Remote control equipment applicable to toy racing cars

Claim 1

Remote control apparatus for maneuvering a four-wheelsupported vehicle over a two-dimensional surface, said vehicle having two driving wheels and two guiding wheels; a first and a second direct current motor, said first motor being positively connected to said driving wheels for rotating them selectively in opposite directions, and said second motor operatively connected to said guiding wheels for orienting their planes of rotation selectively to the right or left; a control unit comprising a. a transformer having a primary connectable to an alternating current source, and a pair of secondaries; b. instrumentalities whereby the direction of rotation of said first motor may be reversed and its speed of rotation controlled, said instrumentalities comprising a single-pole, double-throw switch for reversing the direction of rotation of said first motor in order to reverse the direction of movement of said vehicle, said switch having a pivoted manually movable operating member carrying a first contact intermediate its pivoted and free ends and a pair of stationary contacts disposed on opposite sides of said first contact, a first pair of rectifiers connected in reverse parallel between opposite sides of one of said secondaries and said stationary contacts, and a first rheostat in series with said first contact and a conductor that is individual to said first motor for controlling the speed thereof; c. means whereby the operator is able to steer said vehicle, said means comprising a steering wheel rigidly fixed to a conductive first shaft, a rotatably mounted second shaft free from engagement with said first shaft but coaxially aligned therewith, a nonconductive drum coaxially secured to said second shaft, a nonconductive disc coaxially supported on the end of said drum facing said first shaft, a first metal ring embracing said drum next to said disc but spaced therefrom, a second metal ring embracing said drum next to said first ring but spaced therefrom, a relatively large gear secured to said second shaft adjacent said second ring but spaced therefrom, a third direct current motor disposed in proximity to said second shaft, said third motor having a relatively small gear secured to its shaft, said relatively small gear meshing with said relatively large gear, the ratio of said gears determining the intervals between the impulses passing through said rings for transmission to said second motor; said nonconductive disc have a pair of conductive segments thereon disposed on opposite sides of the rotational axis of said drum, one of said segments communicating electrically internally of said drum with said first ring and the other segment communicating electrically internally of said drum with said second ring, a first brush engaging said first ring and a second brush engaging said second ring, a second pair of rectifiers connected in reverse parallel to opposite sides of the other of said secondaries, the positive side of one of said second pair of rectifiers connected to the wiper of a second rheostat and the negative side of the other of said second pair of rectifiers connected to the wiper of a third rheostat, the resistance elements of said second and third rheostats connected to said first and second brushes respectively, said second and third rheostats available for equalizing the current on opposite halves of the cycle of the current passing through said other secondary, a third brush secured to said first shaft for wiping said segments whereby the angular position of said steering wheel determines the polarity of the impulses passing to and through said second motor and consequently its direction of rotation and whether the guiding wheels will direct the vehicle to the right or left.