Claims
- 1. A toy vehicle comprising:
a hinged, three part chassis having a first longitudinal end and a second, opposing longitudinal end and including a central chassis portion having opposing first and second lateral sides, a first lateral chassis portion pivotally coupled with the central chassis portion on the first lateral side of the central chassis portion, and a second lateral chassis portion pivotally coupled to the central chassis portion on a second lateral side of the central chassis portion, wherein the first and second lateral chassis portions are coupled so as to pivot with respect to the central chassis portion in a common plane; a plurality of road wheels rotatably supported from the first chassis portion; and another plurality of road wheels rotatably supported from the second chassis portion.
- 2. The toy vehicle according to claim 1 wherein each of the first and second lateral chassis portions is pivotally coupled directly with the central chassis portion at the second longitudinal end of the vehicle.
- 3. The toy vehicle of claim 2 further comprising a pair of links, each link being pivotally coupled to the central chassis portion and to a separate one of the first and second lateral chassis portions at the first longitudinal end of the vehicle so as to pertnit the first longitudinal end of each lateral chassis portion to pivot away from and towards the central chassis portion.
- 4. The toy vehicle according to claim 3 further comprising a separate light source in each link.
- 5. The toy vehicle according to claim 3 further comprising at least one spring member positioned to bias at least one of the first and second lateral chassis portions against the central chassis portion.
- 6. The toy vehicle of claim 5 further comprising an electric power supply located at the second longitudinal end of the vehicle.
- 7. The toy vehicle according to claim 1 further comprising a electric power supply mounted to the central chassis portion at the second longitudinal end of the vehicle.
- 8. The toy vehicle according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of strips removably attached to an outer circumferential tread surface of at least one road wheel on each of the first and second lateral chassis portions.
- 9. The toy vehicle according to claim 8 wherein each road wheel includes a resiliently flexible tire and wherein each strip is formed of a material having a lower coefficient of friction than a material forming the tire receiving the strip.
- 10. The toy vehicle of claim 9 wherein the strips define a non-zero angle with an axis of rotation of the at least one road wheel.
- 11. The toy vehicle according to claim 1 wherein each of the first and second lateral chassis portions includes an electric motor drivingly coupled with at least one of the plurality of road wheels rotatably supported on the lateral chassis portion.
- 12. The toy vehicle of claim 11 wherein each electric motor is reversible and is drivingly coupled with at least a pair of the road wheels rotatably on the lateral chassis portion including the motor.
- 13. The toy vehicle of claim 1 further comprising first and second major opposing outer sides, wherein the pluralities of road wheels are of a size with respect to a remainder of the vehicle such that at least four of the pluralities of wheels can contact and support either of the first and second major outer sides of the vehicle on a planar support surface with either of the first and second major outer sides facing the planar support surface.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/423,183, “Toy Vehicle with Movable Chassis Components”, filed Nov. 1, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60423183 |
Nov 2002 |
US |