The invention herein relating to a new kid-powered entertainment car proposes a safer unique design, mainly to provide auxiliary wheel(s) mounted on the front end of the convex driving triangular base, and a safe seating base on the top surface at the rear end of the body. Most importantly, the invention discloses a unique method to integrate the driving triangular base with the steering shaft. Accordingly, a complete design with photos is disclosed.
The existing kid-powered entertainment car consists of a car body, a driving triangular base, two driving wheels mounted at the left and right corners of the rear end of the driving triangular base respectively. A steering shaft, mounted through the car body, connects a steering bar at top to the driving triangular base at bottom. There are two idle rear wheels mounted at the left and right corners of the car body at the rear end. By turning the steering bar from the left to the right or from the right to the left, the car can be driven as it wiggles in the forward or backward direction. However, if the steering bar is manipulated to tilt accidentally at a large angle, the existing design can cause the car to flip over easily as the center of gravity of the car has moved out of the so-called equilibrium zone as defined by the four wheels of the car.
Another serious issue associated with the existing kid-powered car is that the driving triangular base is basically separated from the steering shaft. The two parts are attached together by a screw. The major problem of the design is that the screw can be loosened by the repetitive rotation of the steering bar. This is not only a problem in the design quality, but also a problem of safety for the user.
The invention discloses a unique design that is going to solve the existing problems for the traditional kid-powered entertainment car. Specifically, the invention consists of adding an auxiliary wheel (single wheel or double wheels) mounted on the extended front arm of the driving triangular base, which increases the safety area and avoid the car flip-over; a safety seating base which is a soft plastic base fixed on the rear top surface of the car body and which indicates a rider should seat inside the seating area to avoid any possible flip-over; moreover, the invention also discloses an arrangement to manufacture the shaft and the driving triangular base into one piece to avoid the loose between them which would lead a serious safety concern.
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To prevent the flip-over, the invention utilizes two solutions: add an auxiliary wheel and the safety-seating base. The auxiliary wheel is used to increase the safety area and avoid the flip-over. The auxiliary wheel is a directional wheel. The directional wheel rotates in the same direction as the driving wheels. If the directional wheel is used, it can be a single wheel or a pair of wheels arranged symmetrically on the left side and right side at the end of the front arm of the driving triangular base. The directional wheel will generate a frictional force to slow down the speed of the car when the car is turning and the auxiliary wheel(s) are in operation. The auxiliary wheel(s) should be idle (not touching the ground) in normal operation. If the car leans to a flip-over condition then the wheel will touch the ground and thus prevents the flipping-over of the car.
The flip-over can also be prevented if a rider is guided to seat inside the safety-seating area 6. To increase the visibility of the safety-seating base, it is strongly recommended that the color of the safety-seating base should be different from that of the car body. In such a case, the center of gravity of the whole system is always located in the rear portion of the car close to the middle of the two rear wheels such that it will remain inside the equilibrium zone even if one of the driving wheels and two rear wheels establish the equilibrium zone. However, to ensure the maximum safety, the invention utilizes both solutions.
On the other hand, the invention also discloses an innovative method to prevent the loosening of the screw that attaches the shaft base to the driving triangular base. That is, they are mechanically molded together and therefore, they could not be separated at any instant.
In another embodiment, the driving triangular base is made of metal. Therefore, the shaft base can be very easily moulded together with the driving triangular base.