explained, certain
of the components in the interior of the toy can be
repositioned to different locations such that the toy
will perform different motions such as doing a flip or
the like.
Referring now to Fig. 2, the body shell 12 has been
removed from the toy vehicle 10 to illustrate certain of
;~ 30 the internal components. A U-shaped member 22 projects
upwardly and across the top of the chassis 14. It in-
cludes an opening 24 in its top surface which serves as a
guide or pilot hole for a shaft 26 which is attached to
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the bottom of the activation b~ltton 20. Located on the
lower end of the shaft 26 is an inertial mass element 28.
The element 28 is preferredly formed of a metal or other
dense material such that it has a substantial mass com-
pared to the remainder of the chassis 14 and body shell
12 which are preferredly formed of a plastic or the like
material.
A strong compression spring 30 is located within a
channel 32 within the mass element 28. The spring 30 is
compressed between the bottom wall 34 of the chassis 14
and the bottom of the inverted channel 32. ~he spring 30
biases or urges the mass element 28 upwardly toward the
top of the U-shaped member 22.
A retaining member 36 is pivoted via a pin 38 to the
underside of the U-shaped member 22. The retaining mem-
ber 36 essentially pivots horizontally toward and away
from the shaft 26. The mass element 28 includes a shoul-
der 40 which can catch underneath the retaining member 36
when the retaining member 36 is pivoted towards the shaft
26. When the retaining member 36 is pivoted away from
the shaft 26 it clèars the shoulder and allows the mass
element 28 to be lifted upwardly by the spring 30.
A hairpin spring 42 is connected at one of its ends
to the retaining member 36 and at the other of its ends
to the U-shaped member 22. It is compressed such that it
urges the retaining member 36 toward the shaft 26 such
that when the mass element 28 is pressed downwardly by
pushing down on the activation button 20 compressing the
spring 30 the retaining member 36 swings over toward the
shaft 26 to lock on top of the shoulder 40 to hold the
mass element 28 downwardly with the spring 30 in a com-
pressed or biased position.
A drum 44 having a crank pin 46 on its upper surface
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is rotatably mounted via pin 48 to the bottom wall 34 of
the chassis 14. The drum 44 includes a spur gear S0
along its lower periphery. The drum 44 is formed as an
integral unit such that the crank pin 46 rotates with
respect to rotation of the spur gear 50. A spring 52
connects between the crank pin 46 and a tab 54 which is
formed as a part of the chassis 14 and projects upwardly.
This essentially biases the drum to the position shown in
Fig. 2.
The drum 44 has a hollow interior to receive a
compression spriny 56 which fits underneath it and con-
tacts the bottom wall 34 of the chassis 14 so as to bias
the drum 44 upwardly until it engages the head of the pin
48. The mass element 28 includes an extension 58 on its
forward edge which projects over the edge of the drum 44.
When the activation button 20 is depressed the extension
58 contacts the drum 44 and depresses it downwardly
against the bias of the spring 56.
The front wheels 16 are mounted about an axle 60
which includes a worm gear 62 fixedly located thereon.
The axle 60 fits into elongated slots 64 on the left and
right hand side of the chassis 14 which allows the axle
60 to move upwardly and downwardly a small increment of
distance with respect to the chassis 14. Likewise the
rear wheels 18 are mounted to an axle 66 which are also
located in slots 68 such that the rear wheels and their
axles 66 can also move upwardly and downwardly through a
short increment of distance.
When the vehicle 10 is placed on a support surface
the weight o the vehicle 10 causes the chassis 14 to
move downwardly with respect to the axle 60 and 66 such
that they are located in the top of their respective
slots 64 and 68. If the activation button 20 is de-
pressed the inertial mass element 28 is depressed and is
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extension 58 contacts the top of the drum 44 pushing the
drum 44 downwardly such that the spur gear 50 engages the
worm gear 62 on the axle 60. Rotation of the axle 60 in
response to rotation of wheels 16 rotates the worm gear
62 which in turn rotates the spur gear 50. The rotation
of the spur gear 50 rotates the drum 44 clockwise as is
seen in Fig. 4.
As the drum 44 rotates when it nears the position as
shown in Fig. 4 the crank pin 46 contacts the retaining
member 36 and further rotation of the drum 44 moves the
retaining member 36 such that it pivots about the pin 38
and compresses the hairpin spring 42. This moves the
retaining member 36 in a direction away from the shaft 26
such that eventually it is moved sideways off of shoulder
: 40 allowing the inertial mass element 28 to be forcefully
accelerated upwardly by the spring 30. As the mass
element 28 moves upwardly it eventually contacts the
underside of the U-shaped member 22 and the momentum of
the mass element 28 under the acceleration imparted to it
by the spring 30 is transferred to the member 22 which in
turn transfers it to the chassis 14 and the remainder of
the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 then is accelerated
upwardly by the force imparted to it by the movement of
the mass element 28.
When the mass element 28 mo~es upwardly under the
force of the spring 30 its extension 58 moves upwardly
with respect to the drum 44 allowing the spring 56 to
move the drum upwardly until the spur gear 50 on the drum
44 is no longer in a position to contact the worm gear 62
on the axle 60. When the vehicle 10 descends downwardly
: to the support surface the axle 60 is free to rotate and
`:~ any forward momentum still imparted into the vehicle 10
by its initial forward push continues to propel the
vehicle 10 forward. As such the vehicle 10 is first
drive forward, then it jumps or hops and becomes airborne
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and when it lands it continues in its forward movement
until all ofitsmomentum is lost.
The spring 52 repositions the drum 44 into the
position essentially seen in Fig. 2 after each mode of
operation. Further, if the activation button 20 is de-
pressed such that the inertial mass element 2~ becomes
locked under the retaining member 36 it will be retained
in this position until the retaining member 36 is moved
by the crank pin 46. If the vehicle 10 is only moved
forward a few degrees the interaction of the worm gear 62
with the spur gear 50 will only partially rotate the drum
44 from the position seen in Fig. 2 to the position seen
in Fig. 4. If the vèhicle is then lifted from the sup-
port surface the front axle 60 will drop which disengages
the worm gear 62 from the spur gear 50 and allows the
drum 44 to rotat~ under the influence of the spring 52.
Whether or not the drum 44 rotates counterclockwise or
clockwise depends upon the exact location of the crank
pin 46. If the crank pin 46 is off center to one side or
the other from the line passing through the pin 48 and
the spring 56 it will rotate to one side or the other
depending upon which side it is on. As such the operator
of the vehicle 10 will not know whether or not the drum
44 has rotated back to its initial position or whether it
has come to rest against the retaining member 36. The
spring 52 is normally chosen to be of such a stxength
that it in itself is not capable of moving the retaining
member 36 but requires rotation of the drum 44 by the
axle 60 in order to move the retaining member 36 against
the bias of the hairpin spring 42. As such the operator
of the toy can physically move the vehicle 10 forward an
increment and then give it a small shove. If the drum 44
; had returned to its starting position as in Fig. 2 the
vehicle must travel a longer distance before it jumps.
If the drum had rotated under the influence of spring 52
to the position shown in Fig. 4 it will execute its
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jumping motion almost immediately upon initialization of
its forward rolling motion.
When the drum 44 is in its upward position against
the head of its pin 46 the spur gear 50 is lifted up-
wardly out of range of contact with the worm gear 62. As
such in this mode of operation the vehicle 10 is free-
wheeling and can be played with in a normal manner like
any freewheeling vehicle. It is only when the drum 44 is
depressed downwardly by the extension 58 of the i~ertial
mass element 28 and the worm gear 62 is lifted upwardly
when the front axle 60 is in the upward end of travel
within the slots 64 that the worm gear 62 can engage the
spur gear 50. The remainder of the time the vehicle is
free wheeling.
A fur-ther embodiment of the toy is shown in Fig. 5.
In this embodiment of the toy the inertial mass element
70 is moved forward such that it is placed just slightly
behind the front axle 72. The retaining member 74 i9
pivotally mounted near the front of the vehicle and in
; 20 place of a drum 44 a large spur gear 76 is utilized which
incorporates a cam 78 on its surface. A spring 80 is
utilized to position the spur gear 76 and cam 78 as per
the spring 52. Further a spring 82 i~ utilized to posi-
tion the retaining member 74 over the shoulder 84 of the
inertial mass member 70. A worm gear 86 is located on
the rear axle 88 to rotate the spur gear 76 counter-
clockwise. This causes the cam 78 to engage the end of
the retaining member 74 to rotate it such that the iner-
tial mass element 70 is free to be accelerated upwardly
3a by a spring 90 located between it and the chassis 14.
Because the inertial mass element 70 is located near
the front of the vehicle as opposed to the center posi-
tion of the previously described inertial mass element 28
within the vehicle 10, when the vehicle of Fig. 5 is
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operated, upon acceleration of the inertial mass element
70 upwardly against the chassis of the vehicle of Fig. 5
the front end of the vehicle will be given a greater
momentum than the back end of the vehicle such that the
vehicle will do a flip instead of a straight upward jump.
It is obvious that in place of locating an inertial
mass element 28 in the center of the vehicle as per the
first embodiment or the inertial mass element 70 in the
front of the vehicle as per the embodiment in Fig. 5 it
could be placed near the rear of the vehicle or to one
side or the other with a resulting movement of the vehi-
cle corresponding to placement of the inertial mass ele-
ment.
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