Controlled toy vehicle assembly

Claim 2

A vehicle capable of locomotion and more particularly controlled locomotion in response to variations in frictional resistances along a support surface, comprising; a base member; a first driving member assembly operatively connected to the base member for rotation about a first axis, and a second pair of driving members operatively connected to the base member and rotating respectively about a second and third axis that are each nonparallel to the first axis of the first driving member, whereby the first driving member can propel the vehicle and the second pair of driving members can principally control the direction of movement in response to variations in frictional resistance along the surface that contacts one of the second pair of driving members.

Claim 3

The invention of claim 1 wherein the first driving member assembly includes a wheel having a higher coefficient of friction than the second pair of driving members.

Claim 4

The invention of claim 2 wherein the second pair of driving members are front wheels on the base member and the first driving wheel is a rear wheel on the base member.

Claim 5

The invention of claim 3 wherein all of the wheel axes are respectively non-parallel.

Claim 6

The invention of claim 3 wherein the second pair of driving members are rotatively mounted on the base member so that their respective second and third axis diverge away from the first rear wheel.

Claim 7

The invention of claim 4 wherein the first driving member assembly includes a powered motor and transmission means for providing a driving connection with each wheel and the powered motor.

Claim 8

The invention of claim 6 wherein the transmission means includes a pair of flexible cables for respectively driving each of the front wheels.

Claim 9

The invention of claim 4 wherein the second pair of drive front wheels are made from a thermoplastic polyamide having a low coefficient of friction characteristic.

Claim 10

A toy assembly for subjectively controlling the locomotion of a driven toy comprising; a support surface; means for subjectively marking the support surface to provide indicia of a higher coefficient of friction than the support surface; and a toy having a first driving member and a second pair of driving members, the coefficient of friction of the second pair of driving members has a value relative to the coefficient of friction of the support surface and the indicia such that they can slide across the support surface but will engage the indicia whereby the second pair of driving members can control the direction of the toy.

Claim 11

A toy assembly for subjectively controlling the locomotion of a driven toy comprising; a support surface; means for subjectively marking the support surface to provide indicia of a higher coefficient of friction than the support surface; and a toy having a first driving member and a second pair of driving members, the coefficient of friction of the second pair of driving members has a value relative to the coefficient of friction of the support surface and the indicia such that they can slide across the support surface but will engage the indicia whereby the second pair of driving members can control the direction of the toy.

Claim 12

The invention of claim 9 wherein the first driving member has a higher coefficient of friction than the second pair of driving members.

Claim 13

The invention of claim 10 further including means for removing the indicia from the support surface to permit subsequent remarking with a different indicia pattern.

Claim 14

The invention of claim 10 wherein the support surface is a flexible plastic sheet.

Claim 15

The invention of claim 10 wherein each of the driving members rotate about an axis of rotation and all of the axes are respectively non-parallel.

Claim 16

The invention of claim 13 wherein the first driving member lies in a first longitudinal plane of the toy and the respective second pair of driving members lie in a second and third plane that intersect the first plane.

Claim 17

The invention of claim 10 wherein the second pair of driving members are front wheels on the toy and the first driving member is a rear wheel on the toy.

Claim 18

The invention of claim 15 wherein the second pair of drive front wheels are made from a thermoplastic polyamide and the rear wheel is made from a material having a coefficient of friction approximately that of natural rubber.

Claim 19

The invention of claim 11 wherein the means for removing the indicia includes water and an applicator for contacting the support surface.

Claim 20

The invention of claim 9 wherein the means for subjectively marking includes a hand held marker.

Claim 21

The invention of claim 9 wherein the means for subjectively marking includes a removable tape capable of adhering to the support surface.

Claim 22

The invention of claim 9 wherein the means for subjectively marking includes forming an irregular surface pattern on the support surface.

Claim 23

The invention of claim 18 wherein the hand held marker is a crayon.

Claim 24

A toy vehicle capable of controlled locomotion in response to variations in frictional resistance along a support surface having at least two different coefficients of friction, one coefficient of friction existing on a predetermined guide pattern comprising; a base member having a longitudinal axis; a first wheel operatively connected to the base member for rotation about a first axis traverse to the longitudinal axis; a second pair of wheels operatively connected to the base member and rotating respectively about a second and third axis that are each non-parallel to the first axis and also to each other; means for driving each wheel, whereby the first wheel can propel the toy vehicle with a force directed along the longitudinal axis regardless of the support surface coefficient of friction while each of the second pair of wheels will laterally slip on at least one portion of the support surface and will drive the toy vehicle when contacting the guide pattern portion of the support surface having a greater coefficient of friction.

Claim 25

A toy vehicle capable of controlled locomotion in response to variations in frictional resistance along a support surface having at least two different coefficients of friction, one coefficient of friction existing on a predetermined guide pattern comprising; a base member having a longitudinal axis; a first wheel operatively connected to the base member for rotation about a first axis traverse to the longitudinal axis; a second pair of wheels operatively connected to the base member and rotating respectively about a second and third axis that are each non-parallel to the first axis and also to each other; means for driving each wheel, whereby the first wheel can propel the toy vehicle with a force directed along the longitudinal axis regardless of the support surface coefficient of friction while each of the second pair of wheels will laterally slip on at least one portion of the support surface and will drive the toy vehicle when contacting the guide pattern portion of the support surface having a greater coefficient of friction.

Claim 26

The invention of claim 22 wherein the means for driving each wheel includes a gear train and a pair of flexible cable members for respectively driving each of the second pair of wheels.

Claim 27

The invention of claim 22 further including a shell housing subjectively configured to represent a vehicle connected to the base member.

Claim 28

The invention of claim 23 further including means for mounting the pair of flexible cable members on the base member.

Claim 31

The invention of claim 26 further including the step of removing the indicia pattern and repeating steps (a), (b) and (c) with a different indicia pattern.

Claim 32

The invention of claim 26 wherein the step of providing an indicia pattern includes drawing a continuous line on the support surface.

Claim 33

The invention of claim 26 wherein the step of providing an indicia pattern includes depositing a water soluble material on the surface of the support surface.

Claim 34

The invention of claim 26 wherein the step of providing an indicia pattern includes embossing a serrated pattern on the support surface.

Claim 35

A toy vehicle capable of controlled locomotion in response to variations in frictional resistance along a support surface having at least two different coefficients of friction, one coefficient of friction existing on a predetermined guide pattern comprising; a base member having a longitudinal axis; a first wheel operatively connected to the base member for rotation about a first axis traverse to the longitudinal axis; a second pair of wheels operatively connected to the base member and rotating respectively about a second and third axis that are each nonparallel to the first axis and also to each other; and means for continuously driving each of the wheels during locomotion of the vehicle, the coefficient of friction of the second pair of wheels having a value relative to the coefficient of friction of the support surface and the guide pattern such that they can slide across the support surface but will individually engage the guide pattern to provide a force to control the vehicle locomotion, whereby the first wheel can propel the toy vehicle with a force directed along the longitudinal axis regardless of the support surface coefficient of friction while each of the second pair of wheels will laterally slip on at least one portion of the support surface and will drive the toy vehicle when contacting the guide pattern portion of the support surface having a greater coefficient of friction.

Claim 36

A toy vehicle capable of controlled locomotion in response to variations in frictional resistance along a support surface having at least two different coefficients of friction, one coefficient of friction existing on a predetermined guide pattern comprising; a base member having a longitudinal axis; a first wheel operatively connected to the base member for rotation about a first axis traverse to the longitudinal axis; a second pair of wheels operatively connected to the base member and rotating respectively about a second and third axis that are each nonparallel to the first axis and also to each other; and means for continuously driving each of the wheels during locomotion of the vehicle, the coefficient of friction of the second pair of wheels having a value relative to the coefficient of friction of the support surface and the guide pattern such that they can slide across the support surface but will individually engage the guide pattern to provide a force to control the vehicle locomotion, whereby the first wheel can propel the toy vehicle with a force directed along the longitudinal axis regardless of the support surface coefficient of friction while each of the second pair of wheels will laterally slip on at least one portion of the support surface and will drive the toy vehicle when contacting the guide pattern portion of the support surface having a greater coefficient of friction.