The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 09, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 04, 1996
Neil Tilbor, New Smyrna Beach, FL (US);
Michael G Hetman, New Smyrna Beach, FL (US);
Jonathan A Jaffe, Voorhees, NJ (US);
Mattel, Inc., Mt. Laurel, NJ (US);
Abstract
A toy vehicle has a chassis, two axles, two pairs of wheels and four identical wheel support housings. Each wheel is mounted on a separate end of a separate one of the two axles by one of the wheel support housings. The wheels are mounted for rotation on the housings, which are mounted off center on the axles so as to rotate eccentrically around the axles with the wheels. Wheels on either lateral side of the chassis are driven by separate propulsion motors driving separate gear trains in the chassis to propel the vehicle. Collars around the axles and pairs of gears within the wheel support housings themselves couple the wheels with the gear trains. The axles are rotated together through a third shaft driven by a separate accessory motor to vary the eccentric position of the wheel support housings and thereby alter the appearance and performance of the vehicle. Slip clutches with angled, mating faces, effectively coupling the axles with the third shaft. The faces are spring biased together and remain engaged over limited ranges of angular movement. This permits each slip clutch to act as a suspension for the wheel support housings and the wheels supported on each axle protecting those downstream drive components from being overloaded and broken. The clutches further permit alteration of the phase between the wheel axles. Independent radio control of an accessory motor and two propulsion motors is provided.