Miniature vehicle and set

Abstract

In an aspect, the invention is directed to a set that includes a miniature vehicle that drives one or more wheels with an on-board motor that draws power from an on-board power source. A switch is provided to control the transmission of power from the power source to the motor. A first drive-related magnetically-responsive member is movable between first and second positions to control whether the switch is off or on. A second drive-related magnetically-responsive member is positionable to interact with the first drive-related magnetically responsive member to move the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member to the second position so as to close the switch.

1 . A set, comprising:
 a miniature vehicle including a chassis, a plurality of wheels rotatable with respect to the chassis, a motor, wherein the plurality of wheels includes at least one driven wheel that is drivable by the motor, a power source connectable to provide power to the motor, a switch operatively connected to control power transmission from the power source to the motor, and a first drive-related magnetically-responsive member that is positionable in a first position wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member opens the switch to disconnect the motor from the power source, and a second position wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member closes the switch to connect the motor to the power source; and   a second drive-related magnetically responsive member that is positionable to interact with the first drive-related magnetically responsive member to move the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member to the second position when the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member is sufficiently close to the second drive-related magnetically-responsive member, thereby closing the switch and causing the motor to drive the at least one driven wheel.   
     
     
         2 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a guideway that includes a base and a pair of guide walls positioned to guide the vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . A set as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the second drive-related magnetically responsive member is positioned in the guideway. 
     
     
         4 . A set as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the second drive-related magnetically-responsive member is positioned in the base of the guideway. 
     
     
         5 . A set as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the guideway is made up of a plurality of connectible sections, wherein one of the connectible sections is an accelerator section which has the second drive-related magnetically-responsive member thereon. 
     
     
         6 . A set as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the accelerator section is selectively positionable at any one of a plurality of positions along the length of the guideway. 
     
     
         7 . A set as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the accelerator section is one of a plurality of accelerator sections which are selectively positionable at a plurality of positions along the length of the guideway. 
     
     
         8 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member is a magnet and the second drive-related magnetically-responsive member is a ferrous metal. 
     
     
         9 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member is biased towards the first position. 
     
     
         10 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of wheels includes at least one steerable wheel, wherein the vehicle further includes a steering linkage connected to the at least one steerable wheel, wherein the steering linkage has a first steering-related magnetically-responsive member thereon and is positionable in a first position to steer the vehicle generally straight forward, in a second position to steer the vehicle towards the left and a third position to steer the vehicle towards the right, wherein the steering linkage is biased towards the first position,
 and wherein the set further includes a second steering-related magnetically-responsive member that is positionable to interact with the first steering-related magnetically responsive member to cause movement of the steering linkage to one of the second or third positions when the first steering-related magnetically-responsive member is sufficiently close to the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member.   
     
     
         11 . A set as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the first steering-related magnetically-responsive member is a left first steering-related magnetically-responsive member and is movable when sufficiently close to the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member to cause movement of the steering linkage to the second position, and wherein the steering linkage further has a right first steering-related magnetically-responsive member thereon that is movable when sufficiently close to the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member to cause movement of the steering linkage to the third position. 
     
     
         12 . A set as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member is removably connectable to a selected one of the guide walls. 
     
     
         13 . A set as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member is removably connectable to a selected one of the guide walls at any one of a plurality of positions along the length of the guideway. 
     
     
         14 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member is positioned in the base of the guideway. 
     
     
         15 . A set as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the guideway is made up of a plurality of connectible sections, wherein one of the connectible sections is a steering section which has the second steering-related magnetically-responsive member thereon. 
     
     
         16 . A set as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the power source includes a battery. 
     
     
         17 . A set as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the power source further includes a voltage boosting circuit that stores charge from the battery at a higher voltage than the battery voltage and that drives the motor when the switch closes. 
     
     
         18 . A set as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein the voltage boosting circuit is a boost converter. 
     
     
         19 . A miniature vehicle, comprising:
 a chassis;   a plurality of wheels rotatable with respect to the chassis;   a motor, wherein the plurality of wheels includes at least one driven wheel that is drivable by the motor;   a battery;   a voltage boosting circuit that stores charge from the battery at a higher voltage than the battery voltage and that is selectively connectable to the motor; and   a switch that is selectively closeable to operatively connect the voltage boosting circuit to the motor.   
     
     
         20 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 19 , wherein the voltage boosting circuit is a boost converter. 
     
     
         21 . A set, comprising:
 a miniature vehicle, including a chassis, a plurality of wheels rotatable with respect to the chassis, a motor, wherein the plurality of wheels includes at least one driven wheel that is drivable by the motor, a battery, a voltage boosting circuit that stores charge from the battery at a higher voltage than the battery voltage and that is selectively connectable to provide power to the motor, a switch that is selectively closeable to operatively connect the voltage boosting circuit to the motor; and   a switch controller that is external to the vehicle and that controls the position of the switch.   
     
     
         22 . A set as claimed in  claim 21 , wherein the vehicle includes a first drive-related magnetically-responsive member that is positionable in a first position wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member opens the switch to disconnect the voltage boosting circuit from the motor, and a second position wherein the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member closes the switch to connect the voltage boosting circuit to the motor,
 and wherein the switch controller includes a second drive-related magnetically responsive member that is positionable to interact with the first drive-related magnetically responsive member to move the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member to the second position when the first drive-related magnetically-responsive member is sufficiently close to the second drive-related magnetically-responsive member, thereby closing the switch and causing the motor to drive the at least one driven wheel.   
     
     
         23 . A packaging for a miniature vehicle for use with a guideway including a base and a pair of guide walls, comprising:
 a blister member; and   a backing member connected to the blister member, wherein the backing member forms a section in the base of the guideway.   
     
     
         24 . A miniature vehicle that includes a base portion that is driven by a motor; and
 a plurality of performance-altering members, each of which are removably connectable to the base portion of the vehicle, including a first performance-altering member that, when connected to the base portion, electrically controls the motor to operate a first way in response to a given input, and including a second performance-altering member that, when connected to the base portion, electrically controls the motor to operate a second way in response to the given input.   
     
     
         25 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein when the first performance-altering member is connected to the base portion, the motor operates for a first period of time in response to a given input, and when the second performance-altering member is connected to the base portion, the motor operates for a second period of time in response to a given input. 
     
     
         26 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 25 , wherein when the base portion includes a voltage-controlled switch to control current flow through the motor, and wherein a main voltage source is selectively connectable to the voltage-controlled switch to control the state of the voltage-controlled switch, wherein each performance-altering member includes a secondary voltage source, which, when connected to the base portion of the vehicle, controls the voltage-controlled switch to keep the voltage-controlled switch closed for a selected period of time after disconnection of the main voltage source from the voltage-controlled switch. 
     
     
         27 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein the secondary voltage source is a capacitor. 
     
     
         28 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the capacitor is chargeable by the main voltage source when the main voltage source is connected to the voltage-controlled switch. 
     
     
         29 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein the first performance-altering member includes a first body shell that represents a first type of vehicle having a first level of performance, and the second performance-altering member includes a second body shell that represents a second type of vehicle having a second level of performance. 
     
     
         30 . A miniature vehicle as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the first body shell represents a racecar and the second body shell represents a sedan.