초록 ▼

An apparatus is attachable to a conventional snowboard to convert the snowboard into a snow scooter having improved performance characteristics in comparison to those of the snowboard alone. The apparatus includes a member movable relative to the snowboard by either the hands or feet of the rider, a

An apparatus is attachable to a conventional snowboard to convert the snowboard into a snow scooter having improved performance characteristics in comparison to those of the snowboard alone. The apparatus includes a member movable relative to the snowboard by either the hands or feet of the rider, and forces and motions applied to that member by the rider are converted by an associated motion and force transmitting mechanism into twisting motions of the rear portion of the snowboard relative to the front portion of the snowboard, allowing the scooter rider to better perform turns and other maneuvers during the riding of the scooter and also allowing the rider to ride the snow scooter without foot bindings fixing his feet to the scooter.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An apparatus for forming a snow scooter by attachment of the apparatus to a snowboard having front and rear portions and a middle portion between the front and rear portions onto which middle portion a rider is positioned during use of the snow scooter, said apparatus in a condition of its being

1. An apparatus for forming a snow scooter by attachment of the apparatus to a snowboard having front and rear portions and a middle portion between the front and rear portions onto which middle portion a rider is positioned during use of the snow scooter, said apparatus in a condition of its being attached to the snowboard such as aforesaid comprising:a movable member located above the snowboard and movable by the rider back and forth along a movement path relative to the snowboard, and a motion transmitting mechanism operable between the movable member and the rear portion of the snowboard for twisting the rear portion of the snowboard back and forth, about an axis extending longitudinally of the snowboard, relative to the front portion of the snowboard in response to said back and forth movement of the movable member by the rider along said movement path, the motion transmitting mechanism including a front plate assembly attached to the front portion of the snowboard, a rear plate assembly attached to the rear portion of the snowboard, and a torque transmitting assembly extending longitudinally of the snowboard between the front plate assembly and the rear plate assembly, the torque transmitting assembly having a rear end fixed torsionally to the rear plate assembly and having a front end rotatable relative to the front plate assembly, and means for transferring the back and forth movement of the movable member to the front end of the torque transmitting assembly as torsional movement of the front end of the torque transmitting assembly, the torsional movement being transmitted through the torque transmitting assembly to the rear plate assembly so as to cause the twisting of the rear portion of the snowboard relative to the front portion of the snowboard. 2. An apparatus for forming a snow scooter as defined claim 1, wherein:said movable member is a member grippable by the hands of the rider for movement back and forth along said movement path. 3. An apparatus for forming a snow scooter as defined in claim 1, wherein:said movable member is one movable back and forth along said movement path by the feet of the rider. 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein:said movable member is a handle bar having two hand grips grippable respectively by the two hands of the rider. 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein:said movable member is a foot platform spaced above said snowboard and adapted to be stood upon by the rider, and means supporting said foot platform for pivotal movement relative to the snowboard about a pivot axis extending longitudinally of the snowboard so that the platform can be rocked in one direction or the other about said pivot axis by the rider shifting his weight as applied through his feet to the platform. 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:said motion transmitting mechanism further includes a vertical control member extending vertically upwardly from said front plate assembly and carrying said movable member at an upper end of the vertical control member. 7. An apparatus as define in claim 6, wherein:said vertical control member is restrained against translational movement relative to said front plate assembly, except for torsional movement about its own longitudinal axis so that the rider cart rock said vertical control member to one side or the other of a longitudinal axis of the snowboard to twist the front portion of the snowboard in one direction or the other about the longitudinal axis of the snowboard, and so that the rider can also pull up or push down on or push forwardly or pull backwardly the vertical control member to respectively raise or lower the front portion of the snowboard relative to the remainder of the snowboard. 8. An apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein:said vertical control member is supported for movement by said front plate assembly for torsional movement of said vertical control member about the vertical axis of the vertical control member, and the motion transmitting mechanism includes a mechanism for converting the torsional movement of said vertical control member about its vertical axis to rotational movement of said front end of said torque transmitting assembly. 9. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:said torque transmitting assembly includes a mechanism for accommodating changes in the length of the spacing between the front plate assembly and the rear plate assembly caused by flexing of the snowboard. 10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein:said mechanism for accommodating changes in length includes a universal joint and a spline connector located between said front and rear ends of the toque transmitting assembly. 11. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:a foot platform covering the torque transmitting member, and including a substantially rigid tap portion, onto which the rider stands, and a means located between said rigid top portion and the top surface of the snowboard to prevent snow from entering the space between said rigid top portion of the platform and the top surface of the snowboard. 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein:said foot platform has a rear end portion fixed relative to said rear plate assembly and a front end portion slidable relative to said front plate assembly. 13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein:said foot platform before its attachment to the snowboard has a top surface with a concave curvature and the platform is resilient so that in attaching the foot platform to the snowboard one end of the foot platform can be first attached to the snowboard and than the other end of the foot platform can be pressed downwardly into engagement with the snowboard against the resiliency of the foot platform so that after the attachment of the foot platform to the snowboard the resiliency of the foot platform holds a bottom surface of the foot platform snuggly against the top surface of the snowboard to prevent entry of snow into space between the foot platform and the snowboard. 14. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:said apparatus is adapted for connection to one end of a tether extending between the apparatus and the rider to prevent the snow scooter from moving far from the rider in the event of a fall. 15. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein:said foot platform includes a foot strap at a forward end portion of the foot platform for receiving the toe of a boot worn by the rider when the rider is riding a chair lift with the scooter. 16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein:said apparatus includes a connector for receiving one end of a foot tether connected to the boot of the rider which is received in the toe strap during riding of a chair lift to prevent loss of the scooter in the event the boot becomes disengaged from the toe strap. 17. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:said apparatus includes a braking/tipping mechanism actuatable to move the scooter to a braked or tipped position in the event of a fall separating the rider from the scooter. 18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein:said braking/tipping mechanism includes a spring loading braking/tipping member movable relative to the snowboard between a stowed position and a deployed position, which braking/tipping member is held in its stowed position by a pull pin connectable to the rider by a tether so that falling of the rider from the snowboard effects pulling of the pull pin to release the braking/tipping member for movement by its spring loading from its stowed to its active position. 19. An apparatus an defined in claim 1, wherein:said apparatus includes means for releasably locking said torque transmitting assembly against rotation of said torque transmitting assembly relative to the snowboard. 20. An apparatus as defined in claim 19, wherein:said locking means includes a lever operable by the hand of a rider, a latch member positioned adjacent to the torque transmitting assembly and movable into and out of locking engagement with the torque transmitting assembly, and a cable extending between the hand lever and the latch member for moving the latch member into and out of its latching relationship relative to the torque transmitting member in response to operation of the hand lever. 21. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein:said vertical control member is movable relative to the front plate assembly between an upright position used during riding of the scooter and a folded position at which the vertical control member is positioned generally parallel to the snowboard. 22. An apparatus as defined in claim 21, wherein:the front plate assembly includes a latch for releasably holding the vertical control member in its upright position. 23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein:said latch includes a shear member which is shearable to release the vertical control member for movement toward its folded position when an excess force is applied to the vertical control member. 24. An apparatus as defined in claim 23, wherein:said shear member is an easily replaceable shear pin. 25. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein:said handle bar includes two hand grips for respectively receiving the two hands of the user and which hand grips are selectively movable to different positions relative to one another to change the spacing between the hand grips. 26. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein:said foot platform includes means enabling the attachment to the foot platform of a boot strap for receiving a toe portion of a boot worn by the rearward foot of the rider during riding of the scooter. 27. An apparatus as defined in claim 26, wherein:said means for enabling attachment of a boot strap to the foot platform is such as to permit attachment of the boot strap to the foot platform at any selected one of a number of different positions relative to the foot platform. 28. A method for operating a snow scooter made by attaching an apparatus as defined by claim 6 to a snowboard, said method being executed by a rider riding the snow scooter and comprising the steps of:starting the riding of the snow scooter by going directly down hill with everything straight and balanced, rocking the vertical control member to one side so as to ride on an uphill edge of the snowboard, leaning into the hill to counter centrifugal force caused by the turning, at this point carving the first turn by turning the movable member in a direction opposite to the turn and then initiating a second turn, back through the fall line by turning the movable member in the downhill direction to cause the front portion of the snowboard to slip while the rear portion still bites into the snow. 29. A method for operating a snow scooter made by attaching an apparatus as defined by claim 6 to a snowboard, said method being executed by a rider riding the snow scooter and comprising the steps of:starting the riding of the snow scooter by going directly down hill with everything straight and balanced, rocking the vertical control member to one side so as to ride on an uphill edge of the snowboard, leaning into the hill to counter centrifugal force caused by the turning, at this point skidding the first turn by turning the moving the movable member in the direction of the turn, and then initiating a second turn back through the fall line by turning the movable member in the downhill direction to cause the front portion of the snowboard to slip while the rear portion still bites into the snow. 30. A snow scooter comprising:a snowboard having front and rear portions and a middle portion between the front and rear portions onto which middle portion a rider is positioned during use of the snow scooter; a movable member located above the snowboard and movable by the rider back and forth along a movement path relative to the snowboard, and a motion transmitting mechanism attached to the snowboard and operable between the movable member and the rear portion of the snowboard for twisting the rear portion of the snowboard back and forth, about an axis extending longitudinaily of the snowboard, relative to the front portion of the snowboard in response to said back and forth movement of the movable member by the rider along said movement path, the motion transmitting mechanism including a front plate assembly attached to the front portion of the snowboard, a rear plate assembly attached to the rear portion of the snowboard, and a torque transmitting assembly extending longitudinally of the snowboard between the front plate assembly and the rear plate assembly, the torque transmitting assembly having a rear end fixed torsionally to the rear plate assembly and having a front end rotatable relative to the front plate assembly, and means for transferring the back and forth movement of the movable member to the front end of the torque transmitting assembly as torsional movement of the front end of the torque transmitting assembly, the torsional movement being transmitted through the torque transmitting assembly to the rear plate assembly so as to cause the twisting of the rear portion of the snowboard relative to the front portion of the snowboard. 31. A snow scooter according to claim 30, wherein:said movable member is attached to a vertical control member having a longitudinal axis extending therethrough, and said back and forth movement of said movable member is accomplished by rotating said movable member around said longitudinal axis in a first and second rotational direction. 32. An apparatus for forming a snow scooter by attachment of the apparatus to a snowboard having front and rear portions and a middle portion between the front and rear portions onto which middle portion a rider is positioned during use of the snow scooter, the apparatus in a condition of its being attached to the snowboard such as aforesaid comprising:a movable member located above the snowboard and movable by the rider back and forth along a movement path relative to the snowboard, and a motion transmitting mechanism operable between the movable member and the rear portion of the snowboard for twisting the rear portion of the snowboard transverse, about an axis extending longitudinally of the snowboard, relative to the front portion of the snowboard in response to the back and forth movement of the movable member by the rider along the movement path. 33. A snow scooter comprising:a snowboard having front and rear portions and a middle portion between the front and rear portions onto which middle portion a rider is positioned during use of the snow scooter; a movable member located above the snowboard and movable by the rider back and forth along a movement path relative to the snowboard, and a motion transmitting mechanism attached to the snowboard and operable between the movable number and the rear portion of the snowboard for twisting the rear portion of the snowboard back and forth, about an axis extending longitudinally of the snowboard, relative to the front portion of the snowboard in response to the transverse movement of the movable member by the rider along the movement path.