Vehicle with gear-changing mechanism including two displaceable gears

A toy vehicle comprising a vehicle body supported on a plurality of wheels, said body including a power source for driving certain of said wheels of the toy vehicle, said power source including a flywheel and gear means, said gear means including gears engageable in a first gear path and gears engageable in a second gear path, said gears in said first gear path providing a driving relationship between said wheels and said flywheel in one mode of operation and said gears in said second gear path being capable of providing a driving relationship between said flywheel and said wheels in another mode of operation;

• said gears including:
• a first gear and axle combination, said axle being rotatably locked with respect to said wheels;
• a second gear and axle combination, said axle being rotatably supported in a first pair of arcuate slot supports, said second gear and axle combination being movable in said slot supports from a first operating position for function in said one mode of operation to a second operating position for function in said other mode of operation;
• shifting means for moving said second gear and axle combination from said first operating position to said second operating position and from said second operating position to said first operating position;
• and
• a third gear and axle combination, said third gear and axle combination being rotatably supported in a second pair of arcuate slot supports, said third gear and axle combination being moveable in said slot supports from a first neutral position to a second operative position, and wherein said third gear in the second position provides a driving relationship between said wheels and said flywheel whereby said wheels may rotatably drive said flywheel, said third gear and axle combination being lifted into said second operative position by the increasing rotational force of said second gear and axle combination and falling into the neutral position when said second gear and axle combination is not imparting increasing rotational force to said third gear and axle combination.

The toy vehicle comprising a body, a power source carried by said body, and wheel means for supporting said body, said power source comprising:

• a flywheel mounted on a shaft;
• gear means adapted for interconnecting said flywheel and said wheel means, said gear means comprising a plurality of gears adapted to form a first gear path to interconnect said flywheel to said wheel means at a first gear ratio when said vehicle is manually moved along a surface and said plurality of gears being adapted to form a second gear path at a second gear ratio when said flywheel drives said wheel means;
• and
• shifting means for changing said gears from operation in said first gear path to operation in said second gear path, said shifting means including a first idler gear and shaft combination, said first idler gear shaft being disposed in a first pair of slot supports, said first idler gear and shaft combination being radially displaceable along said first slot supports, said first idler gear thereby being displaceable from a neutral position to a position of engagement in said one gear path and from the position of engagement in said first gear path to a neutral position, said first idler gear further being displaceable from a neutral position to a position of engagement in said second gear path and from the position of engagement in said second gear path to a neutral position, said shifting means further including a second idler gear and shaft combination, said second idler gear shaft being disposed in a second pair of slot supports for radial displacement along said second slot supports into and out of engagement in said second gear path, said latter radial displacement into engagement being effected by rotatable action of said first idler gear on said second idler gear when said first idler gear is being driven while in the position for engagement in said first gear path.

A toy vehicle comprising a vehicle body supported on a plurality of wheels, said body including a power source for driving certain of said wheels, said power source including a flywheel and gear means, said gear means including a first gear path and a second gear path, said first gear path providing a driving relationship between said wheels and said flywheel in one mode of operation and said second gear path being capable of providing a driving relationship between said flywheel and said wheels in another mode of operation;

• said gear means including:
• a first gear and axle combination, said axle being rotatably locked with respect to said driven wheels;
• a second gear and axle combination, said axle being rotatably supported in a first pair of arcuate slots, said second gear and axle combination being movable in said first slots from a first operating position for function in said one mode of operation to a second operating position for function in said other mode of operation, means for releasably holding said second gear in said first operating position and spring means for urging said second gear into said second operating position;
• shifting means for moving said second gear and axle combination from said first operating position to said second operating position and from said second operating position to said first operating position;
• and
• a third gear and axle combination, said third gear and axle combination being rotatably supported in a second pair of arcuate slots, said third gear and axle combination being movable in said slots from a first neutral position to a second operative position, and wherein said third gear in the second position provides a driving relationship between said wheels and said flywheel whereby said wheels may rotatably drive said flywheel, said third gear and axle combination being lifted into said second operative position by the increasing rotational force of said second gear and axle combination and falling by gravitational force into the neutral position when said second gear and axle combination is not imparting increasing rotational force.