초록 ▼

Improved propulsion, suspension, and steering means for a skateboard-like vehicle which can be propelled and steered entirely by the feet of a rider without those feet touching the ground. An actuating means is also provided which allows the operation of brakes and/or other appropriate mechanisms wi

Improved propulsion, suspension, and steering means for a skateboard-like vehicle which can be propelled and steered entirely by the feet of a rider without those feet touching the ground. An actuating means is also provided which allows the operation of brakes and/or other appropriate mechanisms without the repositioning of the rider\s feet on the vehicle\s foot supporting surface. The vehicle incoporates front and rear, independently-actuable pedals (53, 53R) which are actually discontinuous sections of the foot supporting platform or deck. These, combined with their support means (54, 55-front; 54R, 55R-rear), compose opposing front and rear level members which are pivotally mounted along crosswise axes. The pivotal axis of the front pedal is positioned substantially to the rear of the pivotal axis of the rear pedal so that the pedals can achieve a greater range of motion with a minimum of angular deviation. Each pedal support means retains a roller (58, 58R) which moves up and down with the support means. Using the front drive train as an example, a drive belt (52) is fixed in its middle to the frame (50) of the vehicle and is guided by two other rollers before winding around and terminating at a drive sleeve (76) to which it is fixed at its front end. When the pedal (53) is depressed, the roller (58) descends into the drive belt (52) causing it to unwind from the drive sleeve (76), imparting in it, a rotational motion. The drive sleeve retains one way clutches (80 and 81) which engage a wheel axle (82) causing a wheel (92) to rotate and propel the vehicle. A return spring (78) biases the drive sleeve to rotate in other direction when the rider lifts their foot off the pedal. At that time, the vehicle coasts, as the drive sleeve (76) disengages from the drive axle (82), winding up the drive belt (52) and pushing the pedal (53) back up to its original position. Other embodiments include a vehicle with a crank-clutch-gear drive and a vehicle with an alternate arrangement and style of pedal brackets.

대표청구항 ▼

A human-powered vehicle, comprising: a plurality of wheels for enabling said vehicle to roll when placed on a surface, a rider-supporting platform having a discontinuous surface so as to provide a plurality of sections, one of said sections comprising a front pedal, and one of said sections comprisi

A human-powered vehicle, comprising: a plurality of wheels for enabling said vehicle to roll when placed on a surface, a rider-supporting platform having a discontinuous surface so as to provide a plurality of sections, one of said sections comprising a front pedal, and one of said sections comprising a rear pedal, pedal-support means attached to each said pedal for mounting said pedals, pivoting means attached to each said pedal-support means for enabling said pedals to reciprocate in generally vertical directions, said pivoting means for said front pedal being located generally to the rear of said pivoting means for said rear pedal so as to make each of said pedals have as long a lever arm as possible, thereby reducing the angular deviation required of each of said pedals for any given length of pedal stroke, power-transmission means for causing at least one of said wheels to rotate in response to the depression of one of said pedals, pedal-return means for biasing said pedals to return to the top of their strokes, and retaining means for holding all of the foregoing components of said vehicle in their aforecited functional relationships.