Claims
- 1. An electronic model train locomotive for use on a model railroad track that is coupled to a power supply for controllably applying power to the track, the locomotive comprising:
- a motor for driving the locomotive over the track;
- an on-board, electronic motor control state generator for indicating a motor control state that is one of a predetermined series of motor control states, the series of motor control states including at least a forward state (512), a neutral state (513) and a reverse state (514--FIG. 5) for controlling the motor;
- means responsive to a first control signal conveyed to the locomotive by an operator for advancing the electronic motor control state generator to a desired motor control state for controlling the motor;
- reset state memory means (507) for storing an indication of a power-on reset signal (509) responsive to a track power-off condition that exceeds a predetermined duration, whereby the reset state memory means indicates a unique power-on reset state independently of the motor control state of the locomotive; and
- means responsive to the indication of a power-on reset signal for actuating a predetermined power-on reset effect independently of the motor control state.
- 2. An electronic model train locomotive according to claim 1 wherein the power-on reset effect includes an audible motor start-up sound effect.
- 3. An electronic model train locomotive according to claim 1 wherein the means for advancing the electronic motor control state are responsive to the track power-off condition exceeding a given motor state sequence time, the motor state sequence time being shorter than the predetermined duration required for initiating the power-on reset state.
- 4. An electronic model train locomotive according to claim 1 wherein the reset state memory means comprise a flip-flop coupled to the state generator and having an output generating the power on reset signal.
- 5. An electronic model train locomotive according to claim 1 including means for clearing the power-on reset signal by advancing the electronic motor control state.
- 6. A method for controlling remote effects in a model locomotive driven by a motor powered from a power supply through a train track, comprising:
- generating a predetermined series of motor control states, the series of motor control states including at least a forward state (512), a neutral state (513) and a reverse state (514--FIG. 5) for controlling the motor;
- advancing the motor control states responsive to a track power-off condition that exceeds a first predetermined amount of time;
- setting an initialization signal (509) responsive to a track power-off condition that exceeds a second predetermined amount of time greater than the first predetermined amount of time necessary to advance the motor control states, the initialization signal indicating a unique initialization state independent of the motor control state of the locomotive; and
- means responsive to the initialization signal for actuating a predetermined initialization effect independently of the motor control state.
- 7. A method according to claim 6 including clearing the initialization signal by advancing the motor control states (510).
- 8. A method according to claim 7 wherein one of the initialization effects actuated by initialization signal includes an audible train motor start, the audio signal only generated when the initialization signal is set.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 08/240,974, filed May 9, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 07/905,502, filed Jun. 24, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 07/479,985, filed Feb. 14, 1990, now abandoned, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 07/037,721, filed Apr. 13, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,431, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 06/672,397, filed Nov. 16, 1984, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Divisions (1)
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Date |
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037721 |
Apr 1987 |
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Continuations (3)
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240974 |
May 1994 |
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Parent |
905502 |
Jun 1992 |
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Parent |
479985 |
Feb 1990 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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672397 |
Nov 1984 |
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