Patent Application
20200290698
This invention relates to apparatus for vehicles. More particularly, it relates to off-road vehicles for children.
Ride-on vehicles for children have become increasingly popular due in part to the desire of children to drive self-propelled vehicles resembling full-size vehicles. Such ride-on vehicles, or ride-ons, are typically propelled by battery-powered motors and generally include scaled-down features of full-size vehicles.
One challenge in designing reduced-scale vehicles is to make the vehicle resemble a full-size vehicle, while still providing a vehicle that is safe for use by children. When a ride-on is designed to resemble a four-wheeled vehicle, such as a car or truck, the corresponding ride-on tends to also have four wheels. When a ride-on is designed to resemble a motorcycle, however, a balance must be reached between safety and the accuracy of the reproduction.
Certainly, the most accurate reproduction is for the ride-on to only have two wheels. However, children may not have the size, strength or coordination to balance a two-wheeled ride-on, especially when propelled by the ride-on's motor. Adding additional wheels to the ride-on detracts from the accuracy of the reproduction, and thus may reduce the child's desire for the ride-on.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. All terms in the plural shall also be taken as singular and vice-versa. Further, any reference to he shall also be applicable to she and vice-versa.
Referring to
The vehicle 100 has two front wheels 104 are supported at the front end of the frame 102 by means of a front suspension system 106 which may be comprised of the parallel A arm type with the inboard pivot points for the arms being located substantially close to the longitudinal center line of the frame 110 and vehicle 100. The front wheels 104 mount all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tires 108. The term “ATV tires” is intended to encompass those types of tires that are normally mounted on ATVs such as a Kendra K99 Bear Claw ATV tire, a Sedona Extreme Mud All Terrain Tire, etc.
The front wheels 104 and tires 106 are also supported by the suspension system 106 for steering movement about respective steering axes. The steering of the front wheels 104 and tires 108 is accomplished by means of a handlebar mechanism 110 that is mounted on the frame assembly 102 for steering movement and which is coupled to the front wheels 104 in a suitable manner.
The vehicle 100 also includes a rear wheel 112 that mounts a single mud grip tire 1114. It will be seen from the figures that the rear wheel 112 and specifically its mounted tire 114 has a substantially greater width than the width of the front wheels 104 and their mounted tires 108. The contact area between the tires on the front wheels and the ground equals the contact area between the rear wheel tire and the ground give a superior handling experience.
The rear wheel 112 and mounted tire 114 are supported for suspension movement relative to the frame 102 by a trailing arm assembly 116. The trailing arm assembly 116 has a pair of arm portions 118 that extend on the opposite sides of the rear wheel 112 and its mounted tire 114. The suspension movement about this pivot axis is damped and controlled by means of a combined tubular shock absorber and surrounding coil spring assembly.
A power plant 120 is supported within the frame 102 for driving the rear wheel 112 and tire 114. The power plant 120 may be a four-cylinder, gas powered engine that is chain driven.
An output shaft drives a first chain 122 that is disposed substantially close to the longitudinal center line of the frame 102. Alternatively, a shaft drive may be employed. The chain 122 or shaft drive, if it is employed, is utilized to drive one end of an intermediate shaft that is rotatably journaled on the trailing arm 118 in a suitable manner.
A body of a suitable configuration and comprised of a pair of front fenders 124 and a rear fender 126 which overlie the front tires 104 and rear tires 114, respectively, is carried on the frame 102 in an appropriate manner. This body includes a single saddle type seat 128 that is positioned to accommodate a single rider. A pair of foot rests 130 are carried on the frame 102 on opposite sides of its center line and on opposite sides of the power unit 120 for accommodating the feet of the rider on the seat 128.
The placement of the seat 128 and foot rests 130 is such that the rider may center his weight between the front and rear wheels 102 and 112 and specifically between the contact patches of their respective tires 14 and 114. Also, the configuration is such that the rider may conveniently shift his weight forward or rearwardly to assist in maneuvering the vehicle 11.
It should also be noted that even though the rear wheel 112 and rear tire 114 are quite wide, the width is not such that a rider may not place his feet on the ground and permit the vehicle 100 to ride out under him under emergency conditions with the rear wheel and tire 114 passing between the rider's legs.
Also, it should be noted that because a single rear wheel is employed, there will not be the effect of rear wheel steering as would result if there were a pair of driven rear wheels with no differential when traveling over rough terrain when one rear wheel might leave contact with the ground.
Also, the relative contact patches between the front and rear wheels and the rider placement on the frame 102 is such that it is unlikely that the front wheels 104 and specifically their tires 104 will leave contact with the ground when sudden applications of power are made by the rider.
Also, the width of the rear tire 112 should not be too great so as to make steering or turning difficult and the aforementioned relationship is particularly useful in such an arrangement. If these dimensions are equal, there is a very good balance between the front and rear end and even though there are only three wheels, the vehicle is extremely stable and offers very good maneuverability.
The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
