Patent Application
20140346822
This invention relates generally to adjustable seat support systems for 4 wheel straddle seat vehicles and seats of various types and other support devices.
Typically an ATV is a motorized vehicle having three or four low pressure tires, a seat the operator's legs straddle, and handlebars for steering control. ATVs are used for work, recreation and various types of competition mostly off road There are over 10 million ATVs in use in the US and they are typically much less expensive and smaller than a car.
Though useful, ATVs have proven to be dangerous. The rider position: typically seated on top of the vehicle contributes to a higher center of gravity and makes him more likely to be thrown from the vehicle. The higher center of gravity contributes to rolling the vehicle especially when cornering, accelerating, braking, or on uneven terrain.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated in a recent report that there are over 400,000 injuries and 800 deaths result from ATV accidents in the average year. In
A purpose of the Adjustable Seat and Support System is to give an ATV rider the option of lowering the seat of an ATV, therefore lowering the center of gravity, plus making him or her more one with the vehicle and less likely to roll or be ejected.
Additionally, the cost of automobiles continues to escalate each year and the price of fuel is unstable. Global weather change has everyone concerned about carbon footprint. The world economy is swelling and many millions of people would like to find affordable 4 wheel transportation for good and bad roads. A small on and off the road 4 wheel vehicle with a straddle seat and handlebars, that is safe from rollovers and driver ejection, is not known or common With the Adjustable Seat and Support System and some design changes to an ATV, a useful vehicle could be created that could:
The current design of seats and supports shows little or no use of the architecture and geometry used in the Adjustable Seat and Support System. This invention can offer many advantages that will be shown to be useful in many different seat applications as well as many devices used to support, lift and move objects.
A support adjustment system used to lift An object in parallelogram motion or non-parallelogram motion using a rail and two links.
Seats are known to be adjustable in many ways. One way commonly known to move a seat horizontally and vertically simultaneously is to use geometry often referred to as a parallelogram. The parallelogram has two sets of opposite, parallel and equal sides. If the sides are of fixed length and the sides can pivot at their connecting points, and one of the 4 sides is fixed in place when one of the other sides is moved, all three of the unfixed sides move and stay parallel to their opposite sides. If the side opposite the fixed is a surface used to support a seat or other object, then when it moves it stays in parallel with the plane occupied by the fixed side. Typically this means there are 4 visible links in a parallelogram like seat suspension method shown in patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,556.
Some embodiments of the invention involve a new use of this old geometry, the parallelogram. The invention starts with 4 sided geometry and two sets of opposite, parallel and equal sides. One of the sides is fixed in place and all sides are of fixed length. The fixed side and one adjacent side are not typically visible. They are connected to and/or part of a circular arc that is visible. Said arc is fixed in place. The fixed side is a fixed invisible line from the center of curvature of said arc (which is the invisible fixed pivot point 8) to the lower pivot (which is the visible fixed pivot point 6) on a moveable upright link. The other hidden moveable line is a radius line that runs from the center of curvature of said arc, said invisible fixed pivot point 8, to the arc at a pivot and follow point 2′ at one end of the seat. A line, a support surface line, that runs from said pivot and follow point 2′ at one end of the seat to a pivot point four 4′, at the other end of the seat is the side that is equal in length and parallel to said fixed invisible line. A line from said pivot point four 4′ runs through said moveable upright link to said visible fixed pivot point 6 and is of equal length and parallel to said radius line. As said pivot and follow point 2′ is moved along said arc, said support surface line is moved simultaneously horizontally and vertically along said arc. Because of the parallelogram like movement stays in parallel to its original position and said fixed side.
In
All lines mentioned above and below are straight unless specified otherwise, and equal length is to be interpreted as of substantially equal length. Parallel is to be interpreted as substantially parallel.
The following parts and features have substantially mirrored image parts or features on the right and left side of this sub-assembly: Rear Support Arm 40, Support lower pivot 42, Support upper pivot 44, Pan to follower bracket 48, Track Follower Roller 50, Seat track 52, Seat Track Side Frame 54, Latch Pin 56 and Latch Pin Holes 58.
The Seat Track Side Frame 54 is rigidly mounted to the ATV frame. Seat Track Side Frame 54 may be a section of the ATV frame. In this document “the ATV frame” will refer to the tubular or solid frame that substantially runs around the outside of the center portion of the ATV. The ATV frame runs from front to rear typically very near the lowest point of the ATV, then upward at some angle or curve to above the engine, over the top of the engine for some distance, and then down again to the bottom of the ATV. Some ATV frames do not completely go above the engine but have two frame portions at the left and right sides near the top of the engine. This is not intended to give an exhaustive description of all ATV frames but just a typical description to locate where Seat Track Side Frame 54 is part of or attached to an ATV frame and to locate parts and features mentioned later. The top of Seat Track Side Frame 54 is attached at a plane near to the top of ATV frame, typically above the transmission portion of the engine/transmission. Seat Track Side Frame 54 runs at an angle toward the rear and bottom of the ATV. The bottom of Seat Track Side Frame 54 is attached rigidly to the ATV frame near the bottom, System Mounting Frame 32 or Lower Seat Frame 60. Seat track 52 and Latch Pin Holes 58 are formed by any means effective or cut into Seat Track Side Frame 54. Latch Pin Holes 58 run in a pattern substantially down the center of Seat track 52.
Track Follower Roller 50 has a diameter that is slightly smaller than the width of Seat track 52. Track Follower Roller 50 is rotatably attached to Pan to follower bracket 48 in such a way as to force said roller to follow Seat track 52. Pan to follower bracket 48 is rigidly attached to a front portion of Support Pan 46. Rear Support Arm 40 is pivotally attached to a rear portion of Support Pan 46 at Support upper pivot 44. The other end of Rear Support Arm 40 is pivotally attached to Lower Seat Frame 60 or a lower portion of the ATV frame or a suitable attachment to System Mounting Frame 32 at Support lower pivot 42.
The Support Pan 46 can be moved up or down to any position on the seat track or latched in any of the position made available by Latch Pin Holes 58. There can be any number of Latch Pin Holes 58. Latch Pin Holes 58 may or may not go all the way thru Seat Track Side Frame 54.
Thus the reader will see that at least, embodiment of the Adjustable Support and Seat System provides many advantages including but not limited to:
While the above description contains many specificities, they should not be construed as limitations of the scope, but rather, as an exemplification of one or several embodiments there of. Many many other variations are possible.
Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/650,956 filed on May 23, 2012.
