The present invention relates to a toy vehicle slot track, and more particularly to a toy vehicle slot track having a first portion wherein guide slots disposed in an upper surface of the track are spaced apart at a first distance and a second portion wherein the guide slots are spaced apart at a second distance.
A variety of toy vehicle slot track constructions are known. Generally, the track construction comprises track segments having one or more guide slots for engaging a projecting pin on a toy vehicle which guide the toy vehicle around the track. The toy vehicles are typically powered through a pair of conductors embedded in the track.
Prior art track constructions have presented various configurations of the guide slots. For example, multiple guide slots which merge into a single slot or guide slots which intersect in criss-cross fashion are known in the prior art, providing enhanced play action of the track and toy vehicles. However, a scenario which is not replicated in the prior art is a “squeeze” maneuver seen in automobile racing, wherein the toy vehicles receive power during the maneuver. During a car race, drivers tend to move to the inner radius in a curved portion of a race track to maximize control of the race vehicle, and thus the cars tend to move through a curve more nearly in single file than the cars would move through a straight portion of the track. U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,515 discloses a toy vehicle slot track wherein the slots converge in a turn, simulating the squeeze maneuver. However, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,515 does not provide power to the toy vehicles as the toy vehicles move through the turn with the converged slots.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds