JPH06497U - Direction changer for toys - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] A simple direction changing device for caterpillar-driven traveling toys, which is suitable mainly for low-cost radio-controlled toys. [Structure] The left and right caterpillar drive wheels are connected to each other by a single shaft, and the drive shaft 7 is driven by a single motor 10. On the inner side of the caterpillar drive wheel on one side of the front axle 3, an arm 5 for concentrically swinging with the caterpillar drive wheel is provided in a blank portion where the caterpillar does not hang, and the third traveling surface drive wheel 6 is constantly contacted and rotated at the tip thereof. deep. In the forward movement state, the arm 5 is stored above the traveling surface, but only when retreating, this wheel descends and comes into contact with the traveling surface, and the caterpillar on one side is levitated from the traveling surface to cut off the driving force. By driving the traveling surface in the forward direction opposite to that of the caterpillar which drives the traveling surface in the backward direction on the opposite side, the traveling toy is changed in direction to the spin state on the spot.

Description

[Detailed description of the device] [Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a steering mechanism for a caterpillar drive type electric traveling toy.

[Prior art]

 The conventional caterpillar drive type operating mechanism for electric toys has two independent driving motors for each of the left and right running surface drive caterpillars, and the left and right caterpillar drive motors are connected to the two current control circuits. When the running toy travels in the forward direction in the drive mechanism from one drive motor shaft to the left and right tracks, the left and right tracks rotate in the same direction. Also, there is one that incorporates a rotation switching mechanism using gears that reverses the left and right caterpillar rotation directions in reverse travel.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In this way, the problems with the conventional control system are that the two motors drive the left and right tracks individually, and the weight is heavy. At the same time, the first problem is the torque of the motors that drive independently. The variation in the number of rotations causes a problem in the straightness of running toys during mass production. Furthermore, since the two motors must be controlled independently, the motor current control circuit must also have two independent systems, which complicates both the mechanism and the circuit. Next, the rotation direction switching mechanism method using a gear with one motor has a large load in the caterpillar drive method that requires a large driving torque when climbing uphill, and it is necessary to increase the strength of the gear switching mechanism. The mechanical part becomes complicated. In all of the above-mentioned conventional methods, some technical solution was required from the viewpoint that in any method, the toys are simple, lightweight, easy to mass-produce, inexpensive, easy to handle, and trouble-free.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to simplify the structure of the control mechanism as much as possible while ensuring the scale feeling of the toy while running. The caterpillar reliably drives the traveling surface at a constant speed and evenly, and runs over a few obstacles, which is a feature of this type of toy. The left and right caterpillars are driven equally by force to move the running toy straight. Next, if the operator who performs remote control etc. operates the controller to switch to reverse traveling for direction change, the rotation direction of the drive motor is reversed and the left and right caterpillar rotation is changed to backward direction. The third traveling road surface drive wheel, which was installed inside the caterpillar on one side and left the traveling surface in the forward state and was stored in the side part of the traveling toy, descends while rotating in the driving direction opposite to the driving direction of the left and right caterpillars. Since the force to push down further after the ground contact with the surface is applied, the drive contact surface of the caterpillar on the side of the third drive wheel floats above the traveling surface and loses the drive force. The caterpillar on the opposite side that has not floated has already started driving in the backward direction, and the third driving road surface driven wheel that descends and touches the running surface drives in the forward direction, resulting in the running toy in that position. Will rotate the running toy in a spinning state to change the direction. At this time, if the pilot continues the direction changing operation until the front part of the traveling toy turns to the direction that the traveling toy wants to advance next, and sends a forward signal at the moment when it faces the target direction, the third traveling road surface drive is performed. The wheels are lifted off the running surface and stored on the side of the running toy, and the running toy can be returned to the left and right caterpillar-driven running state again and can be run straight in the direction desired by the operator. In order to provide the enjoyment of running a caterpillar traveling toy with a control mechanism while avoiding or overcoming obstacles while traveling, it is easy to handle and inexpensive, so it can be applied to toys and plastic models. Is perfect for

[Action]

 As already explained in the previous section, one pair of caterpillars provided on the left and right of the traveling toy is attached to the drive wheel shaft in the inner space of the drive wheel on one side of the caterpillar, and is attached to the end of the arm that operates in the same arc shape as the outer circumference of the drive wheel. When the driving wheels of traveling road surface 3 are placed in parallel with the left and right tracks and contacted, and a rotational force is applied to the running surface so as to be always opposite to the driving direction of the tracks, and the traveling toy is moved backward. Only, the third traveling road surface driving wheel descends from the side surface of the traveling toy toward the traveling surface and touches the ground. Then, the caterpillar on one side is levitated from the traveling surface and the driving force is cut off to make contact with the third traveling wheel. The road drive wheels keep the ground on the opposite side and drive the running surface in the forward direction opposite to the caterpillar driving in the backward direction, so that the running toy is turned to the spin state on the spot. If the operator returns the rotation of the motor in the forward direction at the moment when the traveling toy turns in the desired direction, the third driving road surface drive wheel rises away from the traveling surface and is stored at the same time as the traveling surface temporarily. The separated caterpillar on one side regains the driving force to the traveling surface and returns to the forward traveling in the straight traveling state.

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a caterpillar-driven traveling toy according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from above. In this embodiment, a third traveling road surface driving wheel is rotated by directly touching a wheel inner margin of the front right caterpillar. It has a structure to obtain a driving force. Parts in FIGS. 1 to 7 are shown as common numbers. 2 shows the forward traveling state of the traveling toy shown in FIG. 1 from the rear, and FIG. 3 shows the forward traveling state of the traveling toy shown in FIG. 1 seen from the right side in a straight line. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are rear and right side views, respectively, showing a turning maneuvering state in a spin state in which the caterpillar rotates in the backward direction. FIG. 6 shows the structure in which the rotational force transmission structure of the third road road driven city wheel 6 is replaced with the transmission method by the gear 11 instead of the method of directly contacting the pulley inner margin 4 with the caterpillar 6 with the gear 6. Therefore, there is no difference in performance due to the above. Therefore, in the drawings including FIGS. 1 to 7 and the description showing the operation except FIG. It is possible to explain and understand from the drawings and text that the mechanism of the present invention can achieve forward traveling by straight forward and turning movement by backward simply by changing the direction of the electric current applied to the drive motor 10 in two directions. In particular, the circuit diagrams of transmitters and receivers for remote control and other detailed explanations are omitted. FIG. 1 shows a state of a traveling toy whose direction can be changed by driving a caterpillar by an electric motor according to a first embodiment of the present invention as seen from above. The electric motor 10 is placed at the rear of the traveling toy, and the pinion gear 9 drives the large-diameter gear 8 attached to the drive shaft 7 having the caterpillar drive wheels on the left and right on the rotary shaft of the motor 10 and attached to both ends of the drive shaft 7. The left and right caterpillar drive wheels are respectively driven by a left caterpillar 1 and a right caterpillar 2. The same shape as the drive wheels attached to the rear axle is also attached to the left and right at both ends of the front axle 3, but the right wheel has a wider track than the one used on the left and has a caterpillar. A space 4 is provided inside the portion to be contacted with the third traveling road surface drive wheel 6 to keep the portion constantly rotating. The reference numeral 6 is attached to the tip end axle of the arm 5, and the arm 5 is held by the front axle 3 so as to be freely rotatable. The above is the basic structural portion of the present invention. Now, if a direct current voltage is applied to the traveling toy driving motor 10 so as to drive the traveling toy in the forward direction, the left and right tracks 1 and 2 will drive on the traveling surface to move the traveling toy straight forward. Since the rotation of the left and right caterpillars is completely constant, the running toy runs straight in a straight line everywhere. Next, if the operator wishes to change the direction of the traveling toy, first, the DC voltage applied to the drive motor 10 is reversed to reverse the rotation of the motor 10 so that the traveling toy is in the backward direction. 2 and 2 start to rotate in reverse, and at the same time, the front axles 3 and 4 also rotate in reverse, and 6 rotating in contact with 4 also rotates in reverse. Since the wheels 6 and 4 are rotating with a slight frictional force in transmitting the rotational force, the arm 5 having 6 at its tip descends toward the traveling surface in accordance with the rotation direction of 4, and eventually 6 is the traveling surface. The 6 is already rotating in the forward drive direction opposite to the drive direction of the right caterpillar, and the running surface moves in the direction from the back of the running toy to the running toy until the moment 6 comes into contact with the ground. Therefore, the arm 5 holding 6 at the tip touches the running surface in a direction that pierces the running surface, and at the same time, the force that pushes it further downward acts to the lower limit of the operating range of the swing angle of the arm 5, and the next moment Then, the running toy right caterpillar 2 is levitated from the running surface to cut off the backward driving force, and at the same time, 6 starts to drive the running toy forward. Since the traveling toy left caterpillar 1 continues to drive the traveling surface in the backward direction, the traveling toy driving directions of 1 and 6 are completely opposite to each other, so that the traveling toy is in a spin state on the spot. The conversion operation will be performed. Therefore, the operator of the traveling toy continues the direction changing operation by the spin state until the front part of the toy turns to the direction to which the traveling toy wants to advance next, and at the moment when the traveling toy turns to the desired direction, it moves from backward to forward. When the current direction of the traveling toy drive motor 10 is switched so that the left and right tracks 1 and 2 are reversed again in the opposite direction to the direction in which they have been rotating until now, the arm 5 having the wheel 6 at the tip is changed to the above-mentioned 4 The driving friction of 6 stops the driving of the traveling surface, raises the arm 5 to the upper limit of the swing angle and stores it, and the traveling toy moves forward in the desired direction again. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the direction changing operation during the spin state of the traveling toy, and FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the forward traveling state or the stopped state. FIG. 6 shows a structure in which the rotational force is transmitted to the third traveling road surface driving wheel 6 by an even number of gears, and the arm 5 is raised and lowered as in the case of directly driving 4 to 6 shown in FIG. The transmission friction responsible for the holding action cannot be obtained by the gear transmission of FIG. 6, so a friction spring 12 is provided on the rotary shaft of 6 so as to obtain a friction force, and this friction causes the arm 5 to move forward and backward of the running toy. Ascends or descends smoothly as you drive. Even if the traveling toy enters the direction changing motion from a state where it collides with a wall or an obstacle while it is traveling forward, the traveling toy has several centimeter walls until 6 on the arm 5 touches the traveling surface and starts driving. It is designed to avoid the situation where the running toy is stuck because the running toy is moved backwards from an obstacle or obstacles and then the direction changing operation is started. The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 is an example in which a traveling toy is operated by remote control by radio waves, and when a control button 19 on the transmitter 13 of the operator is pressed, a radio signal is received from the antenna 20. It is emitted toward the antenna 21 and reaches the receiver 14 mounted on the traveling toy 17 and reverses the direct current direction of the traveling toy driving motor 10 to reverse the motor and reverse the caterpillars 1 and 2 to retract the traveling toy 17. While traveling, perform the above-mentioned series of direction changing operations. When the push button 19 of the transmitter 13 is not pressed, the DC output from the receiver 14 equipped with the running toy controls the DC power supply 15 in a current direction so that the rotation of the running toy driving motor 10 is in the forward direction. Is added to the motor 10.

[Effect of device]

 As described above, the present invention is a remote-controlled traveling toy that has a reliable and reliable function due to the structure and component configuration of the traveling toy driven by a caterpillar drive system. It is possible to add a direction conversion function simply by adding one or two inexpensive parts. Although it is a simple device, its maneuverability is flexible and easy, and all that is required is a single motor for driving, and the structure is simple and lightweight, and the battery is economical, and mass production is further promoted. It provides a technology for maneuverable running toys that is easy to operate, has a low incidence of trouble, and is inexpensive.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view of the traveling toy according to claim 1 as seen from above in a forward movement state.

FIG. 2 is a view of the traveling toy according to claim 1 as seen from the rear in a forward movement state.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the traveling state of the traveling toy according to claim 1 as viewed from the right side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a backward turning state of the traveling toy according to claim 1 as seen from behind.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the traveling toy according to claim 1 as viewed from the right in a backward turning state.

FIG. 6 is a view of the traveling toy according to claim 2 seen from above in a forward movement state.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention as a radio-controlled remote-controlled traveling toy.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Inside 1 Running toy left caterpillar 2 Running toy right caterpillar 3 Front axle 4 Inner margin of pulley on which caterpillar runs 5 Arm 6 Third running road surface drive wheel 7 Drive shaft 8 Large Diameter gear 9 Pinion gear 10 Small DC motor for running toy drive 11 Gear 12 Gear friction spring 13 Transmitter for control 14 Receiver 15 DC power supply 16 Power switch 17 Running toy main body 18 Running surface 19 Transmitter control button 20 Transmitter antenna 21 Traveling toy receiving antenna

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. In a caterpillar-driven traveling toy, a third traveling road surface drive that always rotates in a driving direction opposite to the driving direction of a pair of traveling road surface driving traveling caterpillars provided on the left and right in the traveling toy traveling direction. It is arranged in parallel with the caterpillar provided with one wheel for right and left so as to contact one inner side caterpillar drive wheel inner margin of the traveling toy to obtain a rotational force, and further, when the traveling toy travels backward, the third traveling road surface The driving wheels are grounded to the running surface and the caterpillar on one side is slightly levitated from the running surface to cut off the driving force, and at the same time, the driving surface is driven in the opposite drive direction to the other non-floating caterpillar. A direction changing device for running toys that has a conversion function. 2. The traveling toy component according to claim 1, wherein the driving means of the third traveling road surface driving wheel is brought into contact with the inner margin of the caterpillar drive wheel on one side to obtain a rotational force. A structure in which the method is changed to a driving method using a gear instead of the rotation shaft of the caterpillar driving wheel.