GB1338338A - Toy vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

1338338 Spring motors TONKA CORP 7 Feb 1972 [8 Feb 1971] 5595/72 Heading F2S [Also in Division A6] A toy vehicle has a spring motor driving through a first gear train to the road wheels and a second gear train between the road wheels and the motor to transmit drive from the road wheels when the vehicle is pushed in one direction to wind the motor, operation of the first gear train occurring when the second gear train is disconnected, the first gear train including a unidirectional slip clutch which disconnects the gear train when the vehicle is pushed in the opposite direction to the direction already referred to. As shown, a toy car has its front axle 5 slidable in vertical slots 7 in brackets 6, and its rear axle 10 slidable in slots 9 in a main frame 8 fast with the car body. A secondary frame 11 pivots about a pin 12 across the main frame 8, rests at its rear on the top of the rear axle 10, and carries a spring 14 at its front biasing the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1. By pushing the car down in the direction of the arrow P, the secondary frame 11 is turned to the position shown in Fig. 2. A spiral spring 17 of a clockwork motor, fast at one end with the main frame 8, is secured at the other to a winding shaft 18 journalled in the main frame and fast with a gear 19, meshing the smaller gear 25 of a gear pair 25, 26 fast on a lay-shaft 24 slidable along arcuate slots 23 in the main frame. With the motor spring 17 wound, the gear 19 slides the lay-shaft 24 along the slots 23 to mesh its gear 26 with the smaller gear 15 of a gear pair 15, 16 fast on the rear axle 10, and thus drive the rear wheels, as shown in Fig. 1. When the motor spring 17 has unwound, the lay-shaft 24 slides forward along its slots 23, bringing the gear 26 out of mesh with the gear 15, so that the car can be freely pushed back- and-forth. To wind the motor spring 17, the car is pushed down to the Fig. 2 position; a gear 20, journalled upon the winding shaft 18, then meshes with the larger gear 16 fast on the rear axle 10. If the car is now pushed forwards, drive is transmitted through the gears 16, 20 to a one-way clutch 21, 22 and the winding shaft 18, so that the spring 17 is wound; if, however, the car is pushed backwards, the oneway clutch 21, 22 over-runs. Unwinding of the spring 17 is restrained by the gear 26 engaging the gear 15 again. When the downwards force on the car is removed, the spring 14 restores the Fig. 1 position.