초록 ▼

One embodiment of a tricycle (20) having a spine frame (22), supported by a rear wheel (34) and a pair of steerable front wheels (36), and supporting a recumbent seat (42) pivotably attached at its rear. A pedal boom (44) extends forwardly of the spine (26) and supports a pedal crank assembly (46).

One embodiment of a tricycle (20) having a spine frame (22), supported by a rear wheel (34) and a pair of steerable front wheels (36), and supporting a recumbent seat (42) pivotably attached at its rear. A pedal boom (44) extends forwardly of the spine (26) and supports a pedal crank assembly (46). The front wheels each support a lateral arm (28) with the front wheel pivotably attached at the distal end and an angular projection (80) attached at the proximal end. A pivot (78) connects each angular projection to the spine, allowing the lateral arms and attached front wheels to fold to a stowed position alongside the spine. Another pivot (84) connects the boom to the spine, allowing the boom fold back to a stowed position against the spine. In the travel position, a clamp arrests the angular projections, and can arrest the boom and seat. The tricycle is collapsible to several levels of compactness. Other embodiments are described and shown.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A collapsible tricycle comprising: a spine frame having a spine supported by a rear wheel and by a pair of steerable front wheels,a pedal boom extending forwardly of the spine and supporting a pedal crank assembly,a drive system connecting the pedal crank assembly with the rear wheel, anda seat s

1. A collapsible tricycle comprising: a spine frame having a spine supported by a rear wheel and by a pair of steerable front wheels,a pedal boom extending forwardly of the spine and supporting a pedal crank assembly,a drive system connecting the pedal crank assembly with the rear wheel, anda seat supported by the spine;a lateral arm supporting each of the front wheels, each lateral arm having a proximal end and a distal end with the front wheel pivotably attached at the distal end and an angular projection attached at the proximal end;a pivot connecting each angular projection to the spine and allowing each lateral arm to fold from a travel position, with the distal end spaced from the spine, to a stowed position alongside the spine; andclamping means on the spine to arrest the angular projections in the travel position in a position along the spine and to release the angular projections to a position pivoted away from the spine to allow folding of the lateral arms to their stowed position. 2. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping means includes opposed sides that form jaws of a manual clamp and the angular projections move in and out of the jaws. 3. The tricycle as claimed in claim 2, wherein a pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back from a travel position forward of the spine to a stowed position against the spine. 4. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back from a travel position forward of the spine to a stowed position against the spine and the pedal boom pivot is part of a compound hinge and the clamping means arrests the pedal boom in the travel position. 5. The tricycle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the clamping means additionally arrests and releases the seat. 6. The tricycle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the seat has a base portion and a rear portion with a seat pivot; a weight bearing bracket projecting from the base portion which engages with bracket supports on the spine; anda tie extending from the seat base portion to the clamping means which arrests the seat during tricycle travel, and releases the seat to raise and thereby allow the lateral arms and attached front wheels to move to their stowed position. 7. The tricycle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the tricycle includes a detent and catch combination, one of which is included in the seat and the other in the spine frame, which engage together to arrest the seat spaced above the spine to clear the fully stowed front wheels, and disengage to allow the seat to raise thereby allowing return of the front wheels to the travel position. 8. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat has a base portion and a rear portion with a seat pivot; a weight bearing bracket projecting from the base portion which engages with bracket supports on the spine; anda tie extending from the seat base portion to the clamping means which arrests the seat during tricycle travel, and releases the seat to raise and thereby allow the lateral arms and attached front wheels to move to their stowed position. 9. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spine has a Y shaped cord assembly with a frame end and two arm ends, each arm end being attached to one of the lateral arms and the frame end being attached to the frame adjacent the rear wheel, whereby upward tension on the cord assembly intermediate the ends folds each lateral arm to its stowed position. 10. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radius arm has a pivot end and an arc end, a pivot connects the pivot end to the spine, and the arc end pivotably connects a pair of tie rods which control the steering of the front wheels, this arrangement thereby allowing the tie rods to fold with the lateral arms to their stowed position. 11. The tricycle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the radius arm includes an adjustment that can be set in a predetermined position and thereafter front wheels that are parallel when the lateral arms lie in their travel position will also be parallel when the lateral arms are folded to their stowed position, and the tricycle includes retaining means to arrest the lateral arms in their stowed position and release the lateral arms to allow them to return to their travel position, thereby allowing the tricycle to be rolled true when the lateral arms are in their stowed position. 12. The tricycle as claimed in claim 11 wherein the radius arm defines a slot along its length and a fastening means engages the slot to afford adjustment whereby the length of the radius arm from the pivot to the arc end can be adjusted. 13. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radius arm has a pivot end and an arc end, a pivot connects to the pivot end to the spine, and the arc end pivotably connects a pair of tie rods which control the steering of the front wheels, this arrangement thereby allowing the tie rods to fold with the lateral arms to their stowed position, and the angular projections include stops that arrest the radius arm parallel to the spine when the lateral arms are in the stowed position, thereby aligning the front wheels parallel to the spine and preventing unwanted steering when the lateral arms are in the stowed position and the tricycle is rolled on the wheels. 14. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame includes one or more chainstays, each chainstay having a proximal end and a distal end, with the proximal end pivotably attached to the rear end of the spine and the rear wheel attached to the distal end, thereby allowing the chainstays to fold forward and adjacent the spine, and allowing the tricycle to be collapsed to a shorter length. 15. The tricycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame includes one or more chainstays, each chainstay having a proximal end and a distal end, with the proximal end pivotably attached to the rear end of the spine and the rear wheel attached to the distal end, and the pivot is oriented to allow the chainstays to fold forward and the rear wheel to tilt from a vertical position to a stowed position lying transversely across the tricycle adjacent the front wheels and under the spine. 16. A collapsible tricycle comprising: a spine frame having a spine supported by a rear wheel and by a pair of steerable front wheels,a pedal boom extending forwardly of the spine and supporting a pedal crank assembly,a drive system connecting the pedal crank assembly with the rear wheel, anda seat supported by the spine;wherein the front wheels each support a lateral arm having a proximal end and a distal end with the front wheel pivotably attached at the distal end, anda pivot at the proximal end connects each lateral arm to the spine and allows each lateral arm to fold from a travel position, with the distal end spaced from the spine, to a stowed position alongside the spine; anda pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back against the spine in a stowed position, andthe seat has a base portion and a rear portion,and the tricycle has a seat pivot in the seat rear portion, anda weight bearing bracket projecting from the seat base portion which engages with bracket supports on the spine; anda locking device on the spine which arrests the seat during tricycle travel, and releases the seat to raise and thereby allow the pedal boom to be stowed under the seat and allow the lateral arms and the front wheels to move from their travel position to their stowed position and return to their travel position without removing the seat from the tricycle. 17. The tricycle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the tricycle includes a tie extending from the seat base portion to the locking device on the spine. 18. The tricycle as claimed in claim 17, wherein the tie has a detent which engages a catch on the spine, arresting the tie and supporting the base portion of the seat spaced above the spine to clear the fully stowed front wheels, and allowing the tie to be detached and the seat to raise to allow return of the front wheels to the travel position. 19. The tricycle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the tricycle includes a detent and catch combination, one of which is included in the seat and the other included in the spine, and which engage together and arrest the seat spaced above the spine to clear the fully stowed front wheels, and allow the seat to be detached and raise to allow return of the front wheels to the travel position. 20. A collapsible tricycle comprising: a spine frame having a spine supported by a rear wheel and by a pair of steerable front wheels,the spine having a forward end and a rear end,a pedal boom extending forwardly of the spine and supporting a pedal crank assembly,a drive system connecting the pedal crank assembly with the rear wheel, anda seat supported by the spine;wherein the front wheels each support a lateral arm having a proximal end and a distal end with the front wheel pivotably attached at the distal end, anda pivot at the proximal end connects each lateral arm to the spine and allows each lateral arm to fold from a travel position, with the distal end spaced from the spine, to a stowed position alongside the spine; anda pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back against the spine in a stowed position, andthe seat has a base portion and a rear portion, andwherein the spine frame includes one or more chainstays, each chainstay having a proximal end and a distal end, with the proximal end of each chainstay pivotably attached by a chainstay pivot to the rear end of the spine and the rear wheel attached to the distal end of each chainstay,and the chainstay pivot is oriented to allow the chainstays to fold forward and the rear wheel to tilt from a vertical position to a stowed position lying transversely across the tricycle adjacent the front wheels and under the spine. 21. A collapsible tricycle frame comprising: a spine, supporting mountings for a rear wheel and mountings for a pair of steerable front wheels,a pedal boom extending forwardly of the spine and supporting a mount for a pedal crank assembly,mountings on the spine to support a seat,a lateral arm supporting each of the front wheel mountings, each lateral arm having a proximal end and a distal end with the front wheel mountings pivotably attached at the distal end and an angular projection attached at the proximal end; anda pivot connecting each angular projection to the spine and allowing each lateral arm to fold from a travel position, with the distal end spaced from the spine, to a stowed position alongside the spine; anda clamp contacting the angular projections to arrest the angular projections in the travel position along the spine, the clamp being releasable to permit the angular projections to pivot away from the spine to allow folding of the lateral arms to their stowed position. 22. The tricycle frame as claimed in claim 21, wherein the clamp includes opposed sides that form jaws of a manual clamp and the angular projections move in and out of the jaws. 23. The tricycle frame as claimed in claim 22, wherein a pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back from a travel position forward of the spine to a stowed position against the spine. 24. The tricycle frame as claimed in claim 21, wherein a pivot between the pedal boom and the spine allows the pedal boom to fold back from a travel position forward of the spine to a stowed position against the spine and the pedal boom pivot is part of a compound hinge and the clamp arrests the pedal boom in the travel position. 25. The tricycle frame as claimed in claim 24, wherein a radius arm has a pivot end and an arc end, a pivot connects the pivot end to the spine, and the arc end pivotably connects a pair of tie rods which control the steering of front wheels when attached, this arrangement thereby allowing the tie rods to fold with the lateral arms to their stowed position; and the radius arm includes an adjustment that can be set in a predetermined position and thereafter front wheels, when attached, that are parallel when the lateral arms lie in their travel position will also be parallel when the lateral arms are folded to their stowed position.