Toy vehicle

Claim 2

For use in programming the direction of movement of a toy vehicle of the type including a chassis, drive means mounted on the chassis for propelling the vehicle and a steering member mounted on the chassis for movement between a plurality of steering positions, a programming means comprising: a programming cam, a Geneva mechanism for providing interrupted, rotative movement for said cam including dwell periods and indexing periods, a cam follower operatively connected to said cam and said Geneva mechanism for translating said interrupted, rotative movement with said periods into movement for positioning said steering member for a long period in one of its steering positions and for a short period in another of its steering positions.

Claim 3

For use in programming the direction of movement of a toy vehicle of the type including a chassis, drive means mounted on the chassis for propelling the vehicle and a steering member mounted on the chassis for movement between a number of steering positions, a steering mechanism comprising: a programming means, means for driving said programming means, which provides interrupted rotative movement including dwell periods and indexing periods and cam means translating said interrupted rotative movement with said periods into movement for positioning said steering member for a long period in one of its steering positions and for a short period in another of its steering positions, said cam means including a cam follower and said programming means including a replaceable cam and a Geneva mechanism having a Geneva wheel, said Geneva wheel and said cam being coaxial and removably attached for rotating together and for replacement of said cam, said cam follower being operatively connected to said steering mechanism at one of its ends and contacting said cam at the other of its ends.

Claim 4

For use in programming the direction of movement of a toy vehicle of the type including a chassis, drive means mounted on the chassis for propelling the vehicle and a steering member mounted on the chassis for movement between a number of steering positions, a steering mechanism comprising: a programming means, means for driving said programming means, which provides interrupted rotative movement including dwell periods and indexing periods and cam means translating said interrupted rotative movement with said periods into movement for positioning said steering member for a long period in one of its steering positions and for a short period in another of its steering positions, said cam means including a cam follower and said programming means including a replaceable cam and a Geneva mechanism having a Geneva wheel, said Geneva wheel and said cam being coaxial and removably attached for rotating together and for replacement of said cam, said cam follower being operatively connected to said steering mechanism at one of its ends and contacting said cam at the other of its ends.

Claim 5

A drive train for a vehicle chassis having a front-wheel turning assembly, a rear-wheel assembly, a motor and a drive connection between said motor and one of said wheel assemblies, said drive train comprising a Geneva mechanism operatively connected to the motor and a cam follower assembly operatively connected to turn said front-wheel turning assembly and operable therewith to alter the orientation of the vehicle chassis, said cam follower assembly including a cam follower and said Geneva mechanism including a cam for contacting and rotating relative to said cam follower and thereby imparting motion thereto said Geneva mechanism further including a Geneva wheel attached to said cam and rotatable therewith.

Claim 6

A drive train for a vehicle chassis having a front-wheel turning assembly, a rear-wheel assembly, a motor and a drive connection between said motor and one of said wheel assemblies, said drive train comprising a Geneva mechanism operatively connected to the motor and a cam follower assembly operatively connected to turn said front-wheel turning assembly and operable therewith to alter the orientation of the vehicle chassis, said cam follower assembly including a cam follower and said Geneva mechanism including a cam for contacting and rotating relative to said cam follower and thereby imparting motion thereto said Geneva mechanism further including a Geneva wheel attached to said cam and rotatable therewith.

Claim 7

The invention according to claim 3 wherein a pinion gear is provided to impart motion to said Geneva wheel, said pinion gear having a pin and collar upstanding therefrom and said Geneva wHeel defining pin-receiving index slots and collar-receiving dwell slots, said dwell slots and said collar defining a clearance therebetween.

Claim 8

The invention according to claim 4 wherein the rear-wheel assembly is driven by the motor and said Geneva mechanism further includes a rear-wheel axle worm gear for driving said pinion gear.