Toy vehicle track sets may include one or more track sections arranged to form a path around which one or more toy vehicles can travel. The toy vehicles may be either self-powered or receive power from an external source. Devices used to accelerate unpowered toy vehicles around a track are often referred to as boosters.
Boosters typically include a pair of motor-driven rotating wheels flanking a linear portion of the track. As a vehicle passes between the booster wheels, the rotating wheels temporarily engage the sides of the toy vehicle and accelerate the toy vehicle forward.
Typical booster wheels suffer from several problems. Typical booster motors constantly work to keep the booster wheels spinning at all times. This can waste a substantial amount of energy. As such, typical boosters that are powered by batteries may require frequent battery changes. Furthermore, typical boosters accelerate toy vehicles over a linear portion of the track and are incapable of accelerating a toy vehicle around a corner of the track. Furthermore, because typical boosters engage the sides of a toy vehicle, they may not perform well with toy vehicles that have irregularly shaped sides.
A corner booster for a toy vehicle track set is provided. The corner booster includes an entrance to which a toy vehicle enters the booster, and an exit from which the toy vehicle exits the booster. The entrance and exit are orientated so that the toy vehicle turns when traveling from the entrance to the exit. The corner booster further includes a booster member for applying a force to the toy vehicle. The force applied by the booster member increases the speed of the toy vehicle as the toy vehicle travels from the entrance to the exit. The corner booster includes a cocking mechanism that cocks the booster member with preloaded mechanical energy. The preloaded mechanical energy is used to move the booster member to apply the boosting force to the toy vehicle.
Corner booster 16 includes an entrance 20 to which a toy vehicle enters the booster from the inbound section of the track. The booster also includes an exit 22 from which the toy vehicle exits the booster to the outbound section of the track. The booster further includes a curved portion 24 intermediate the entrance and the exit. The curved portion of the corner booster directs a toy vehicle through a turn as it travels from the entrance to the exit.
The entrance and the exit may include rolling surfaces that align with the inbound and outbound sections of the track, respectively. In this way, a toy vehicle can easily travel from the inbound section of the track to the entrance, and then from the exit to the outbound section of the track. The entrance, exit, and/or curved portion may optionally include sidewalls and/or other guides that help direct a toy vehicle into or out of a turn. Furthermore, the entrance, exit, and/or curved portion may include a top that at least partially encloses the vehicle path of the corner booster.
In the illustrated example, entrance 20 is on the left side of the corner booster, and exit 22 is on the right side of the corner booster. Such an arrangement directs a toy vehicle through a right-hand turn. It is to be understood that a corner booster can alternatively be configured to direct a toy vehicle through a left hand turn.
Corner booster 16 includes a pivot 30 that allows the angle between the entrance and the exit to be selectively adjusted. In other words, the corner booster can be manipulated so as to turn toy vehicles to varying degrees.
Pivot 30 allows the variable plate to move relative to the base plate. In the illustrated embodiment, pivot 30 includes a central shaft 50 that is in a fixed position relative the base plate. The pivot also includes a guide 52 that is in a fixed position relative the variable plate. Guide 52 is adapted to pivotably engage shaft 50, such that the guide can rotate about the shaft. It is to be understood that other pivoting arrangements are within the scope of this disclosure, and pivot 30 is provided as a nonlimiting example. Although not required, the corner booster may include one or more stops or indicators that assist in setting the corner booster to a desired angle.
In the illustrated embodiment, the variable plate is raised slightly above the base plate. To accommodate a toy vehicle rolling from the base plate onto the variable plate, the variable plate may include a tapered edge, although this is not required. Furthermore, a top cover or interior guide may be used to help maintain control of the toy vehicle as it transitions from the base plate to the variable plate.
The variable plate covers more of the base plate as the angle between the entrance and the exit decreases. In other words, as the corner booster is adjusted to turn toy vehicles at different angles, the variable plate slides over the base plate. This can be appreciated by comparing
A fixed wall 60 extends upward above the base plate, and a variable wall 62 extends upward above the variable plate. As shown in
As shown in
As best shown in
In other embodiments, the relative orientation of the entrance and the exit can be fixed. As a nonlimiting example, the angle between the entrance and the exit can be fixed at 180 degrees. Such an arrangement directs a toy vehicle through a complete U-turn so that the vehicle enters the corner booster traveling in one direction and exits the corner booster traveling in the opposite direction. As another example, the angle between the entrance and the exit can be fixed at 90 degrees. Such an arrangement directs a toy vehicle through a right angle turn. As yet another example, the angle between the entrance and the exit can be fixed at 120 degrees. It should be understood that the angle between the entrance and the exit can be fixed at virtually any other angle, including angles less than 90 degrees.
A corner booster can include a booster member that applies a force to a toy vehicle. The applied force can increase the speed of the toy vehicle as the toy vehicle travels from the entrance to the exit of the corner booster. In this way, the corner booster can be used to accelerate a toy vehicle around a corner portion of a track, as opposed to typical boosters that accelerate a toy vehicle along a linear portion of a track.
As shown in
A variety of different mechanisms can be used to activate the booster member in accordance with the present disclosure. As a nonlimiting example, a trigger can activate the booster member when a toy vehicle travels by the trigger. In the illustrated example, the trigger includes a mechanical leaf switch that can detect when a toy vehicle rolls over a pressure plate 80. The weight of the toy vehicle causes the pressure plate to move in a manner that is detectable by the leaf switch. In other embodiments, the trigger can include an optical motion sensor, a mechanical gate switch, or another device that can activate the booster member.
Although not required in all embodiments, the booster member can be mechanically linked to an electric motor that can quickly spin the booster member up, so as to catch up to a passing toy vehicle and push it from behind. In other embodiments, the booster member may be spring loaded, and the trigger may activate the booster member by causing the spring to release its stored potential energy. In such cases, an electric motor can optionally be used to recharge the spring.
In embodiments that utilize an electric motor, the motor can be battery powered or powered via alternating current from an outlet. As shown in
Unlike typical toy vehicle boosters, which continually spin while waiting for a toy vehicle, the herein disclosed corner booster only is activated when a toy vehicle moves into position to be accelerated. This greatly reduces the energy required to operate the booster. Typical toy vehicle boosters may take too long to spin up or spin down to fully utilize the herein disclosed automatic activation system. Furthermore, spinning typical boosters up and down may cause undesired wear and tear on the motor.
However, toy vehicle boosters other than those disclosed herein can be configured to utilize an automatic activation system in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, a more conventional booster can be configured to automatically activate responsive to a toy vehicle traveling by a set trigger point. The distance between the set trigger point and the booster can be selected so that the booster has enough time to spin up. The desirability of such an arrangement is at least partially determined by the speed at which the booster can spin up and spin down.
Cocking mechanism 100 is configured to cock a booster paddle 102 in a ready position, as shown in
A trigger assembly 106 can prevent the paddle from rotating under power from spring 104. Trigger assembly 106 can take virtually any form without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the trigger assembly includes a catch 108 that mechanically links a leaf spring pressure plate 110 to a gear wheel 112. The gear wheel is connected to the booster paddle so that the booster paddle rotates when the gear wheel rotates. In the illustrated embodiment, the booster paddle is coaxial with the gear wheel. Spring 104 is connected between the gear wheel and a stationary anchor, thus urging the gear wheel and the booster paddle into rotation. The catch selectively prevents rotation of the gear wheel and the booster paddle. Such an arrangement is not required. Virtually any mechanical, electrical, magnetic, or other mechanism can be used to selectively prevent rotation of the booster paddle.
In the illustrated embodiment, catch 108 is moveable between a latching position in which it prevents the booster paddle from rotating and an open position in which it does not obstruct rotation of the booster paddle. The latching position is illustrated in
Catch 108 can be moved to the open position by a leaf spring pressure plate 110, thus allowing spring 104 to rotate the gear wheel and the booster paddle. As can be seen in
In
Gear mechanism 120 includes an electric motor 122 that turns a drive gear 124. The electric motor can be battery powered, powered via alternating current from an outlet, or powered via another suitable source. The drive gear engages a portion 126 of the gear wheel such that when drive gear 124 rotates, the gear wheel rotates to load spring 104. Portion 126 of the gear wheel includes teeth that are complimentarily configured relative to teeth of the drive gear. However, other arrangements are within the scope of the present disclosure. The drive gear and the gear wheel can be cooperatively configured in virtually any manner that allows the electric motor to rotate the gear wheel.
The gear mechanism rotates the gear wheel and the booster paddle in the same direction that the spring rotates the gear wheel and the booster paddle, although this is not required in all embodiments.
In particular,
The gear wheel also includes a portion with a relatively smaller radius, which can be referred to as the “off zone.” The off zone travels by switch 130 without activating the switch when the gear wheel rotates under power from the spring. In this manner, the switch does not impede rotation of the gear wheel and the booster paddle while the booster paddle is accelerating a toy vehicle around the corner.
Gear wheel 112 can include a portion 140 without any gear teeth. This portion can be sized and positioned to correspond to the portion of the gear wheel that travels under the drive gear when the gear wheel is rotated under power from the spring. In this manner, the drive gear does not restrict free rotation of the gear wheel.
While the present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it should be appreciated that the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited to those embodiments. The scope of the invention is instead indicated by the appended claims. All subject matter which comes within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims is to be embraced within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007 1 0102985 | May 2007 | CN | national |
2008 1 0009412 | Feb 2008 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2008/062886, entitled “Corner Booster for Toy Vehicle Track Set”, filed May 7, 2008, which was published as International Publication No. WO 2008/141037A1 on Nov. 20, 2008, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200710102985.9, filed May 8, 2007, and Chinese Patent Application No. 200810009412.6, filed Feb. 1, 2008, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/US2008/062886 | May 2008 | US |
Child | 12613571 | US |