Abstract:
A WHEEL ASSEMBLY FOR A TOY VEHICLE COMPRISING INNER AND OUTER WHEEL ELEMENTS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED TOGETHER OVER THE END OF AN AXLE. THE INNER WHEEL ELEMENT INCLUDES A BEARING HOLE AT THE CENTER FOR RECEIVING THE AXLE, AN AXIALLY-EXTENDING FLANGE NEAR THE RIM, AND A TREAD PORTION AT THE RIM FOR ROLLABLY SUPPORTING THE VEHICLE ON A
TRACK. THE OUTER WHEEL ELEMENT HAS A FLANGE THAT SNAPS OVER THE FLANGE OF THE INNER WHEEL ELEMENT TO HOLD THEM TOGETHER.
Abstract:
A TOY VEHICLE IN WHICH THE AXLE WIRES ARE MOLDED INTO A MOUNTING MEMBER THAT IS ATTACHED TO THE VEHICLE FRAME EACH AXLE WIRE EXTENDS A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE VEHICLE BETWEEN THE MOUNTING MEMBER AND THE WHEEL, TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION OF THE WHEELS.
Abstract:
A continuously moving endless belt is mounted in a housing so that an upper elongated surface of the moving belt is adjacent and in registration with an elongated open channel centrally disposed in a roadway section supported by the housing. Also, a mechanism is provided which raises the upper elongated surface of the endless belt through the channel and into contact with the undersides of selected unpowered toy vehicles traveling on the roadway section in order to provide an acceleration force on the vehicles in the direction of travel. The height of the belt above the roadway section is adjustable to vary the ratio of the vehicles'' weight shared by the belt and that of the raodway-the higher the proportion of the vehicles'' total weight supported by the belt, the greater will be the acceleration thereof.
Abstract:
A musical jack-in-the-box toy which can be operated by pulling it along the ground or by turning a handle, comprising a sheet metal box on a molded plastic carriage. The carriage has walls that form a recess for receiving the sheet metal box, while the box has sidewalls but no bottom wall. In order to prevent inward buckling of the box sidewalls, a bottom wall of the carriage has pins to push the box walls outwardly against the carriage sidewalls. A clutch for coupling the carriage wheels to the music mechanism includes an integral pawl member with a hub and pawls joined by a thin section of material which acts as a hinge.
Abstract:
This is a battery charger for rapidly recharging relatively small-capacity rechargeable batteries. The batteries are recharged by being placed in electrical contact with terminals that are electrically coupled to a source of DC current, a current path being completed through the battery or batteries to be recharged. The charger includes a spring-driven rotary switch that sequentially contacts a discharge terminal and then a charge terminal, the battery being thereby first discharged for a predetermined period of time and then charged for a predetermined period of time.
Abstract:
A simple injection mold machine comprising a heated cylinder that is spring biased upward, away from the mold, a valve at the bottom of the cylinder which is opened by pushing it up, and a piston for moving down in the cylinder. Downward force on the piston moves the cylinder down until the valve abuts the mold and is opened, the piston also supplying force to expel the material out of the cylinder and into the mold. The molds include wells that trap the first-injected material, which may represent the remainder from a previous charge of another color so it does not enter the cavity where useful parts are formed. The molds also include riser passageways that allow the escape of material when the cavity is filled, to indicate this fact.
Abstract:
Curved elongated track sections including curved upper vehicle supporting face portions with spaced vehicle guiding flanges are described. The curved track sections are banked and have a successively changing radius of curvature for stablely changing the direction of travel of self-powered and freely rolling toy vehicles in a relatively small amount of space. Also described is a dual lane configuration and an added curve segment feature which provides additional vehicle direction change - from 180* to 197*, for example.
Abstract:
A lightweight support structure carrying front and rear wheel assemblies and carrying a rechargeable battery with electric circuitry including an on-off series connected switch and a battery charging arrangement, the circuitry connecting the battery to a self-contained high-speed electric motor except when the battery is being charged. The motor is directly coupled to the vehicle''s driven wheel assembly for high-speed operation.
Abstract:
A toy for motivating unpowered miniature toy vehicles along a roadway wherein a pivoted cocking arm mounted in a housing is manually moved to pull a vehicle accelerating assembly, against a predetermined biasing force, along a rising track until an assembly carried latch pin rests in a shallow notch of a housing mounted cam surface to hold the assembly in a cocked position with its front portion extending downwardly toward the roadway. A vehicle moving along the roadway will contact this portion causing it to rise and free the latch pin from the hollow notch thereby releasing the accelerating assembly and allowing it to be rapidly moved along the track by the biasing force. The assembly includes a lower extending cushioned portion which contacts and pushes the rear end of the triggering vehicle and accelerates it along the roadway in a stable condition.