HK1070012B - Articulated rider for a toy vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Combined toy

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to an articulated figure for use in combination with a remote controlled toy vehicle, and more particularly to an articulated rider figure for a remote controlled toy motorcycle.

Background

Remote control cars are generally known. Specifically, two-wheeled remote-controlled vehicles are generally known. U.S. patent No.6,095,891 discloses a two-wheeled wireless controlled toy motorcycle with improved stability in which a four-bar steering mechanism and a weighted rotary flywheel are used to improve the stability of the vehicle.

The use of articulated toy figures on a toy vehicle is also generally known. The use of an articulated rider figure in combination with a motorcycle-like toy vehicle is advantageous, particularly when the rider leaves the seat on the vehicle as the vehicle drives over bumps or jumps, in order to simulate the rider's free dexterity.

Disclosure of Invention

Briefly, the present invention is directed to a combination toy comprising a toy vehicle having at least one propulsion motor for self-movement and a handle with an end; a body having at least a torso and a plurality of limbs, wherein the limbs include a pair of arms, the ends of the arms engaging the ends of the handles when the body is in a seated position on the vehicle. At least one spring may be operatively connected to at least one of the handle and the hip to bias the person back to a seated position on the vehicle when the person bounces upward from the seated position during movement of the vehicle.

Drawings

The foregoing description, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

In the figure:

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a toy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with an articulated rider figure in a seated position and a raised position (shown in phantom) parallel to the motorcycle portion;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front right portion of the toy of FIG. 1 with the articulated rider figure in a partially raised position from the motorcycle;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the toy figure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the figure toy figure of FIG. 1; while

Fig. 5 is a front view of the handle assembly of the toy of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words "left", "right", "upper" and "lower" designate directions in the drawings in which reference is made. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof and similar words of inquiry.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers refer to like components, there is shown in fig. 1-5 a combination toy 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 1 and 2, the combination toy 10 includes a toy vehicle portion 20 in the form of a motorcycle and an articulated rider portion 40. The motorcycle 20 is of conventional construction, being remotely controlled by wireless (e.g., radio) and includes a main body 32, a front wheel 22 freely rotatable on a front axle 23, a rear wheel 24 rotatable on a rear axle 25 and operatively connected to and driven by a drive motor 34 (shown in phantom), and a stay 26 with left and right stay attachment points 28, 30. The brace 26 is intended to assist in keeping the vehicle 10 upright and riding on the front and rear wheels by allowing the vehicle 10 to lean partially but not so far off the ground that the front and rear wheels 22, 24 are off the ground. A motor-actuated actuator operator 36 (dashed line) controls the front wheels 22. A battery power source 38 and a control circuit 39 with a radio receiver (both shown in phantom) are provided in the vehicle for remote propulsion and steering.

Although the body 32 of the present invention includes a pair of mating half shells, it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the body 32 to be of other unitary construction or a separate frame/unitary construction. "body" is used to mean both a unitary structure in which the body also functions as a chassis to support the load on the vehicle, and a conventional chassis to support a separately mounted body.

Referring to fig. 3, the rider portion 40 is an articulated body 41 with a handle assembly 50 (fig. 5). The human body 41 includes a head 42; a torso portion 44; left and right arm portions 46, 48; left and right upper leg portions 62, 64; left and right lower legs 66, 68; and left and right boot contacts 70, 72. The head portion 42 is connected to the top of the torso portion 44. The torso member 44 has a front side, a rear side, and two opposing side edges between the front and rear sides. The left and right arm portions 46, 48 are pivotally engaged at their distal ends with the handle member 50 and pivotally engaged at their proximal ends with the torso portion 44 to allow the hands and shoulders of the figure 41 to pivot about substantially parallel, horizontal, transverse axes and to allow the figure to be lifted from the motorcycle portion 20 and consistently return to a seated position after the motorcycle 20 lands from a jumping maneuver. The left and right upper leg portions 62, 64 are connected to the torso portion 44 by a pair of hinges, which effectively function as hip hinges 61 to allow the left and right upper leg portions 62, 64 to freely rotate about two horizontal axes relative to the torso portion 44. A first horizontal axis extends substantially through the front and rear sides and a second horizontal axis extends substantially through the side edges of the torso portion 44. Left and right hip springs 82, 84 are connected between the torso portion 44 and the left and right upper leg portions 62, 64, respectively. The left and right lower legs 66, 68 are connected to the left and right upper legs 62, 64 by ball hinges to provide free rotation of the left and right lower legs 66, 68 relative to the left and right upper legs 62, 64. The ball hinge effectively functions as a knee hinge 65. The presence of the knee hinge 65 may allow the legs 62, 64, 66, 68 to rotate freely, limited only by the interaction of the adjacent stop surfaces 74, 76, 78, 80 (fig. 4) and the adjacent guide surfaces 86, 88, 90, 92 (fig. 3), thereby precluding unnatural motion. The knee joint 65 can rotate substantially only about a third axis which extends substantially horizontally and is parallel to the second horizontal axis when the rider is seated on the upright motorcycle 20.

The hip hinges 61 between the torso 44 and the upper legs 62, 64 and the knee hinges 65 between the upper legs 62, 64 and the lower legs 66, 68 are sufficiently relaxed to pivot from an initial position to an offset position when moved by an external force and return to the initial position when the external force is removed, thereby simulating a possible leg movement of the person. After moving from the initial position, hip springs 82, 84 may bias upper legs 62, 64 toward the initial position. Although the body 41 is described herein as having two hip springs 82, 84, it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention that only the upper leg 62 has one hip spring 82 and the two legs may be connected by a single spring proximate the hip joint of each upper leg.

Preferably, the left and right boot contacts 70, 72 are located at the bottom of the left and right lower leg portions 66, 68, which allows for selective engagement with the left and right slider contacts 28, 30. Boot contacts 70, 72 removably engage the sled contacts 28, 30 at the option of the user (e.g., slide or snap on as designed) to keep the feet of the rider portion 40 locked to the sled 26 and prevent the rider portion 40 from moving freely, thereby allowing the vehicle 10 to be a conventional remote controlled toy motorcycle in a first play mode. The connection does not prevent all movement of the rider portion 40 on the motorcycle portion 20. Disconnection of the shoe contacts 70, 72 from the sled contacts 28, 30 allows the rider portion 40 to move freely in response to user controlled jumps and bumps of the vehicle 10, thereby simulating free tricks in the second mode.

Referring to FIG. 5, the handle assembly 50 includes a cross member or handle 51; left and right handles 52, 54; a shaft 56; and left and right springs 58, 60. The transverse member 51 is substantially U-shaped with a width greater than a height, and distal ends of the transverse member 51 are turned outwardly to define opposite side edges of the transverse member 51. The handle assembly 50 is configured to generally mimic a conventional motorcycle handle in its appearance. The bottom 51a of the cross member 51 is rigidly connected to the motorcycle portion 20. The distal end of the outwardly deflected cross member 51 is hollow to receive a shaft 56 extending therethrough, which is substantially parallel to the bottom of the cross member 51 and extends outwardly from the end of the cross member 51. The left and right handles 52, 54 are fitted with the ends of the shaft 56 so as to conceal the ends of the shaft 56 protruding from the ends of the cross member 51. The handles 52, 54 and the shaft 56 may be turned in the end of the cross piece 51. The handles 52, 54 are removably held with the hands 49 at the distal ends of the arms 46, 48 of the rider portion 40. Handles 52, 54 may provide rotatable attachment of hand 49 to handle assembly 50. Left and right springs 58, 60 are held in the handles 52, 54 in engagement with the shaft 56 and are secured against the ends of the cross member 51. The springs 58, 60 are torsion springs and facilitate the rider portion 40 lifting from the motorcycle portion 20 and partially pivoting about the cross member 51 in response to jumping and collisions (fig. 1 and 2). More specifically, the torsion springs 58, 60 are at a maximum torsional load when the figure 41 is seated on the motorcycle portion 20 and are unloaded and relaxed when the figure 41 is lifted off the motorcycle portion 20. When the vehicle 10 completes its operation, gravity overcomes the force of the torsion springs 58, 60 and the rider portion 40 falls back to a seated position in the motorcycle portion 20, reloading the torsion springs 58, 60. The springs 58, 60 are insufficient to maintain the rider portion 40 in a rotated position. Each hand 49 can be removed from the handle assembly 50 to simulate a one-handed stunt as the vehicle 10 moves over bumps and jumps.

In another embodiment, not separately shown, the handle assembly 50 has a torsion spring 58 and a rotatable knob 52 that cooperates with the torsion spring 58 and a hand 49. This hand 49 cannot be removed from the handle assembly 50. The remaining hands 49 can be selectively engaged with the handle assembly 50 and removed from the handle assembly 50 to simulate one-handed stunts of the vehicle while driving over bumps and jumps.

In another embodiment, not separately illustrated, the handle assembly 50 does not have the shaft 56, but rather the grips 52, 54 are separately engaged with the handle assembly 50. At least one of the grips 52, 54 has at least one torsion spring 58, 60 that is fitted between the at least one grip 52, 54 and another fixed portion of the handle assembly 50 such that the at least one grip 52, 54 is spring biased to return the person 41 to an original position after movement.

In another embodiment, not separately shown, fixed grips 52, 54 are engaged with handle assembly 50, and body 41 is rotatable about grips 52, 54 of hands 86, 88. Torsion springs 58, 60 are fitted between the hands 86, 88 and the fixed handles 52, 54 to bias the person toward an initial position.

In another embodiment, not separately illustrated, there are no separate handles 52, 54. Body 41 is rotatably engaged directly to handle assembly 50 and hand 49 is rotatable only about the outer end of handle assembly 50. Torsion springs 58, 60 are fitted between hand 49 of person 41 and handle assembly 50 to bias person 41 toward an initial position.

In another embodiment, not separately shown, arms 46, 48 of torso 41 may be pivotally coupled to a handle assembly (50) such that torso 41 does not have a separately visible hand 49.

The vehicle 20 is remotely controlled by a manual remote control unit (not shown) having a pair of hand controls and control and wireless transmission circuitry, all as is conventional. A manual operator actuates a drive motor 34 to rotate the rear wheel 24 about the rear axle 25. The other manual control drives a steering actuator 35 to rotate the front wheel 22.

Although the invention has been described in relation to a motorcycle, it will be appreciated that the invention may be applied to other types of vehicles incorporating a rider that can be driven by a rider, including bicycles, three and four wheeled mountain bikes, snowmobiles and surf boats.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. A combination toy (10) comprising:

a toy vehicle (20) with at least one propulsion motor (34) for self-movement and a handle (50) having a distal end;

an articulated toy figure (41) with at least one torso (44) and a plurality of limbs, wherein the limbs include at least a pair of arms (46, 48) whose ends engage the distal end of a handle (50) when the figure (41) is in a seated position on the vehicle (20); and

at least one spring operatively connected to the handle (50) and the at least one arm (46, 48) to bias the person (41) back to a seated position on the vehicle (20) when the person (41) springs upward from the seated position during movement of the vehicle (20).

2. The combination toy of claim 1, wherein the torso (44) includes a front side, a rear side, and two opposing lateral sides between the front and rear sides, and the articulated torso (41) further comprises:

a pair of legs pivotally connected to said torso (44) at a pair of hip hinges (61), each hip hinge (61) being pivotable about two horizontal axes, a first horizontal axis extending substantially through the front and rear sides and a second horizontal axis extending substantially through the lateral sides of the torso (44), each leg having a lower leg (66, 68) and an upper leg (62, 64), the lower leg (66, 68) being pivotally connected to the upper leg at a knee hinge (65), the knee hinge (65) being pivotable about a third horizontal axis extending substantially parallel to the second horizontal axis, the knee hinge (65) having a stop (74, 76, 78, 80) to prevent forward over-extension of the lower leg (66, 68) relative to the upper leg (62, 64) at the knee hinge (65), the hip and knee hinges (61, 65) sufficient slack is provided for each leg such that when the leg is raised from an initial position to a higher offset position and when the leg is relaxed back to the initial position, the leg can be rotated such that the articulated body (41) can substantially mimic a person's possible leg movements; and

at least one hip spring (82) connected between the at least one upper leg (62) and the torso (44) to bias the at least one upper leg (62) back to an initial position after the at least one upper leg (62) moves from the initial position.

3. The combination toy of claim 1, wherein the handle (50) is a component comprising:

a transverse member (51) having opposite distal ends;

a shaft (56) rotatably engaged with the cross member (51), said shaft (56)

Positioned along and rotatable about a horizontal axis extending substantially through the distal end of the cross member (51);

a handle (52, 54) engaged with each end of the shaft (56) and rotatable therewith; and

the at least one spring (58, 60) is a torsion spring operatively connected between the at least one rotatably engaged handle (52, 54) and the cross member (51) to bias the shaft (56) toward an initial position after rotation of the shaft (56).

4. A combination toy according to claim 3, characterised in that the shaft (56) and the handle (50) have stops limiting the rotation of the shaft (56) relative to the cross-member (51).

5. The combination toy of claim 2, wherein the articulated toy figure (41) further comprises at least one other hip spring (84) connected between the remaining one of the upper legs (64) and the torso (44) to bias the remaining one of the upper legs (84) back to the initial position after movement from the initial position.

6. The combination toy of claim 2, wherein the at least one hip spring (82) biases the at least one upper leg (62) about the at least second horizontal axis.

7. The combination toy of claim 6, wherein the at least one hip spring (82) biases the at least one upper leg (62) about the at least first horizontal axis.

8. The combination toy of claim 2, wherein the at least one hip spring (82) biases the at least one upper leg (62) about the at least first horizontal axis.

9. The combination toy of claim 2, wherein the lower leg (66, 68) has a distal end that removably engages the vehicle (20).

10. A combination toy according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle (20) is a two-wheeled remote controlled motorcycle.

11. The combination toy of claim 1, wherein the arms (46, 48) are rotatably engaged with the torso (44).

12. The combination toy of claim 1, wherein the arm (46, 48) is an arm member (46, 48) with a rotatably mounted hand (49), the hand (49) being configured to grasp an end of a handle (50).

13. A combination toy according to claim 12, wherein the at least one hand portion (49) is configured to releasably grip one end of a handle (50).