Claims
- 1. A children's ride-on vehicle, comprising
a frame adapted to support a rider; and one or more wheel assemblies coupled to the frame, wherein at least one of the wheel assemblies is selectively adjustable between a first configuration in which the at least one wheel assembly imparts a vertically reciprocating motion to the frame when the vehicle is moving, and a second configuration in which the at least one wheel assembly does not impart a vertically reciprocating motion to the frame when the vehicle is moving.
- 2. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes one or more wheels, and wherein at least one of the wheels is eccentrically coupled to the frame in the first configuration and centrically coupled to the frame in the second configuration.
- 3. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 2, wherein the at least one wheel assembly is selectively adjustable between the first and second configurations without requiring disassembly of the at least one wheel from the frame.
- 4. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 2, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes an axle upon which the at least one wheel is mounted, and wherein the at least one wheel has an oblong bore configured to engage the axle such that the axle may slide within the bore in a direction non-parallel to a centric axis of the at least one wheel.
- 5. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 4, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes a pair of wheels that are mounted on the axle, and wherein each of the pair of wheels includes an oblong bore configured to engage the axle such that the axle may slide within the bore in a direction non-parallel to a centric axis of the wheel.
- 6. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 4, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes an axle bushing adapted to receive the axle and further adapted to be slidably received within the bore.
- 7. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes a spacer adapted to be received within the bore and selectively positionable with respect to the axle bushing within the bore to maintain the at least one wheel assembly in a selected one of the first or the second configuration.
- 8. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel assembly includes a wheel and an axle, and wherein the axle is selectively adjustable between a first position in which the axle extends generally along an eccentric axis of the wheel, and a second position in which the axle extends generally along a centric axis of the wheel, wherein the eccentric axis is spaced-apart from the centric axis.
- 9. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 8, wherein the at least one wheel assembly further includes a second wheel, and further wherein in the first position the axle further extends along an eccentric axis of the second wheel, and in the second position the axle extends generally along a centric axis of the second wheel.
- 10. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 8, wherein the wheel includes an oblong axle bore disposed asymmetrically about the centric axis of the wheel.
- 11. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a drive assembly coupled to at least one of the wheel assemblies and adapted to selectively drive the rotation of at least one of the wheel assemblies.
- 12. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11, wherein the drive assembly includes a battery-powered motor assembly adapted to power the drive assembly.
- 13. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11, wherein the drive assembly includes a pedal assembly positioned to be reciprocated by a rider sitting on the frame.
- 14. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1, wherein the frame includes a horse-shaped portion and a carriage portion with a seat adapted to support a rider.
- 15. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 14, wherein the horse-shaped portion includes a front fork upon which the at least one wheel assembly is mounted.
- 16. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 15, wherein the carriage portion includes a second wheel assembly, and further comprising a drive assembly adapted to drive at least one of the wheel assemblies.
- 17. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 16, further comprising a battery-powered motor assembly adapted to power the drive assembly.
- 18. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 14, further comprising a rein assembly extending from the horse-shaped portion and adapted to selectively steer the at least one wheel assembly.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/499,595, which was filed on Feb. 7, 2000, issued on Jul. 2, 2002 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,787, is entitled “Children's Ride-on Vehicle,” and the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09499595 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
10185551 |
Jun 2002 |
US |