SELF-PROPELLED NOVELTY TOY

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part (CIP) application of application Ser. No. 18/124,322, filed Mar. 21, 2023 (“the parent application”), which parent application claims priority under 35 USC § 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/223,892 filed Mar. 25, 2022 (“the provisional patent application”); the contents of each of the parent application and the provisional patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wheeled, self-propelled toys, and more particularly related to a self-propelled novelty toy configured with a pull-back mechanism and inter alia elements that compel the toy either to “scream” or “flash eyes” or both when the self-propelled toy is in a primed (wound), energized with stored potential energy state and in a “go” (moving), energy releasing (kinetic) state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention overcomes the shortcomings of the known self-propelled toys with pull-back mechanisms.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a self-propelled toy. The toy includes a toy body, a “drive and control” module, including a housing, a connector for connecting the drive and control module to, and disconnecting the drive and control module from, the toy body, an axle with wheels on opposing ends and an axel drive/driven gear, attached to the drive and control module housing, a pull-back mechanism arranged in or on the drive and control module housing that includes a motor drive/driven gear that drivingly connects to the axel drive/driven gear, wherein upon pulling back the toy body with the wheels touching the ground, the pull-back mechanism generates and stores mechanical potential energy, which upon release of the toy body, translates to kinetic energy to drive the toy in a direction opposite that of the pull-back direction and a controller arranged on or in the drive and control module housing, connected to the pull-back mechanism and electrically connected to at least one light emitting diode (LED) in the toy body, the controller including a microcontroller, or other logical elements and an rechargeable energy source for powering the microcontroller or other logical elements, and the at least one LED.

The controller includes at least one sensing element for sensing when the pull-back mechanism has generated and stored mechanical energy, defining a “primed” logical state, and when toy is released to allow the toy to move forward, defining a “go” state. If in the primed state and the go state, the at least one LED is powered to generate a light signal. Preferably, the toy body is any of a mammal, a reptile, a fish, a dinosaur, other animals/insects, or a human sports player, all with an eye, wherein the at least one LEDs are in the eyes. The toy may also include a sound transducer electrically connected to the controller that emits a sound signal when in the primed state and the go state. The toy body may embody a mammal, a reptile, a fish, a dinosaur, other animals/insects, or a human sports player, all with mouths, where a sound transducer is arranged in the mouths. The sound transducers emit a sound signal when in the primed state and the go state.

The mammals, reptiles, fish, dinosaurs, other animals/insects, and sports players, move with the pull-back mechanism. While the mammals, reptiles, fish, dinosaurs, and other animals/insects, generally move in a forward direction, but the sports players move in a forward direction, but preferably in a sliding forward direction. For example, when the sports player is a soccer player, the player slides with his/her knees bent in a forward direction, with the arms out stretched in a celebratory pose. Other sports figures such as baseball/softball players can slide feet first towards a base or Homeplate.

Additionally, track and field runners can be depicted as upright and running forwards. Furthermore, skiers can be depicted as sliding on skis down a ski slope. Other moving sports figures may include basketball players, football players, hockey players, tennis players, or pickleball players. Optionally, the sliding or moving character can be depicted upon a small portion of a playing field, so that the pull-back mechanisms are beneath the small portion of the playing field, which will advance forward with the sports player positioned above the playing field.

In an embodiment, the self-propelled toy includes a toy body, a drive and control module, including a housing; an axle with wheels arranged on opposing ends and an axel drive/driven gear attached to the drive and control module within the housing, a pull-back mechanism arranged in, on or otherwise attached and mechanically connected to the drive and control module, which pull-back mechanism includes a motor drive/driven gear, wherein upon pulling back the toy body while maintaining the wheels touching a ground like surface, the pull-back mechanism generates and stores mechanical potential energy in a spring/tensioning motor mechanism, which upon release of the toy body, translates to kinetic energy and with the wheels touching the ground like surface drives the toy body in a direction opposite that of the pull-back direction; and a controller arranged on or in the drive and control module housing, connected to the pull-back mechanism and electrically connected to at least one light emitting diode (LED) and at least one sound transducer arranged in the toy body, the controller including an energy source for powering the controller, the at least one LED and the at least one sound transducer.

The toy body may be any of a mammal, a reptile, a fish, a dinosaur and a sliding or running human sports player, all with a plurality of eyes, and wherein said at least one LED is arranged in each of said plurality of eyes. The sound transducer is electrically connected to the controller and is controlled by the controller to emit a sound signal when the pull-back mechanism is in a primed state, in a go state or in both states. The sound transducer emits a sound signal when the pull-back mechanism is in the primed state and the go state. The toy body may comprise a sliding or running human sports player, which is selected from the group of consisting of a sliding soccer/baseball/softball player, a runner, a skier, a basketball player, a football player, a hockey player, a tennis player and a pickleball player.

The toy may further comprise at least one sensing element for sensing when the pull-back mechanism has generated and stored mechanical energy and/or is releasing stored energy to drive the toy. Detected generated stored mechanical energy defines a “primed” logical state, and when toy is released to allow the toy to move forward through use of the stored mechanical energy defines a go state. Preferably, the LED is activated by a user touch, or when the toy is in the primed state, or when the toy is in the go state or any combination thereof. The sound generating device is included and is activated by a user touch, The sound generating device is included and is activated when the toy is in the primed state. or when the toy is in the primed state, or when the toy is in the go state or any combination thereof. The sound generating device is included and is activated by a user touch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of embodiments that follows, with reference to the attached figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a child holding a phantom 2-wheel triceratops, with a full line triceratops in full line adjacent and rolling away from the child;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view off the Triceratops of FIG. 1, inside elevation;

FIG. 3 is an underside perspective view of the triceratops with the mechanism exploded down from the mount;

FIG. 4 shows the wheel mechanism removed from the housing:

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the wheel mechanism, attempting to show the gear setup;

FIG. 6A is a side view of the toy highlighting the connection from a controller to drive LED eyes;

FIG. 6B is a side view of the toy highlighting the connection from a controller to drive the sound transducer in the mouth;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a celebratory soccer sports player sliding with the knees forward and the arms outstretched; and,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the celebratory soccer sports player shown in partial cutaway view, displaying interior mechanical and electrical components for the pull-back mechanism and sound and light producing components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are depicted in the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments are presented in such detail as to clearly communicate the invention and are designed to teach how to make and use these exemplary embodiments to a person of ordinary skill in the art. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the contemplated variations of the embodiments of the disclosed invention. On the contrary, the inventor intends to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention, as defined by the appended claims.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a self-propelled toy 10 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIGS. 2-5, the self-propelled toy comprises a toy body 20 attached to a drive and control module 42. The drive and control module 42 includes a housing 42, a dricon-connect portion 34 for connecting the drive and control module to, and disconnecting the drive and control module from, the toy body See body connect portion 32), includes an axle 46, wheels 48 on opposing ends and an axel drive/driven gear 50, a pull-back mechanism 60 arranged in or on a pull-back mechanism housing 61 that that includes a motor drive/driven gear 62 that drivingly connects to the axel drive/driven gear, wherein upon pulling back the toy body with the wheels touching the ground, the pull-back mechanism 50 generates and stores mechanical potential energy, which upon release of the toy body, translates to kinetic energy to drive the toy in a direction opposite that of the pull-back direction.

The drive and control module 40 includes a spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64, a motor drive/driven gear 62 and a controller 70, all arranged on or in the drive and control module housing 61. The controller 70 includes a controller sensor electrically connected to the pull-back mechanism for sensing a primed state and a go state. The controller 70 is electrically connected to at least one sound transducer 74 and at least one light emitting diode (LED) 75 that are arranged in the toy body 20 and electrically connected thereto via wires 72. Preferably, the controller include a microcontroller 73, or other logical elements and an energy source such as a battery (not shown) for powering the controller/microcontroller 70/73 or other logical elements, the at least one sound transducer 70 and the at least one LED 75.

The controller sensor 71 senses when the spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64 of the pull-back mechanism 60 has generated and stored mechanical energy, defining a “primed” logical state, and when toy is released, utilizing the stored mechanical energy as kinetic energy to allow the toy to move forward, defining a “go” state. If in the primed state and the go state, the sound transducer 74 and the LED 75 are controlled to emit sound and light, respectively by the controller. Preferably, the toy body is any of a mammal, a reptile, a fish, a dinosaur, other animals/insects, or a human sports player, all with an eye, wherein the at least one LEDs are in the eye. Preferably, the sound transducer is controlled by the controller to emit a sound signal when transitioning from the primed state to the go state. The sound transducer is preferably arranged in or proximate a mouth of the mammal, a reptile, a fish, a dinosaur, other animals/insects, or a human sports player, comprising the toy body.

A mechanical connector 30 is arranged in the toy body with a body-connect portion 32 (e.g., preferably underneath the toy body to minimize its visibility). The body-connect portion 32 of the mechanical connector 30 includes body-connect pins 31 for connecting the connector 30 to the drive and control module housing 42, i.e., to the drive and control module 40.

The dricon-connect portion 34, which is part of the housing 42 connects to the toy body 20, i.e., the body-connect portion 32 of the mechanical connector 30. Connect pins 31 on the body connect portion 32 of the mechanical connector 30 are received in openings for connect pins 35 arranged in an upper side of the dricon-connect portion to connect the body 20 to the housing 42. The housing 42 includes a pull-back mechanism 60 and a controller 70 (FIG. 4), as explained above.

The pull-back mechanism 60 is seated in a cutout of outer side walls of the dricon-connect portion 34. The pull-back mechanism includes a pull-back mechanism housing 61. Extending out of the sides of the pull-back mechanism housing 61 is a single axle 46 with wheels 48 attached to the axle on opposing ends. An axel drive/driven gear 50 is arranged to drive the wheels when the toy 10 is released in its go state after the toy has been would in its primed state. The wheels contact the ground during intended use, where the housing 42 also includes a housing ground contact point 44. The housing ground contact point 44 is arranged relatively towards the front of the housing, and the lower side of the housing. The wheels 48 and the ground contact point 44, arranged on an underside of the housing 42 between the wheels 48 and a front end of the housing 42 therefore provide for 3 point balanced ground contact. Such arrangement allows for the toy 10 to sit on a ground surface it is used on and/or move stably with minimal friction between the ground contact point 44 and the ground surface.

The pull-back mechanism 60 preferably comprises a spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64 and is arranged in or on the pull-back mechanism housing 42. spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64 drives the motor drive/driven gear 62 and thereby the axel drive/driven gear 50. When the toy body 20 is connected to the housing's dricon-connect portion 34, the wheels are contacted to the ground surface and drawn back (against an internal spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64) to generate and store mechanical potential energy, which is then released as a grip on the toy 10 is released and converted to kinetic energy (go state). The releasing energy drives the gears (e.g., the motor drive/driven gear 60, the axle driven/drive gear 50) to drive the wheels 40 and move the toy forward using the stored energy.

In more detail, when the potential energy is released (go state), the stored energy in the spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64 drives the motor drive/driven gear 62 which in turn drives the axel drive/driven gear 50, and, therefore, the axel 46 and wheels 48. The pull-back mechanism 60 and spring/tensioning motor mechanism 64 therein may be implemented by any means known to the skilled person, as shown in the figures, for example, in reliance upon a spring loaded tensioning mechanism 64.

FIG. 6A is presented to highlights controller 70 maintained within the housing 42 of the drive and control module 40. As earlier mentioned, the controller, which is connected to an energy storage dives such as a battery and also is electrically connected to the eyes 22 via wire(s) 72, provides an electrical potential sufficient to light up the LEDS 75 and to cause sound to be emitted from sound transducer 74. And as mentioned the controller 70 may include a microcontroller, or other logical elements (not shown) and the energy source (rechargeable in an embodiment, where a connector connected to the controller or the energy source directly for recharging is included at an unobtrusive location on an outer surface of the toy body 20). Alternatively, the energy source may be an electromechanical cell or a microgenerator, which includes a micromagnet and rotor that turns with the axle to generate a current accumulated and stored as an electrical potential in an energy storage device (also not shown), as known to the skilled person.

FIG. 6B highlights a controller 70 maintained within the housing 42 that is electrically connected to the eyes 22 via wire(s) 72 to provide an electrical potential sufficient to light up the LEDS embodying same and connected via wires 72 to sound transducer 74 in (or proximate the open mouth 24 to generate sounds according to the logic implemented by the controller 70.

The controller 70 includes is in contact with at least one sensing element (controller sensor) for sensing that the pull-back mechanism 60 has generated and stored mechanical energy, defining a “primed” logical state and that the pull-back mechanism is releasing energy in a “go” state. The microcontroller or logical elements might operate in reliance, for example, on a variable energy_store=1 that defines the primed state logically (e.g., goes to logical high state as soon as energy starts to be stored), and the release state where the wheels are driven to drive the toy forward (e.g., release_to_go=1). The sensor, or an additional sensor, senses when the energy is accumulating and being dispensed to drive the toy forward (when released by a use) with stored mechanical energy used as driving (kinetic) energy. When energy_store=1 and release_to_go=1, AND logic (energy_store AND release_to_go=1) enables electrical connection between the microcontroller and logical elements to drive the LEDs (eyes 22) or the sound transducer 74 or both, for a limited time, intermittently, or until all the potential energy is detected to be used.

In the alternate embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the sliding sports player 110 has a body 120, which may comprise any toy body, but preferably a 3-dimensional (3D) depicted sports player in a sliding or running position, and most preferably, the toy body 120 includes eyes 122 in the form of light emitting diodes and/or a mouth 124 that is at least partially open and in which is positioned a sound-emitting element 126, such as a transducer, where the eyes and sound-emitting element are activated to emit sound and light (in a pattern), respectively, when the self-propelled toy is pulled back or wound and released.

The drive and control module 140 embodies a housing 142. On a bottom side of the housing (opposite the top side with the dricon-connect portion, similar to the dricon-connect portion 34 shown in FIGS. 1-6B), a single axle 146 with wheels 148 on opposing ends and an axel drive/driven gear 150 driven by axle driven/drive gear 150 are arranged. The wheels 148 contact the ground during intended use, where the housing also includes a ground contact point Not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8), which is arranged relatively towards the front, when considering that the axle 146 and wheels 148 are arranged relatively towards the back of the housing 142 of the drive and control module 140. The wheels 148 and the ground contact point therefore provide for 3 point balance ground contact, so the toy may sit or move stably with minimal friction between the ground contact point and the ground.

A pull-back mechanism 160 (shown in brackets in FIGS. 7 and 8), which preferably comprises a spring-loaded motor mechanism, also is arranged in or on the housing of the drive and control module 140, and includes a motor drive/driven gear 162, which drivingly connects to the axel drive/driven gear 150. When the toy body is connected to the housing or the pull back mechanism 160, with pull-back motor 162, of drive and control module 140, is wound by drawing the toy backwards with the wheels contacting the ground or another surface, mechanical potential energy is generated (receiving mechanical energy against the spring tension) to generate and store mechanical potential energy.

When the toy is released from the user's hand, the stored energy from the pull-back motor 162 drives the axel drive/driven gear 150 to drive the motor drive/driven gear 162 (operating as a driven gear). When the toy body has potential energy, and is released, the motor drive/driven gear 162 drives the axel drive/driven gear 150, and, therefore, the axel and wheels. The pull-back mechanism 160 may be implemented by any means known to the skilled person, for example, in reliance upon a spring or other tensioning mechanism.

FIG. 8 highlights that the controller 170 is maintained within the housing 140 and is electrically connected to the eyes 122 of the sports player 110 via wire(s) 172 to provide an electrical potential sufficient to light up the LEDS embodying same. The controller 170 preferably includes a microcontroller, or other logical elements (not shown) and an energy source such as a battery for powering the microcontroller or other logical elements, and the eyes. The energy source may be an electromechanical cell or a microgenerator, which includes a micromagnet and rotor that turns with the axle to generate a current, which is accumulated and stored as an electrical potential in an energy storage device (also not shown), as known to the skilled person.

FIG. 8 also highlights that the controller 170 is electrically connected to a sound transducer 174 in the mouth 124 via a wire 173 to generate sounds (in addition to lighting the eyes) according to the logic of controller 170. As explained, the controller preferably includes a microcontroller, or other logical elements (not shown) and an energy source for powering the microcontroller or other logical elements, the eyes 122 and sound transducer 174. The energy source may be an electro-mechanical cell or a microgenerator, which includes a micromagnet and rotor that turns with the axle to generate a current, which is accumulated and stored as an electrical potential in an energy storage device (also not shown), as known to the skilled person.

The controller 170 includes at least at least one sensing element for sensing that the pull-back mechanism 160 has generated and stored mechanical energy, defining a “primed” logical state. The microcontroller or logical elements might implement in reliance, for example, on a variable energy_store=1 to define this primed state logically (e.g., goes to logical high state as soon as energy starts to be stored). The sensor, or an additional sensor senses when the toy is released to move forward, being driven by the stored mechanical energy used as kinetic energy. The microcontroller or logical elements might implement this “go” state in reliance, for example, on a variable release_to_go=1 to defined this release to go state logically (e.g., goes to logical high state as soon as energy is being used to drive axle and move toy forward.

When energy_store=1 and release_to_go=1, AND logic (energy_store AND release_to_go=1) enables electrical connection between the microcontroller and logical elements to drive the LEDs (eyes 122) or the sound transducer 174 or both, for a limited time, intermittently, or until all the potential energy is detected to be used.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in terms of certain specific embodiments, other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein. Moreover, the described embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel processes and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms without departing from the spirit thereof.