Launcher For Toy Aircraft

Abstract

Apparatus for launching a toy aircraft comprising a launching ramp mounted on a toy automobile vehicle, the ramp having a rubberband for projecting the aircraft in a forward direction. A toy airplane is installed by hooking a projection of the plane onto the rubberband, pulling the plane to the rear of the ramp, and inserting the projection into a hole in the ramp. A releasing lever pivotally mounted on the ramp can push the bracket out of the hole to launch the plane. A lever-engaging member located along the vehicle track, pivots the lever as the vehicle moves by, so that the aircraft is released from a moving vehicle to obtain added speed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a launching device for toy aircraft.

2. Description of the Prior Art

An interesting toy can be provided by combining the excitement of fast toy automobile vehicles with flying toy aircraft. This can be accomplished by using a toy vehicle to carry an airplane and by providing apparatus that automatically launches the plane from the vehicle as the vehicle moves rapidly along a track.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a toy vehicle which carries a toy aircraft rapidly along a track and automatically launches it into the air.

Another object is to provide apparatus which launches toy aircraft in an entertaining manner, and which projects the craft with a maximum speed to provide an interesting flight.

In accordance with the invention, apparatus is provided for launching toy aircraft in an entertaining manner. The apparatus includes a launching ramp mounted on a toy vehicle, the vehicle being constructed to move rapidly along a vehicle track. The ramp has a hole for receiving a projection on a toy aircraft to hold the craft at the rear of the ramp, and a rubberband or other means for projecting the craft forward along the ramp when the projection is released. A releasing lever on the ramp can push the projection out of the ramp hole to launch the craft. A lever-engaging member located along the track, moves the lever as the vehicle passes by, to automatically launch the aircraft. The vehicle is not appreciably slowed by the lever-engaging member, so the aircraft launching speed is increased by almost the speed of the vehicle.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of launching apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the vehicle, launching ramp, and aircraft of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the vehicle and ramp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the vehicle and ramp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ramp of FIG. 1, shown in its molded position, before bending to a use position;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 5 after the ramp of FIG. 5 has been folded to a use position;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the track section of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the track section of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the launching apparatus includes a vehicle 10 which is designed to move rapidly along a track 12, the vehicle carrying a launching ramp 14 which can launch an airplane 16. A stretched rubberband 18 extends between the front of the ramp and a bracket or projection 20 near the center of the airplane. The projection 20 extends through a hole 22 in the ramp, so the airplane cannot move forward along the ramp. If the projection 20 is pushed out of the hole, the rubberband will propel the airplane forward along the ramp and launch it into the air.

A lever 24 is provided to push the projection 20 out of the hole. The lever has a center portion 26 pivotally mounted on the ramp, an inner end 28 positioned below the hole 22, and an outer end 30 that extends to the left side of the vehicle. When the outer or operating end 30 of the lever is pushed inwardly, the inner end 28 pushes the airplane projection 20 out of the hole 22. This releases the craft to allow the rubberband to launch it into the air. A lever-engaging member 32 located on a track section 34 is constructed to engage the outer end 30 of the lever as the vehicle passes by. The member 32 presses the lever without substantially slowing the vehicle, so the aircraft 16 is propelled at a speed nearly equal to the speed of the vehicle plus the speed with which it is projected by the rubberband relative to the vehicle. (Actually, the vehicle is slowed as the aircraft is launched, but is not slowed much in the case of lightweight aircraft.) The apparatus therefore enables automatic launching of the airplane at a particular location along the vehicle track, and at a high initial air speed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the launching ramp 14 is molded as a single item. The ramp includes a runway portion 36 for supporting the aircraft as it is launched, a rear mounting member or portion 38 for supporting the rear end of the runway portion on the vehicle, a pair of elevation-adjusting members 40, 42 for supporting the middle of the runway portion on the vehicle, and the lever 24 for releasing the aircraft. All of these portions are pivotally mounted on the runway portion 36 by live hinges 26, 39, 41 and 43 formed by providing thin regions between the different portions and by molding the ramp of a flexible material. The rear mounting member 38 is installed on the vehicle 10 by inserting it between a pair of groove-forming members 44 at the rear of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 3. The elevation-adjusting members 40, 42 are installed on the vehicle by inserting them through openings 46 in the vehicle where the side windows of a vehicle are normally located. A specially constructed toy vehicle in the form of a pickup truck is provided to facilitate mounting of the ramp thereon.

The lever 24, which is shown in greater detail in FIG. 6, is originally molded at the orientation 24A. The runway portion 36 has a lever retainer 44 extending downwardly from a side opposite the lever hinge 26. The lever is moved to a use position by pivoting it so that an inner tip 46 of the lever is within the space bounded by the retainer 44. The upper surface 48 of the inner lever end then lies immediately below the hole 22 in the runway. It can be seen that an inward force applied to the operating end 30 of the lever will cause it to pivot around the live hinge at 26, and cause the inner end 28 to push out any airplane projection that has been retained in the hole 22.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lever-engaging member 32 of the track section 34 is designed to effect a smooth, gradual movement of the lever to release the aircraft without unduly deflecting the vehicle. The track section includes a track surface 50 along which the vehicle can run, a pair of sidewalls 52, 54 for confining the vehicle to motion along the track, and a pair of connectors 56, 58 at opposite ends for coupling to ordinary track sections in a track layout. An arrow 60 formed on the track surface, indicates the correct direction of vehicle motion on the track section to effect a release of an airplane.

The lever-engaging member 32 is elongated, and it extends at a slight angle, substantially less than 45.degree., with the length of the track, and at a height to engage the outer end of the releasing lever. As the launcher vehicle moves along the track section 34, the outer end 30 of the releasing lever is gradually moved inwardly by the lever-engaging member 32 to prevent a sudden side thrust to the vehicle that might unduly upset or deflect it. The vehicle experiences only a very small decrease in speed as the lever brushes against the member 32, so that the aircraft can be launched at a high speed into the air and the vehicle can continue at a high speed along the track layout.

The track section 34 is designed so that there is no interference with other vehicles moving along the track or with a launcher vehicle that travels in the wrong direction along the track section. This is assured by the location of the lever-engaging member 32 entirely outside of the track surface 50 along which the vehicles move, so there is engagement with only special vehicles which have sidewardly extending portions, such as the lever 24 of the launch vehicle. If the launch vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction along the track section, the member 32 will not touch any portion of the vehicle or launcher apparatus, and there will be no interference with the vehicle.

The ramp is designed so that its inclination from the horizontal can be varied. This is accomplished by merely pivoting the runway portion up or down around the hinge area 39 where it is pivotally coupled to the rear mounting portion 38 of the ramp. The elevation adjusting members 40, 42 have numerous protuberances 64 on their inwardly directed surfaces, that engage the roof portion of the vehicle. The protuberances 64 tend to resist any upward or downward movement of the ramp, but the flexibility of the members 40, 42 allows them to spring away from the vehicle if a large force is applied to raise or lower the ramp. Thus, a child can merely apply a hard upward or downward force to change the elevation of the ramp.

The airplane 16 is designed to assure stability during projection down the runway of the ramp. The airplane has a pair of wings 70 whose trailing edges may lie on one or both of a pair of rails 72, 74 provided on either side of the roadway portion of the ramp. The rails also stiffen the ramp 14 against the bending movement of the stretched rubberband 18. The bottom of the projection 20 serves as a skid that can support the plane as it moves along the runway. A nose skid 76 is also provided to control the attitude or angle of attack of airplane 16 and to keep the band-engaging projection 20 in the runway hole. The aircraft does not have any downward projections behind the projection 20 that could catch on the rubber band immediately after the craft was launched. The fact that the plane is pulled from a region near the front of the plane tends to assure a more stable run along the ramp, as opposed to an arrangement where the band-engaging bracket might be located near the rear of the plane.

In order to set up the apparatus for launching, a child engages the rubberband with a notch on the bracket projection 20 of the airplane, and draws back the airplane until the projection 20 falls into the hole 22. The vehicle, ramp, and airplane installed thereon is then placed on the toy track. Typically, the vehicle is an unpowered type, and it initially accelerates down a steep incline to reach a substantial speed. As the vehicle passes by the track section 34, the airplane is suddenly launched into the air while the vehicle continues along the track layout at a substantial speed. All of this happens very quickly, and the effect of a very rapid airplane launching and the continuing vehicle is highly entertaining.

Thus, the invention provides aircraft-launching apparatus which enables launching from a moving automotive-type vehicle, in a manner that provides for a maximum initial speed of the aircraft, and which allows the vehicle to continue along a track with little apparent disruption.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for launching a toy aircraft comprising:

a toy vehicle for moving in a forward direction;

launching means mounted on said vehicle for launching a toy aircraft in a generally forward direction as said vehicle moves forward, whereby to launch said vehicle with a high initial speed;

said launching means including a runway, means for propelling said aircraft along said runway, means for retaining said aircraft at a rearwardly position along said runway, and means extending from said vehicle for selectively releasing said aircraft from said means for retaining said means for selectively releasing said aircraft; including

means for guiding said vehicle along a predetermined path; and

engaging means disposed proximate to said guide means to actuate said selectively releasing means as said vehicle moves thereby.

2. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein:

said engaging means is elongated and extends at a small angle to said guide means to gradually engage said selectively releasing means, whereby to minimize disruption of the vehicle.

3. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein:

said launching means includes a ramp member, said ramp member having an elongated runway portion, a vehicle-engaging portion pivotally engaged with the rear end of said runway portion, and a pair of elevation-adjusting members extending downwardly from either side of said runway portion, said elevation adjusting members engageable with said vehicle at a plurality of positions to enable change of the elevation angle of said runway portion.

4. The apparatus described in claim 3 wherein:

said vehicle has a pair of side openings where the side windows of a conventional automobile are located; and

said elevation adjusting members extend through said side openings.

5. Apparatus for launching a toy aircraft comprising:

a toy vehicle for moving in a forward direction;

launching means mounted on said vehicle for launching a toy aircraft in a generally forward direction as said vehicle moves forward, whereby to launch said vehicle with a high initial speed; and

said launching means including a unitary member constructed of flexible material with an elongated runway portion for positioning on top of said vehicle, a vehicle-engaging portion pivotally joined to the rear end of said runway portion by a narrow hinge region of said flexible material, a pair of elevation members disposed on either side of said runway portion for engaging opposite sides of said vehicle, means defining an aperture in said runway portion, and a lever having an inner end normally below said aperture, an outer end extending from one side of said launching means, and a center portion pivotally joined to said runway portion by a narrow hinge region of said flexible material.

6. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein:

said launching means includes an elongated runway portion with a hole therein, and elastic band means for pulling an airplane forward along said runway portion; and including

an airplane having a wing and a band-engaging projection for reception in said hole in said runway portion, said projection located along the length of said airplane intermediate the front and rear ends thereof.

7. Apparatus for launching a toy aircraft comprising:

a toy vehicle;

a ramp assembly mounted on said vehicle, said ramp assembly including a runway for guiding a toy aircraft, means for urging said aircraft in a forward direction along said ramp to launch it into the air, means for retaining said aircraft near the rear end of said runway, and means for releasing said aircraft from said means for retaining to allow it to move in a forward direction;

a track section for carrying said vehicle; and

means positioned along said track section for operating said means for releasing as said vehicle moves thereby.

8. The apparatus described in claim 6 wherein:

said means for releasing comprises a lever pivotally mounted on said ramp assembly, said lever having an operating end extending to one side of said vehicle; and

said means for operating comprises a member positioned at the side of said track section, clear of vehicles moving therealong, but in a position to contact said operating end of said lever to move it inwardly.

9. The apparatus described in claim 8 wherein:

said member is elongated and positioned at a small angle to the vehicle path on said track section, whereby to smoothly push in said operating end of said lever.

10. In an apparatus for launching a toy aircraft from a moving toy vehicle, the apparatus on the toy vehicle for launching the aircraft comprising:

a ramp having an elongated runway, a rear mounting member pivotally coupled to the rear end of said runway for attachment to said toy vehicle, a pair of elevation members extending from either side of said runway for supporting it on said vehicle, a hole formed in said runway, and a lever pivotally coupled to said runway portion, said lever including an inner end for movement toward and away from said hole.

11. The apparatus described in claim 10 wherein:

said ramp is an integral member of flexible material, said rear mounting member, elevation members, and lever each being joined to said runway by narrowed portions that form a hinge.