U.S. patent number 3,603,024 [Application Number 04/880,314] was granted by the patent office on 1971-09-07 for launcher for toy aircraft.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mattel, Inc.. Invention is credited to Homer S. Davis, Derek J. Gay.
United States Patent |
3,603,024 |
Davis , et al. |
September 7, 1971 |
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.
Inventors: |
Davis; Homer S. (Los Angeles,
CA), Gay; Derek J. (Redondo Beach, CA) |
Assignee: |
Mattel, Inc. (Hawthorne,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
25376013 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/880,314 |
Filed: |
November 26, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/65;
446/435 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H
27/14 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63H
27/00 (20060101); A63H 27/14 (20060101); A63h
027/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;46/1,74,78,80,81,202 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mancene; Louis G.
Assistant Examiner: Cutting; Robert F.
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.
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.
* * * * *