Toy vehicle with movable front end

Abstract

A radio controlled toy vehicle has a central chassis, a front end mounting a pair of front wheels which is rotatably coupled to the front of the chassis and a rear end mounting a pair of rear wheels. An electric motor is provided in the chassis to selectively rotate the front end with the front wheels about a generally longitudinal axis through a partial rotation for steering or through as many complete rotations as desired for stunts. In one embodiment, the front end includes a yoke pivotally supporting a pivot body mounting the front wheels. The rear end contains a propulsion drive coupled to the rear wheels and is pivotally coupled with the chassis so that both rear wheels remain grounded as the chassis pivots in reaction to rotation of the front end for steering. In another embodiment, a stop is provided to limit the rotation of the front end. The stop releasably engages a collar around a shaft rotating the front end and is disengaged by providing more torque to the shaft. A remote hand control unit includes manual actuators and switches to generate signals for left steer, right steer, left continuous rotation and right continuous rotation of the front end as well as forward and reverse propulsion.