초록 ▼

A rider propelled vehicle having a drive assembly including pedals and at least one drive wheel mounted on the chassis and operatively connected to the pedals for powering the vehicle. Left and right steering shafts are mounted forwardly of the seat generally at respective laterally opposite sides o

A rider propelled vehicle having a drive assembly including pedals and at least one drive wheel mounted on the chassis and operatively connected to the pedals for powering the vehicle. Left and right steering shafts are mounted forwardly of the seat generally at respective laterally opposite sides of the vehicle for pivoting about the longitudinal axes of the shafts. Left and right wheels are mounted on the left and right steering shafts, respectively, for turning about the longitudinal axes of the shafts. A steering assembly for turning the steering shafts about their respective longitudinal axes includes a steering actuator positioned for the rider to grasp and turn relative to the chassis while sitting in the seat to steer the vehicle. The steering assembly and the steering shafts are arranged in a generally inverted-U shape so that the rider\s legs may extend through the inverted U to operate the pedals.

대표청구항 ▼

A drive assembly for a rider propelled vehicle comprising: a shaft mounted on the vehicle for rotation about a drive axis; a pair of crank arms operatively connected to the shaft for rotating the shaft about the drive axis with the crank arms revolving around the drive axis; a pair of pedals each ca

A drive assembly for a rider propelled vehicle comprising: a shaft mounted on the vehicle for rotation about a drive axis; a pair of crank arms operatively connected to the shaft for rotating the shaft about the drive axis with the crank arms revolving around the drive axis; a pair of pedals each capable of being driven by a pumping motion of one of the rider\s legs along a repeating path through a first dead center position in which the rider\s leg is generally in its most fully flexed position, and a second dead center position in which the rider\s leg is generally in its most fully extended position; means operatively connecting each of the pedals to a respective crank arm, said connecting means being operable to transmit the motion of the pedals to the crank arms and being movable relative to the crank arms so that when the pedals are in their respective first and second dead center positions the force applied by the rider\s leg to the pedal in the first dead center position is directed by said connecting means along a line spaced from the axis of rotation of the shaft; and a power assist device operatively connected to the vehicle and the shaft, the power assist device being operable to store energy during a first portion of a revolution of the crank arms, release energy during a second portion of the revolution of the crank arms to assist in driving the rotation of the shaft, store energy during a third portion of the revolution of the crank arms, and release energy during a fourth portion of the revolution of the crank arms to assist in driving the rotation of the shaft.