Patent Application
20170297646
The present disclosure relates to personal mobility vehicles, such as kick-scooters. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a personal mobility vehicle having a movable portion that moves in response to motion of the vehicle.
Many types of personal mobility vehicles, including skateboards, kick-scooters, powered scooters, bicycles, karts, etc., exist.
However, a need still exists for new and/or improved designs, which may provide a new riding experience or unique functionality. The systems, methods and devices described herein have innovative aspects, no single one of which is indispensable or solely responsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the claims, some of the advantageous features will now be summarized.
In some configurations, a personal mobility vehicle, such as a scooter, includes a plurality of wheels supporting a deck or other vehicle body portion. The vehicle has a movable portion that is movable (e.g., partially rotatable) relative to another portion of the vehicle. A motion transfer mechanism is operably coupled to the movable portion and causes movement of the movable portion in response to movement of the vehicle. In some configurations, the motion transfer mechanism is coupled to one or more of the wheels.
In some configurations, the vehicle comprises a character portion and the movable portion comprises a movable portion of the character portion. The character portion can be a head. The movable portion can be a portion above or below a mouth of the character head, such that movement of the movable portion provides the appearance of the character head opening and closing its mouth.
In some configurations, the motion transfer mechanism comprises a wheel drive shaft coupled to the wheel and a motion conversion mechanism that couples the wheel drive shaft to the movable portion. The mechanism can comprise a cam that drives a push rod, which moves the movable portion.
The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of systems, components and methods of assembly and manufacture will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout. Although several embodiments, examples and illustrations are disclosed below, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the inventions described herein extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments, examples and illustrations, and can include other uses of the inventions and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner simply because it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the inventions. In addition, embodiments of the inventions can comprise several novel features and no single feature is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or is essential to practicing the inventions herein described.
Certain terminology may be used in the following description for the purpose of reference only, and thus are not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as “above” and “below” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “rear,” and “side” describe the orientation and/or location of portions of the components or elements within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the components or elements under discussion. Moreover, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on may be used to describe separate components. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and other similar words.
Particular features of the vehicle (e.g., scooter) are described with reference to
As shown in
The illustrated body 102 comprises a deck 108 extending between the wheels 104, 106 that provides a support surface for a user of the scooter 100 to place his or her feet. The body 102 also comprises a portion that is sculpted into the shape of a character. As described above, the portion can comprise a head of a character, such as a shark head in the illustrated arrangement. The character head 110 can be positioned at or near the front of the scooter 100, such as generally at or forward of the front wheels 104. Additional portions of the scooter 100 can form other portions of the character, such as the deck 108, for example. In the illustrated arrangement, a rear fender 112 of the rear wheel 106 can be in the form of a shark fin, for example. As used herein, the term “character” can include people, animals, imaginary beings, personified objects, cartoon characters, monsters, robots and other creatures. The scooter 100 can also include a body portion sculpted to resemble other objects, which can include a movable portion.
The scooter 100 can also comprise a steering mechanism, such as a handlebar assembly 120. The handlebar assembly 120 can include a pair of handgrip portions comprising handgrips 122. The handlebar assembly 120 can comprise a generally vertical support bar 124 that extends upwardly from a forward portion of the scooter body 102 and a horizontal bar 126 at or near an upper end of the vertical support bar 124. The handgrip portions comprising the handgrips 122 can be defined by or carried by the horizontal bar 126. In other arrangements, the steering mechanism can be omitted and the scooter 100 can be in the form of a skateboard, for example.
The character head 110 can comprise a mouth 130. As used herein, the term “mouth” has its plain and ordinary meaning, such as an opening or entrance to a structure that is hollow, concave, or almost completely enclosed. Unless otherwise stated, the term “mouth” is not limited to anatomical mouth structures and can include different types of structures. For example, the term “mouth” can include eyes or other openings or features.
As illustrated, the head 110 can include an upper portion 132 and a lower portion 134. In some embodiments, the upper portion 132 is above the mouth 130 and the lower portion 134 is below the mouth 130. The mouth 130 can define a separation between the upper portion 132 and the lower portion 134. An upper portion of the mouth 130 (e.g., including upper teeth) can form a portion or otherwise be carried by the upper portion 132. A lower portion of the mouth 130 (e.g., including lower teeth) can form a portion or otherwise be carried by the lower portion 134. In some configurations, the movable portion comprises the upper portion 132. In some configurations, the movable portion comprises the upper portion 132 and not the lower portion 134. In some configurations, the movable portion comprises the lower portion 134. In some configurations, the movable portion comprises the lower portion 134 and not the upper portion 132. In some configurations, the movable portion comprises both the upper portion 132 and the lower portion 134. Movement of the movable portion(s) can provide the appearance of the character head 110 opening or closing its mouth. In some configurations, the movable portion(s) can provide the appearance of other types of movement of a character or other object, such as other portions of the character head or face (e.g., eyes, tongue), character limbs (e.g., arms, legs) or other portions/objects.
With reference to
As shown in
A motion conversion mechanism 150 can convert rotational movement of the drive shaft 144 into suitable motion for the specific movable portion, such as linear, translating or reciprocating movement, for example. In the illustrated arrangement, the motion conversion mechanism 150 comprises a cam 152 driven by the drive shaft 144 and a cam follower or push rod 154 driven by the cam 152. The push rod 154 is directly or indirectly connected to the movable portion to impart movement on the movable portion. The push rod 154 can be supported for reciprocating motion. In other arrangements, the push rod 154 could be supported for pivotal or rotational movement. The push rod 154 or the movable portion could comprise a biasing arrangement incorporating a biasing mechanism (e.g., spring) that biases the push rod 154 or movable portion toward a relaxed position. The cam 152 or other motion conversion mechanism 150 can move the push rod 154 or movable portion against the biasing force of the biasing mechanism. The movable portion can be constrained for movement with the push rod 154. In other configurations, the movable portion can be free to move in at least one direction relative to the push rod 154. For example, the push rod 154 could be configured to push the movable portion in an upward direction, but does not pull the movable portion in a downward direction. The movable portion can move downwardly with the push rod 154 under the influence of gravity or a biasing mechanism. Other suitable motion conversion mechanisms could also be used. The arrangement could comprise a clutch or other override mechanism that avoids or reduces damage to the motion transfer mechanism 140 or motion conversion mechanism 150 in the event that movement of the movable portion is constrained (e.g., by an external force) while a driving force is applied to the movable portion.
In some embodiments, during movement of the scooter on the wheels, the movable portion moves substantially independent of any action by the user or rider and/or the movable portion moves substantially automatically. For example, in some embodiments, motion of the movable portion, such as opening and closing the mouth as shown in
It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the herein-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. Moreover, any of the steps described herein can be performed simultaneously or in an order different from the steps as ordered herein. Moreover, as should be apparent, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
Moreover, the following terminology may have been used herein. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to an item includes reference to one or more items. The term “ones” refers to one, two, or more, and generally applies to the selection of some or all of a quantity. The term “plurality” refers to two or more of an item. The term “about” or “approximately” means that quantities, dimensions, sizes, formulations, parameters, shapes and other characteristics need not be exact, but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like and other factors known to those of skill in the art. The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” mean that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide. The term “generally” as used herein represents a value, amount, or characteristic that predominantly includes, or tends toward, a particular value, amount, or characteristic. As an example, in certain embodiments, as the context may dictate, the term “generally parallel” can refer to something that departs from exactly parallel by less than or equal to 20 degrees and/or the term “generally perpendicular” can refer to something that departs from exactly perpendicular by less than or equal to 20 degrees.
Numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also interpreted to include all of the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 to 5” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but should also be interpreted to also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3 and 4 and sub-ranges such as “about 1 to about 3,” “about 2 to about 4” and “about 3 to about 5,” “1 to 3,” “2 to 4,” “3 to 5,” etc. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value (e.g., “greater than about 1”) and should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described.
A plurality of items may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.
Furthermore, where the terms “and” and “or” are used in conjunction with a list of items, they are to be interpreted broadly, in that any one or more of the listed items may be used alone or in combination with other listed items. The term “alternatively” refers to the selection of one of two or more alternatives, and is not intended to limit the selection to only those listed alternatives or to only one of the listed alternatives at a time, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Some embodiments have been described in connection with the accompanying drawings. The figures are drawn to scale, but such scale should not be limiting, since dimensions and proportions other than what are shown are contemplated and are within the scope of the disclosed invention. Distances, angles, etc. are merely illustrative and do not necessarily bear an exact relationship to actual dimensions and layout of the devices illustrated. Components can be added, removed, and/or rearranged. Further, the disclosure herein of any particular feature, aspect, method, property, characteristic, quality, attribute, element, or the like in connection with various embodiments can be used in all other embodiments set forth herein. Additionally, any methods described herein may be practiced using any device suitable for performing the recited steps.
Overall, the language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims. The claims are not to be limited to the non-exclusive embodiments and examples that are illustrated and described in this disclosure, or that are discussed during the prosecution of the application. Rather, the claims should be interpreted by a fair reading of the language of the claims as well as by a consideration of the full scope of equivalents.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/872,721, filed Oct. 1, 2015, which claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/059,718, filed on Oct. 3, 2014. Each of the foregoing applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62059718 | Oct 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14872721 | Oct 2015 | US |
| Child | 15487822 | US |
