Transformers Toy Patents

US patent for Megatron, which reuses the Japanese patent diagrams but with extra shading added. Filed 1983-06-15. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. US4571201

US design patent for Hound. Filed 1984-04-17. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. USD285466

Yep, Dropshot was patented the same month as the others: January 1985 and done by Akio Kitamura, who did the race car/bird/robot triple changer. (See attached post) I think all of the patented toys had some form of prototype, but perhaps just proof of concepts for some. bsky.app/profile/tfpa...

US design patent for Swerve. Invented by Hideaki Yoke. Filed 1986-01-10. USD295300

US design patent for Rumble/Frenzy. Filed 1983-12-02. Invented by Takashi Matuda. USD288221

US design patent for Downshift. Filed 1984-05-30. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. USD284491

Another late patent is this US patent for Bluestreak, Skids/Crosscut, Trailbreaker and Inferno. Filed 1986-04-07, just as the 1984/1985 Autobot cars were being phased out. Drawings are reused from the Japanese patents but with extra shading. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. US4680018

One more unreleased triple changer from Kaoru Matsumoto. This one is a simple car/jet/robot. Filed 1985-01-31. JPS61127792U

Patent for a Lamborghini/tank/robot triple changer! The tank mode does not look very convincing, so maybe it's mis-transformed? Filed 1985-01-31. Invented by Kaoru Matsumoto, who later went on to work on Broadside. JPS61127793U

Patent for another unreleased triple changer. This one has race car, bird and robot modes and was invented by Akio Kitamura. Filed 1985-01-17. JPS61121888U

Another unproduced dinosaur/car/robot triple changer by Daishirou Shibukawa. This time, the dinosaur mode is a Brontosaurus and the car mode is a Honda City Turbo. Filed 1985-01-31. JPS61130287U

Filed 1985-01-31, an unproduced car/dinosaur/robot triple changer by Daishirou Shibukawa. He later went on to create Sandstorm as well as Bruticus and Abominus. There are many unproduced triple changers from this time period. JPS61130292U

Patent for another early version of the Battlechargers. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. Filed 1984-10-31. JPS61109589A

Takara patent for an unreleased robot with a motor and rotating mechanism. It could be separated and recombined into different forms. This mechanism was later used for Star Convoy's connection to Grandus in base mode. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. Filed 1984-11-30. JPS61131778A

Japanese patent for Aerialbot Skydive. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. Filed 1985-03-15. JPS61154993U

Japanese patent for Wheelie. Filed 1985-09-28. Invented by Kaoru Matsumoto. JPS6256072U

US design patent for Outback. Invented by Hideaki Yoke. Filed 1986-01-10. USD297035

Japanese Patent for Mecha Senshi, aka the Transformers Mini-Spies! Filed 1984-09-28. Invented by Nobuhiro Ikenaga. JPS6163292U

Japanese Patent for Kup. Filed 1985-11-29. Invented by Akio Kitamura. JPS6292888U

Patent for the next iteration of Superion, which includes Silverbolt. The arms are properly oriented as well. There are still several differences: he's missing the helmet and feet plates, the fists are huge, and he has a space shuttle arm. Filed 1985-02-18. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. JPS61139284U.

US design patent for Camshaft. Filed 1984-05-30. Invented by Kohjin Ohno. USD286169

US design patent for Laserbeak / Buzzsaw. Filed 1983-12-02. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. USD283335S

Patent for an early version of the Battlechargers. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. Filed 1984-10-31. JPS6180092U

Bio Suits was the last similar Microman armor/power up suit released prior to this patent that I know of, so I went with that term.

Patent for an unreleased combiner robot composed of 3 animals. The animals resemble Laserbeak and Ravage. Invented by Takashi Matsuda. Filed 1984-12-27. JPS61111480U

Aaaah that's a good catch. Thanks for the correction!!

The Superion in that artwork is a hybrid, I think--he has the arm orientation of the one in the patent, but the center robot is the Silverbolt from the one in the attached image. It's pretty crazy how much the design changed from start to finish!

Patent for a very early version of Superion. There are many differences from the final design: Silverbolt is replaced by a F14 robot, the arms are upside down, the arm and fist connections are different, etc. Filed 1984-11-12. Invented by Kaoru Matsumoto. JPS61115590A

Another "Pumpformer" concept, this time a Porsche with the pump connection on the windshield. Filed 1985-02-28. Invented by Katsumi Ogawa and Kei Yokoyama. JPS61199876A

Takara patent for converting a Transformer using an air pump. Filed 1985-02-28, around the same timeframe that Scramble City toys were being developed. Invented by Katsumi Ogawa and Kei Yokoyama. JPS61199879A