Tracer race cars and track

Abstract

A toy car has one or more lights emitting light downward onto a glow in the dark track surface in order to leave temporarily illuminated tracer marks therealong. The lights of the cars can be set to be constantly on, constantly off, blinking on and off or timed, for example. The lights can be in various forms, such as black (ultraviolet) lights, purple lights, white lights, or the like. The glow in the dark track surface can be designed in various manners, provided that the light emitted from the toy car leaves a temporary tracer mark along the track as the car moves.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A toy comprising:
 a toy body;   a power supply; and   one or more lamps emitting light at one or more defined points on a surface under the toy body when the toy is disposed on the surface.   
     
     
         2 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the toy is a toy car. 
     
     
         3 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the defined point has a width approximating a width of wheels that support the toy body on the surface. 
     
     
         4 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more lamps are two lamps disposed on opposite sides of a bottom surface of the toy body. 
     
     
         5 . The toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch for controlling power from the power supply to the one or more lamps. 
     
     
         6 . The toy of  claim 5 , further comprising a controller activated by the switch, the controller controlling a pattern of illumination of the one or more lamps. 
     
     
         7 . The toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a glow surface upon which the toy body moves, the glow surface being disposed at least on a toy moving surface thereof, wherein when the one or more lamps are illuminated, light from the one or more lamps activates the glow surface to leave a temporary trace disposed thereupon. 
     
     
         8 . The toy of  claim 7 , wherein the toy moving surface is a track. 
     
     
         9 . The toy of  claim 8 , wherein the glow surface is integrated into the material from which the track is manufactured. 
     
     
         10 . The toy of  claim 7 , wherein the track is a flexible track. 
     
     
         11 . A toy car comprising:
 a car body;   wheels supporting the car body a defined distance from a surface;   a power supply disposed in the car body; and   one or more lamps emitting light at one or more defined points on the surface under the car body when the toy car is disposed on the surface.   
     
     
         12 . The toy car of  claim 11 , wherein the defined point has a width approximating a width of the wheels. 
     
     
         13 . The toy car of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more lamps are two lamps disposed on opposite sides of a bottom surface of the car body. 
     
     
         14 . The toy car of  claim 11 , further comprising a switch for controlling power from the power supply to the one or more lamps. 
     
     
         15 . The toy car of  claim 14 , further comprising a controller activated by the switch, the controller controlling a pattern of illumination of the one or more lamps. 
     
     
         16 . The toy car of  claim 11 , further comprising a track upon which the toy car moves, the track including a glow surface disposed at least on a car moving surface thereof, wherein when the one or more lamps are illuminated, light from the one or more lamps activates the glow surface to leave a temporary trace disposed thereupon as the toy car is moved along the track. 
     
     
         17 . A toy comprising:
 a car body;   a track upon which the toy car moves;   a glow surface disposed at least on a car moving surface of the track;   wheels supporting the car body a defined distance from the track; and   one or more lamps emitting light at one or more defined points on the track under the car body when the toy car is disposed on the track, wherein   when the one or more lamps are illuminated, light from the one or more lamps activates the glow surface to leave a temporary trace disposed on the track as the toy car is moved along the track.   
     
     
         18 . The toy of  claim 17 , wherein the defined point has a width approximating a width of the wheels. 
     
     
         19 . The toy of  claim 17 , further comprising a switch for controlling power from the power supply to the one or more lamps. 
     
     
         20 . The toy of  claim 19 , further comprising a controller activated by the switch, the controller controlling a pattern of illumination of the one or more lamps.