Remote Control Toy Vehicle Assembly

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote control assembly including a control unit and a toy vehicle. The control unit includes a series of control unit directional indicia to indicate the direction the vehicle will travel when an associated actuator on the control unit is engaged. The toy vehicle, furthermore, includes vehicle directional indicia, each vehicle indicium corresponding to an indicium on the control unit. As a result, the assembly includes a pair of matching indicia—one on the control unit and one on the toy vehicle—that indicates to a child the direction in which a vehicle will travel when an associated actuator on the control unit is engaged.

1 . A remote control assembly comprising:
 a control unit including an input device configured to receive directional input from a user, and a signal transmitter for transmitting control signals corresponding to the received directional input, the input device including a forward direction indicium, a reverse direction indicium, a left direction indicium, and a right direction indicium; and   a toy vehicle including a body, at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel rotatably coupled to the body, and a signal receiver for receiving the control signals from the control unit, the toy vehicle movable in a forward direction, a reverse direction, a left direction, and a right direction in response to a corresponding control signal received from the input device, wherein the forward direction indicium is located on the toy vehicle forward relative to the other indicium, the reverse direction indicium is located on the toy vehicle rearward relative to the other indicium, the left direction indicium is located proximate to one side of the toy vehicle, and the right direction indicium is located proximate to a side of the toy vehicle opposite the left direction indicium, the forward direction indicium corresponding to each other, the left direction indicium corresponding to each other, the right direction indicium corresponding to each other, and the reverse direction indicium corresponding to each other.   
     
     
         2 . The remote control assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the forward direction indicium is a first color, the reverse direction indicium is a second color, the left direction indicium is a third color, and the right direction indicium is a fourth color, each of the colors being different from each other. 
     
     
         3 . The remote control assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the input device includes a plurality of light generating devices, each of the light generating devices being associated with one of the first, second, third, and fourth colors. 
     
     
         4 . The remote control assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the toy vehicle includes light generating devices associated with each of the first, second, third, and fourth colors. 
     
     
         5 . The remote control assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the toy vehicle includes a plurality of colored labels, each of the colored labels being coupled to the toy vehicle and corresponding to one of the first, second, third, and fourth colors. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A remote control toy, comprising:
 a remote control unit with a signal transmitter and a directional input device that receives an input from a user, the directional input device including individually color-coded indicia corresponding to potential directions of input; and   a toy vehicle including a body, a plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the body, a drive motor housed therein, a signal receiver that receives control signals from the directional input device, and a plurality of individually color-coded directional indicia on the body, each color-coded directional indicium corresponding to a direction of movement of the vehicle, and each color-coded directional indicium corresponding to one of the color-coded indicia on the directional input device of the remote control unit.   
     
     
         8 . The remote control toy of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 light generating devices located on one of the remote control unit or the toy vehicle, the light generating devices being associated with each of the color-coded directional indicium on the body of the vehicle, each light generating device being illuminated when the toy vehicle is moved in a corresponding direction in response to the control signals from the directional input device.   
     
     
         9 . The remote control toy of  claim 7 , wherein the one color-coded directional indicium is a forward direction indicium and a first color, another color-coded directional indicium is a reverse direction indicium and a second color, another color-coded directional indicium is a left direction indicium and a third color, and another color-coded directional indicium is a right direction indicium and a fourth color. 
     
     
         10 . The remote control toy of  claim 9 , wherein the directional input device includes a plurality of light generating devices, each of the light generating devices being associated with one of the color-coded indicia on the remote control unit. 
     
     
         11 . The remote control toy of  claim 9 , wherein each of the color-coded directional indicia is a different color. 
     
     
         12 . The remote control toy of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of color-coded directional indicia includes a first color, a second color, a third color, and a fourth color, and the toy vehicle includes light generating devices associated with each of the first, second, third, and fourth colors. 
     
     
         13 . The remote control toy of  claim 7 , wherein the color-coded directional indicia include a plurality of colored labels, each of the colored labels being coupled to the toy vehicle and corresponding to one of a first color, a second color, a third color, and a fourth color. 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A remote control toy vehicle, comprising:
 a toy vehicle including a body, front wheels rotatably coupled to a front portion of the body, rear wheels rotatably coupled to a rear portion of the body, and a first color coded indicium on the front portion and a second color coded indicium on the rear portion; and   a control unit configured to send control signals to the toy vehicle, the toy vehicle moving in a direction corresponding to the receipt of an associated control signal, the control unit including a forward direction indicium corresponding to the first color coded indicium and a reverse direction indicium corresponding to the second color coded indicium.   
     
     
         16 . The remote control toy vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the toy vehicle further includes a third color coded indicium on a left side portion of the body, and a fourth color coded indicium on a right side portion of the body, the control unit includes a left direction indicium corresponding to the third color coded indicium and a right direction indicium corresponding to the fourth color coded indicium. 
     
     
         17 . The remote control toy vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the first color coded indicium and the forward direction indicium include a first color output, and the second color coded indicium and the reverse direction indicium include a second color output. 
     
     
         18 . The remote control toy vehicle of  claim 17 , wherein each of the first color output and the second color output includes a light generating device. 
     
     
         19 . The remote control toy vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the forward direction indicium and the first color coded indicium are the same color, and the reverse direction indicium and the second color coded indicium are the same color. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The remote control toy vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the color-coded indicia include a plurality of colored labels, each of the colored labels being coupled to the toy vehicle and corresponding to one of a first color, a second color, a third color, and a fourth color.