Apparatus and method for gyroscopic steering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for gyroscopic steering of a vehicle comprising a flywheel tiltable on its axis of rotation where tilting of the axis causes rotation of the vehicle. When applied to a car, the gyroscopic assembly further includes a steering system with wheels mounted on a tilted pivotable axis wherein rotation of the chassis of the car in one direction causes the wheels on that side of the car to move together and the wheels on the opposite side of the car to move apart, thereby causing the car to turn. The apparatus of the present invention further provides commutative delivery of power to the motor spinning the flywheel, thus allowing the flywheel to be rotated 360° without interference from wires.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to toy vehicles, and more particularly, toy vehicles with a gyroscopic element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Remote control cars, and particularly remote control cars with a gyroscopic element are well known. Typically, the car contains a horizontally mounted flywheel with a vertical spin axis which is rotated through a series of gears connected to the rear wheels.

There are also several types of cars with a gyroscopic element that are not remote controlled. U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,067 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,041 both describe friction driven toys, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,396 describes the use of a “toy vehicle-projecting gun assembly”. U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,627 describes a remote control toy vehicle where the rear wheels themselves act as the flywheels, and the steering is initiated by a pair of motors separately connected to each rear wheel. When the vehicle wishes to turn, one of the motors speeds up one of the rear wheels, rotating it faster than the other rear wheel, thus, turning the car in the desired direction.

As well as remote control cars, there also exists remote control motorcycle toys which use a gyroscopic element to maintain the stability of the toy. U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,439 describes a remote controlled motorcycle with a gyroscopic flywheel mounted between the two wheels and operatively connected to the clutch, while U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,891 describes a motorcycle with the flywheel located inside the rear wheel, spinning at a faster rate. Both of these flywheels have similar results, when the motorcycle leans during a turn, the flywheel assists in righting the toy back to the upright position.

In all of these toy vehicles, the flywheel rotates around a fixed axis within the vehicle, thereby limiting the tricks and stunts the vehicle can perform.

There remains a need for a toy vehicle which has further improved stability, so that it can perform even more difficult stunts.

There also remains a need for a method of improved steering, through the movement of the gyroscopic flywheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present apparatus achieves all of the above stated needs, as will be described below. The first main embodiment of the device comprises a toy with moveable parts. In this particular embodiment the toy is a vehicle, with at least one front wheel, at least one rear wheel, a chassis, a flywheel having generally central positioning within the chassis, and a flywheel casing which houses the flywheel within the chassis. The axis of the flywheel casing is generally horizontal, along the width of the vehicle. The axis of the flywheel is connected to the flywheel casing, so as the casing rotates about its axis, the position of the flywheel axis rotates as well. The casing axis and the flywheel axis are always perpendicular to each other. Additionally, the flywheel casing is commutated within the vehicle, allowing the casing to rotate a full 360 degrees. To control the movement of the vehicle even more precisely, the mass of the flywheel and flywheel casing should be greater than the mass of the remainder of the vehicle. One way to accomplish this is to have no sub-assembly housing the gyroscope. In the main embodiment of the vehicle, the chassis itself is the housing. This allows the vehicle to be lighter.

Another main embodiment of the invention is the method of steering using the gyroscopic assembly. For this particular embodiment, the gyroscope is being user to steer a remote controlled toy car, although gyroscopic steering could be used for steering many other types of moveable objects. Steering the remote controlled vehicle comprises the steps of placing a flywheel within a flywheel casing, placing the flywheel casing generally within the centre of the vehicle, spinning the flywheel within the casing, and rotating the casing so that the flywheel axis is at an angle which causes the vehicle to precess in the desired direction. In the main embodiment of the vehicle, where the vehicle is a car, the rotating the flywheel axis to an angle which causes the vehicle to precess causes a 45 degree cant in the front and rear axis of the wheels.

Other aspects and advantages of the device will become apparent from the following Detailed Description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with the flywheel device being shown in the interior of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the vehicle from FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the flywheel device.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the interior of the vehicle.

FIG. 5 shows various movements of the flywheel axis and the flywheel and the different vehicle precessions they produce.

FIG. 6 shows the vehicle being turned by the movement of the flywheel and its axis.

FIG. 7 shows various stunts the vehicle can perform.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section of the flywheel and the flywheel casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference is now made to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a toy car viewing the method and apparatus of the present invention. Specifically, the present invention provides a toy with a gyroscope 11 wherein the gyroscope 11 has the dual purpose of providing both stability and for steering the vehicle.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. An exploded view is provided. A flywheel 30 is rotated using a flywheel motor 18. Flywheel motor 18 includes a first gear 43 which in turn rotates a gear 45 on flywheel axis 44. Flywheel axis 44 is connected to flywheel 30, wherein rotation of flywheel gear 45 causes rotation of flywheel 30. In the preferred embodiment, flywheel 30 comprises a plastic inner surface with a metal ring on the outside. This provides an increased weight for flywheel 30 while maintaining lower manufacturing costs for the remainder of the flywheel.

Flywheel 30 is rotationally connected within flywheel casing 32. Flywheel casing 32 provides a receptacle 33 in which flywheel axis 44 rests, thereby providing restricted lateral motion while allowing rotation.

A gyro gear 40 is connected to flywheel casing 32 and provides the ability to rotate flywheel axis 44. Gyro gear 40 is in turn rotated using a gyro motor 16. Various gears may be implemented between gyro motor 16 and gyro gear 40, and in a preferred embodiment an auger gear 39 is used to rotate gyro gear 40.

Casing 32 is further axially connected to the chassis of a vehicle through the use of an axial pin 52 which fits into a receptacle 54 within bracket 56. Pin 52 allows gyroscope 11 to axially rotate. This can be seen in more detail in FIG. 8.

Electrical connection to flywheel motor 18 is provided through wires 58 and 60. Flywheel motor 18 is preferably DC motor and the supply of power to this type of motor is well known.

In a preferred embodiment, wires 58 and 60 are connected to pins 52. In this preferred embodiment, pins 52 are conductive and supply wires 62 and 64 include commutative ends 66 and 68 respectively. Commutative ends 66 and 68 fit over pins 52 and thus allow power to be commutated to flywheel motor 18. This provides the advantage that gyro 11 may be rotated fully without wires interfering with the rotation or wires limiting the amount of rotation permissible.

Wires 62 and 64 provide power from a power source, which in a preferred embodiment is a battery pack 36 as seen in FIG. 2.

Based on the above, the gyroscopic motor of the present invention provides a flywheel whose axis of rotation may be rotated 360° along pins 52, thereby providing both stabilizing forces and rotational forces on any vehicle that gyroscope 11 is mounted.

In one embodiment the gyroscope of the present invention is mounted within a toy car. Vehicle 10 includes a chassis 20, a front axle 22, front wheels 24, rear axle 26, and rear wheels 28. In order to accommodate gyroscopic steering, front axle 22 is connected to chassis 20 using an angled pivot axle 23. Angled pivot axle 23 is rotationally connected at its ends to chassis 20 wherein the front pivot point is higher than the rear pivot point. In this way wheels 24 move up and back or down and forward.

Similarly, rear wheels 28 are connected to axle 26 which is in turn connected to the chassis using a pivot axle 27. Pivot axle 27 is rotatably connected higher at rearward end and lower at the forward end of axle 27 and allows rear wheels 28 to tilt upwards when moved forward and downward when moved rearwardly.

The connection of wheels 24 and 28 using pivotal axes 23 and 27 provides the advantage that when rotational force is applied to chassis 20 causing the left side of vehicle 10 to go down, the pivot axes provide that the left front wheel 24 and left rear wheel 28 move closer together and that the right front wheel 24 and right rear wheel 28 move farther apart thereby providing the vehicle with the ability to turn left. Similarly, when a rotational force is applied to the vehicle causing the right side of the vehicle to move downwards, the right front wheel 24 and right rear wheel 28 move closer together and the left front wheel 24 and left rear wheel 28 move farther apart, thereby causing the vehicle to move right.

Rear wheel 28 in a preferred embodiment is driven through drive motor 14, which is located along axle 26. In a preferred embodiment, drive motor 14 is a DC motor and such motors are well known to those skilled in the art.

Vehicle 10 is preferably remote controlled. As illustrated in FIG. 2, remote control 12 provides a radio signal which is received by an antenna on vehicle 10. A circuit board 34 processes this signal and, based on the signal, controls drive motor 14 and gyro motor 16.

Drive motor 14 allows vehicle 10 to move forward or backward depending on the rotation of motor 14. Gyro motor 16 causes gyro 11 to rotate along the axis of pins 52. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the rotation of gyroscope 11 causes angular motion on vehicle 10. Reference is now made to FIG. 5.

As will be seen in FIG. 5, when flywheel 30 is horizontally oriented with relation to the vehicle 10, the rotational motion of flywheel 30 is resisted by the friction of wheels 24 and 28 and thus the vehicle will go in a straight direction.

When flywheel 30 is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane, the rotational motion of flywheel 30 however causes vehicle 20 to rotate. This is because vehicle 10 is preferably comprised of materials that make its weight comparable to flywheel 30, if not lighter than flywheel 30.

If the rotational motion of flywheel 30 causes the right side of the vehicle to go down then this will cause the wheels on the right side of the vehicle to move closer together which causes the vehicle to turn right. Conversely, if the left side of the vehicle is caused to tilt downwards, the left side wheels move closer together thus causing the vehicle to turn left.

FIG. 5 illustrates the forces caused by the tilting of flywheel 30 and FIG. 6 illustrates the turning of the vehicle based on these forces.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates the turning of a vehicle based on movement of the flywheel. In FIG. 6, the flywheel is illustrated on the right side and the vehicle is illustrated on the left side, wherein the movement of the flywheel as indicated by the arrows on the flywheel corresponds with the action of the vehicle as illustrated in the left column and as shown by the arrows on the vehicle.

In the beginning configuration 601, flywheel 30 is rotating in a clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow on flywheel 30. As the axis is not rotating, vehicle 10 does not have any rotational forces acting on it and thus continues in a straight direction. In configuration 602, flywheel 30 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction. Axis 44 is tilted towards the front of the vehicle, i.e., the lower portion of flywheel 30 is tilted out of the page as illustrated by arrow 603 which causes a force towards the right of the vehicle as illustrated by arrow 604. The rightward force causes front axle 22 and rear axle 26 to move towards each other on the right side of the vehicle thereby allowing the vehicle to turn to the right.

Referring to configuration 610, axis 44 has stopped moving thereby eliminating the rightward force from configuration 602. This causes the body of the vehicle to be stable and thereby travel in a straight direction.

In configuration 615, axis 44 is moved towards the rear of the vehicle or, in other words, the upper portion of flywheel 30 is moved out of the page as illustrated by arrow 617. This causes a leftward force as illustrated by arrow 619, thereby causing axles 22 and 26 to move towards each other on the left side of the vehicle and allowing the vehicle to turn left.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7. The additional advantages of having a flywheel that can tilt along its rotational axis is the stunts which a vehicle may perform based on this flywheel. For example, in FIG. 7 a vehicle is shown going over a ramp. The rotation of the flywheel while the vehicle is in the air provides precession 50 which allows vehicle 10 to rotate in the air. Similarly, rotation is illustrated on the ground when the vehicle's wheels are not touching the ground.

The method and apparatus of the present invention has been described with relation to a car. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the use of gyroscope steering can be used with other toys or vehicles. Specifically, the use of this steering in a boat, motorcycle, plane, helicopter, or other vehicles is considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, toys which are not vehicles could also benefit from the rotation of the axis of a gyroscope.

The above invention has been described with relation to the preferred embodiment. However, the invention is not meant to be limited by the above disclosure, and is only limited by the claims below.

Claims

1. A toy vehicle with a chassis and a driving means for the chassis, the toy vehicle having an improved steering system comprising: a) a motor located within the chassis; b) a gyro assembly located within the chassis, the gyro assembly including: i) a housing; ii) a housing axis fixed to the chassis and aligned perpendicular to a drive direction of said vehicle; iii) a gyro located within the housing; iv) a gyro motor located within the housing and drivingly coupled to the gyro, and v) a gyro axis rigidly connected to the housing perpendicular to the housing axis c) a plurality of gears connecting the motor to the gyro assembly; and d) turning means controlled by the movement of the gyro axis.

2. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the mass of the gyro assembly is greater than the mass of the remainder of the vehicle.

3. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving means is a drive motor.

4. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the gyro assembly is commutated, thereby allowing the housing to rotate 360 degrees around the housing axis.

5. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the toy is a wheeled toy which includes a front axle and a rear axle connected to a front and rear ends respectively, and at least one front wheel attached to the front axle and at least one back wheel attached to the rear axle.

6. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 5, wherein the turning means of the wheeled toy includes a front and rear pivot axle attached perpendicularly to the front and rear axle respectively, said front and rear pivot axles being rotatably mounted at an angle to said chassis.

7. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the toy is a boat.

8. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 7, wherein the turning means is a rudder.

9. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor and the driving means are controlled by a hand-held remote.

10. The toy vehicle claimed in claim 9, wherein the hand-held remote controls the motor and driving means by a radio signal;

11. A gyro assembly for a toy, the assembly comprising: a) a housing having a fixed housing axis; b) a gyro located within the housing; c) a gyro motor located within the housing and drivingly coupled to the gyro; d) a gyro axis rigidly connected to the housing perpendicular to the housing axis; and e) a gyro gear for tilting said housing about said housing axis.

12. The gyro assembly claimed in claim 11, wherein the housing may rotate 360 degrees around the housing axis.

13. The gyro assembly claimed in claim 11, wherein said housing further includes pins on said housing axis.

14. The gyro assembly claimed in claim 13, wherein said pins are conductive.

15. The gyro assembly claimed in claim 14, wherein said gyro motor is electrically connected to said pins and power is commutated to said pins from a power source.

16. A method of steering a vehicle, said vehicle having a gyro assembly with a housing, a housing axis fixed within the vehicle and aligned perpendicular to a drive direction of the vehicle, a gyro located within the housing, said gyro being rotated by a gyro motor, and having an axis connected to the housing perpendicular to the housing axis, said method comprising the steps of: a) rotating the housing along said housing axis in a first direction when a right turn is desired; b) rotating the housing along said housing axis in a second direction when a left turn is desired; c) leaving the housing axis stationary when it is desired that the vehicle proceed in a straight direction, wherein rotation of the housing axis causes the vehicle to precess in a desired direction.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said housing axis is rotated through a motor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said motor is controlled by a wireless means.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein power to said gyro motor is commutated, thereby allowing said housing to rotate 360 degrees around said housing axis.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle is a wheeled vehicle having a front and rear axle connected to a front and rear end of said vehicle.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the wheeled toy includes a front and rear pivot axle attached perpendicularly to the front and rear axle respectively, said front and rear pivot axles being rotatably mounted at an angle to said chassis said rotating steps causing said vehicle to precess along said front and rear pivot axles.