US3736699A

US3736699A - Cam-controlled boat

Info

Publication number: US3736699A
Application number: US00184089A
Authority: US
Inventors: E Nielsen
Original assignee: Ideal Toy Corp
Current assignee: Ideal Toy Corp; View Master Ideal Group Inc
Priority date: 1971-09-27
Filing date: 1971-09-27
Publication date: 1973-06-05
Anticipated expiration: 1990-06-05

Abstract

A combined propulsion and steering mechanism for a toy boat. An electric motor, geared down to drive a cam, is connected by gears to a propeller on a simulated outboard motor mounted in a special pivotal holder in the stern section of the boat. A cam follower linkage connects the cam to the pivotal holder to pivot the outboard motor and propeller according to the cam profile.

Description

[ 1 June 5,1973

Write States Patent 1 Nielsen 1,118,674 11/1961 Germany..................................46/93 415,074 8/1934 Great Britain........... ................46/93 Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene ['22] Filed: Sept. 27, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 184,089

Assistant ExaminerRobert F. Cutting Attorney-Richard M. Rabkin aa e mm md .5 m n cw 0 md 8d .mm T mm C m A s R dm T. nt 8 30 B nm A .mc bfl uol c 3 n wA .m .mm o 1 o 7 y DAw 34 mmm 634 2 "h 3V mA ""3 ""4 "m2 mm3 ""9 u/ 6 m mmhu u c r 8 .e HS L l WM .w UhF III 2 8 555 cam, is connected by gears to a propeller on a simulated outboard motor mounted in a special pivotal [5 6] References Cited holder in the stern section of the boat. A cam follower linkage connects the cam to the pivotal holder to pivot the outboard motor and propeller according to the cam profile.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,528,195 9/1970 Cooper.................................46/93X 46/244 D 3,600,851 8/1971 Nielson.......,......................

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 33,109 7/1965 Germany.........................46/243 MV to? M1. 4/

. q 2 p a I i SHEET 1 [1F 2 INVENTOIL E DW/N NIELSEN lug/M;

PATHJTEDJUH 5 I975 PATENTEUJUN 5 I975 SHEET 2 UF 2 INVENTOR EDWIN N/ELSE N 33 6&

III I I I I IIIITI] 4Lu 1 CAM-CONTROLLED BOAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of propulsion and steering mechanisms for toy boats and the like, and in particular it relates to an electrically driven device for actuating a cam to steer a simulated outboard motor for a toy boat and simultaneously to provide propulsive power through the simulated outboard motor to a propeller.

2. The Prior Art Toy outboard motor boats of the type disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,528,195 include a hull in which batteries are located and a simulated outboard structure that houses an electric motor connected to the batteries to receive electric power from them. The motor may be pivoted by hand from one position to another, but this only determines whether the boat will go straight ahead or will turn left or right to make large or small circles. Once the boat has been released, there is no further control over it until it is recaptured, and it simply follows the simple pattern repetitively.

Other toy boats have had gear-driven rudders to change course, but the rudder and propeller drives were non-releasably coupled, and the paths that could be followed by the boats as they moved through the water were still somewhat limited. Any complexity in movement was achieved only by means of costly operating mechanism.

Many toy boats simulate only inboard motor boats, and yet, there is an excitement about full-sized outboard motor boats, that make toy outboard boats very desirable to children.

In an entirely different part of the toy field, a toy car has been described in US. Pat. No. 3,600,851. The.

motor that provides driving power for the wheels also actuates the steering mechanism by means of a Geneva mechanism connected to a cam that controls the steer,- ing mechanism. This cam mechanism is made so that it is easy to remove one cam and replace it by another of different configuration in order to cause the car to follow different paths on an open floor.

It is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a realistic toy motor boat that incorporates a separable, steerable propulsion unit and a hullmounted power plant and steering control device, all with sufficient simplicity to be made at a reasonable cost.

Another object is to provide a toy boat with a simulated outboard motor separable from the hull and having propeller drive means that engage power means in the hull when the simulated motor is attached thereto.

Still a further object is to utilize a cam mechanism similar to that in the aforesaid US. Pat. No. 3,600,851 but with different means connecting the motor, to the cam to control the steering of a toy boat while utilizing the one inboard motor to rotate both the steering cam at relatively low speeds and an outboard, steerable propeller turning at a relatively high speed.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description, including the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION rotating a cam. The boat has a tiller-receptacle at its stern connected to the cam by a pivotal cam-follower to pivot the receptacle back and forth according to the convolutions of the cam. The receptacle has a noncircular opening to receive a support post of matching shape on the underside of a simulated outboard motor. Within the shell of the simulated motor are gear means, one of which extends through the front of the shell to mesh with a gear driven by the motor in the hull. The rest of the gear means in the shell drive a propeller from the motor mounted in the hull. The motor turns the propeller at a high enough number of revolutions per minute to cause the boat to move at relatively high speed. The reduction in the gear toy causes the steering cam driven by the same motor to turn at a relatively low speed so that the boat can move a substantial distance along each heading determined by the convolutions of the cam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy boat constructed according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the hull of the boat in FIG. 1 with the deck removed to show the motor, gearbox, and cam.

FIG. 3 shows the cam-follower steering means used in the mechanism in FIG. 2. I

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the gearbox and cam of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the gearbox and cam of FIG. 4 with some of the parts broken away to show constructional features more clearly.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a simulated outboard motor as used in the boat in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The boat 11 shown in FIG. 1 includes a hull 12 and a deck 13. The latter is preferably removable to allow access to working mechanism in the hull and, incidentally, to allow decks of different styling to be used on a common hull design. At the stern of the boat 11 is a simulated outboard motor. The motor has a propeller 16 attached realistically to a vertical support 17 and extending from a housing 18 at the lower end of the support. A switch handle 19 extends through the deck 13 and is the means by which the boat 11 can be started and stopped.

FIG. 2 shows the hull 12 without the deck of FIG. 1.

Two projections 21 and 22 on the sides of the hull serve as latching means to attach the deck to the hull. Both the deck and the hull are preferably made of plastic so that they can look as realistic as possible. The plastic hull 11 has sufficient flexibility to allow its sides to be pressed inwardly to allow the projections 21 and 22 to engage matchingrecesses in the deck.

. Power for the boat is furnished by two batteries 23 and 24, which may be of any suitable size, such as the size of penlite cells. The batteries are connected by the wires 26 and 27 to a motor 25. The wire 26 is connected to one motor terminal 28 directly. The other wire is connected to the other motor terminal 29 by way of a simple, single-pole-single-throw switch 31 controlled by the handle 19.

The motor 25 is mounted on a speed-reducing gearbox 32 and is'connected to the gears in the gearbox by a gear on the shaft 30. The gears in the gearbox are connected finally to a shaft 33 on which a cam 34 is mounted. The shaft 33 has diametrically opposed ears 36' and 37 that fit through slots 38 and 39 in the cam 34. The cam 34 can then be turned slightly to cause the ears to move on top of recessed portions of the cam. In so doing the

ears

36 and 37 are forced past two small projections 41 and 42 that prevent the cam 34 from working loose on the shaft 33.

A cam-follower 43 has a goose-neck end with a rounded nose that is pressed against the cam surface to respond to the convolutions of that surface. The camfollower 43 is connected to a tiller-receptacle 44 at the stern. This receptacle has a square recess 46 to receive a similarly shaped support post of the motor 14 (FIG. I

FIG. 3 shows the cam-follower 43. At one end is an arm 47 with a goose-neck end. The tip 48 is rounded to minimize wear of the surface of the cam 34. The fol lower 43 has a central pivotal support 49. At the end of the follower that faces the stern of the boat is an open bridge 51 with a central post 52 extending from it on the side that faces downwardly when the follower is in operative position in the boat. This post actuates the tiller receptacle (FIG. 2) to steer the boat. The boat changes from one heading to another in accordance with the convolusions of the cam surface, and the length of time that the boat follows any one heading is determined by the speed of rotation of the cam and the distance along the periphery of the cam from one end to the other of a constant radius portion.

FIGS. 4 and show the gearbox 32 and associated parts. The box has a housing comprising a lower plate 53 on which are several rigid shafts 54 56 to support gears and pinions 57 65. Each of the gears is identical and, except for the gear 65, is moulded of plastic with an associated pinion. The latter are also identical, so that the gear-pinion sets are interchangeable. Each of the shafts 54 56 has a shoulder that allows the gearpinion sets to slide down to the proper level. Of course, the gear 57 and its associated pinion have to be put on first since they are at the lowest level. The gear 57 meshes with a gear on the drive shaft of the motor 25 (FIG. 2) and the remainder of the gears and pinion mesh in their numericalorder. The final gear 65 drives the shaft 33 on which the cam 34 is mounted.

The cam follower 43 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 56. The pin 52 fits in a slot 67 formed in a projection 68 that extends from the tiller-receptacle 44 to pivot the latter in response to movement of the cam follower 43. The latter is controlled by the relatively slowly rotating cam 34. The movement of the boat is normally along a closed path because the convolutions of the cam 34 are normally symmetrical.

The simulated motor 14 includes a molded plastic shell 69 that has

integral bosses

71 and 72 to guide the

endsof gear shafts

73 and 74. A support shaft 75 that has a square cross section is non-rotatably attached to the shell 69 and fits into the square receptacle 46 of the tiller-receptacle 44. The shaft 75 thus supports the motor 14 on the stern of the boat and provides the necessary steering coupling.

Two gears 76 and 77 are meshed together and are supported on the

shafts

73 and 74. The gear 76 is loose on its shaft and extends through the front of the housing 69 to engage a gear 78 (FIG. 2) on the motor 25. This gear is preferably on the other end of the shaft 30 from the gear connected to the gearbox 32. The gear 77 is rigidly attached to its shaft 74 to rotate the latter.

A pair of bevel gears 79 and 81 in the housing i8 couple the shaft 74 to the propeller 16.

When the deck 13 is in place and support shaft of the motor 14 is in the tiller-receptacle 44, the boat is ready to run and to follow any path defined by the cam 34. The switch handle 19 can easily be reached to start and stop the motor, and, as stated, a different cam may easily be inserted to cause the boat to follow a different path.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy boat comprising:

A. a hull;

B. a motor drive means mounted in said hull;

C. a cam driven by said motor drive means;

D. a pivotally mounted tiller comprising a post mounted substantially vertically in said hull and having a non-circular receptacle in the end thereof;

E. a cam follower connecting said cam to said tiller to control pivoting thereof; and

F. detachable propulsion means connectable to said tiller to be pivoted thereby and comprising means to engage said motor drive means when said propulsion means is connected to said tiller, said propulsion means including a support post of matching non-circular cross-section fitting into said receptacle whereby pivoting of said tiller causes pivoting of said propulsion means.

2. The toy boat of claim 1 in which said cam-follower and said tiller are connected together by pin and slot means.

3. A toy boat comprising a hull having a rear wall, motor drive means including an output shaft mounted in said hull, a cam having a predetermined peripheral configuration rotatably mounted in said hull and being operatively connected to said drive means output shaft for rotation thereby; a tiller structure pivotally mounted in said hull adjacent said rear wall; a cam follower lever pivotally mounted in said hull and having a first end defining a cam follower engaged with said cam and a second end operatively connected to said tiller for pivoting said tiller in response to rotation of said cam; and propulsion means removably connected to said tiller for rotation therewith in response to rotation of said cam, said propulsion means including a frame, a propeller rotatably mounted in said frame, and means for drivingly connecting said propeller to the output shaft of said drive means in said hull whereby during operation of said motor the position of said frame and propeller are varied and said propeller is rotated, thereby to drive said boat and simultaneously vary its direction of movement.

4. The toy boat of claim 3, including gear box means mounted in said hull for connecting said motor to said cam, said gear box means comprising:

A. a housing;

B. a plurality of interchangeable gear'and pinion sets;

and

C. a plurality of support shafts in said housing to support said set, said shafts having shoulders to support said sets at selected levels.

5. The toy boat of claim 4 in which said cam-follower is pivotally mounted on one of said shafts.

6. The toy boat of claim -3 in which said tiller comprises a post mounted substantially vertically in said hull and having a non-circular receptacle in the end thereof and said propulsion means including a support post of matching non-circular cross-section fitting into said receptacle thereby to removably connect said propulsion means to said tiller.

7. The toy boat of claim 3 in which said propulsion means frame comprises a motor shaped shell; and said propulsion means includes a support post non-pivotally engageable with said tiller to pivot in response to movement of said tiller.

8. The toy boat of claim 7 wherein said means for drivingly connecting said propeller to the output shaft of said drive means includes gear means in said shell connected to drive said propeller.

9. The toy boat of claim 8 in which one gear of said gear means extends through an opening in said shell to mesh with said motor drive means.

10. The toy boat of claim 9 including:

A. gear means mounted on one end of said drive shaft to connect to said one gear extending through said opening; and

B. gear means mounted on the other end of said drive shaft to connect said shaft to said gear box.

1 l. A toy boat comprising, a hull; motor drive'means mounted in said hull;.a cam driven by said motor drive means; a pivotally mounted tiller; a cam follower con:

necting said cam to said tiller to control pivoting thereof; and detachable propulsion means connectable to said tiller to be pivoted thereby; said propulsion means comprising:

A. a motor-shaped shell;

B. a support post non-pivotally engageable with said tiller to pivot in response to movement of said tiller;

C. a propeller; and

D. gear means in said shell connected to drive said propeller; one of said gear means extending through an opening in said shell to mesh with said motor drive means.

C. a propeller; and

Claims

1. A toy boat comprising: A. a hull; B. a motor drive means mounted in said hull; C. a cam driven by said motor drive means; D. a pivotally mounted tiller comprising a post mounted substantially vertically in said hull and having a non-circular receptacle in the end thereof; E. a cam follower connecting said cam to said tiller to control pivoting thereof; and F. detachable propulsion means connectable to said tiller to be pivoted thereby and comprising means to engage said motor drive means when said propulsion means is connected to said tiller, said propulsion means including a support post of matching noncircular croSs-section fitting into said receptacle whereby pivoting of said tiller causes pivoting of said propulsion means.

4. The toy boat of claim 3, including gear box means mounted in said hull for connecting said motor to said cam, said gear box means comprising: A. a housing; B. a plurality of interchangeable gear and pinion sets; and C. a plurality of support shafts in said housing to support said set, said shafts having shoulders to support said sets at selected levels.

6. The toy boat of claim 3 in which said tiller comprises a post mounted substantially vertically in said hull and having a non-circular receptacle in the end thereof and said propulsion means including a support post of matching non-circular cross-section fitting into said receptacle thereby to removably connect said propulsion means to said tiller.

10. The toy boat of claim 9 including: A. gear means mounted on one end of said drive shaft to connect to said one gear extending through said opening; and B. gear means mounted on the other end of said drive shaft to connect said shaft to said gear box.

11. A toy boat comprising, a hull; motor drive means mounted in said hull; a cam driven by said motor drive means; a pivotally mounted tiller; a cam follower connecting said cam to said tiller to control pivoting thereof; and detachable propulsion means connectable to said tiller to be pivoted thereby; said propulsion means comprising: A. a motor-shaped shell; B. a support post non-pivotally engageable with said tiller to pivot in response to movement of said tiller; C. a propeller; and D. gear means in said shell connected to drive said propeller; one of said gear means extending through an opening in said shell to mesh with said motor drive means. B. a support post non-pivotally engageable with said tiller to pivot in response to movement of said tiller; C. a propeller; and D. gear means in said shell connected to drive said propeller; one of said gear means extending through an opening in said shell to mesh with said motor drive means.