Patent Application
20150137470
Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to personal mobility vehicles and, more specifically, to a scooter having at least one swivel caster wheel located at the rear portion of the scooter.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of personal mobility vehicles, such as scooters, has become a popular recreational activity as well as useful means of personal transportation. Scooters have become popular among many age groups and there are many different scooter variations and scooter designs. Scooter designs have become more compact and convenient, and many scooters have folding mechanisms allowing the user to easily store or carry the scooter. Conventional scooters have at least two wheels and a steering mechanism.
Scooters provide useful means of personal transportation and recreation, but due to the limited range of motion of the front and rear wheels, the conventional scooters are limited in the type of movement provided to the user. Due to the fixed nature of the wheels, conventional scooters do not allow any side-to-side movement by the user, or any turning motion of the scooter other than by steering the front wheel in which the path of the rear wheel substantially tracks the path of the front wheel.
An aspect of the present invention is the realization that allowing the user to perform a side to side movement or allowing the user to direct the riding board in a sideways arcuate path, is practicable with a two-wheeled scooter (e.g., a kick-scooter) and would increase the user's enjoyment and providing additional ability for advanced users to perform various stunts or tricks.
Conventional scooter braking mechanisms can be ineffective and would not function effectively with a pivoting or swiveling wheel. Also, using a conventional scooter, a user is only able to propel the scooter forward by pushing off the ground with one of the user's feet. A user is also limited to steering the front wheel of the conventional scooter, and continues moving forward in a generally limited direction and orientation. What is needed is an improved and new scooter and brake design that provides alternative range of movement to the user.
Preferred embodiments of the personal mobility vehicle are configured to allow a user to propel a caster-wheeled scooter by pushing off of the ground with one of the user's feet. A user is able to cause the scooter to travel in a generally linear forward direction by steering the front wheel with a handlebar assembly configured to change the direction of the front wheel. Preferred embodiments of the scooter also generally include at least one swivel caster wheel located on the rear of the scooter, allowing the user to cause the scooter to travel in a non-linear movement or ride the scooter using a side to side motion similar to the rear movement of a swivel caster board.
A preferred embodiment of a scooter includes a body comprising a deck and the deck has a substantially planar top surface configured to support a user. The scooter includes at least one front wheel supported by the body and an angled rear portion supported by the body. It also includes a rear swivel wheel assembly comprising: an attachment portion coupled to the angled rear portion, a rear wheel rotatable about a wheel axis, and a support portion coupled to the attachment portion and configured to support the rear wheel. The support portion is configured to allow pivoting of the rear wheel relative to the angled rear portion and about a swivel axis. The angled rear portion is inclined with respect to the top surface of the deck and extends upward at an angle relative to the top surface of the deck, and the swivel axis is inclined with respect to the top surface of the deck.
Another embodiment of a personal mobility vehicle comprises a body having a deck configured to support a user and the body also comprising an inclined portion. The vehicle also includes a rear swivel wheel assembly supported by the inclined portion and the rear swivel wheel assembly includes a rear wheel configured to pivot about a swivel axis. The vehicle includes a brake assembly comprising: an attachment portion configured to be supported by the body, an actuator portion that is accessible to the foot of the user, and a braking surface supported by the brake assembly and configured to apply frictional braking force to the rear wheel when in contact with the rear wheel at various degrees of rotation of the rear wheel about the swivel axis. The brake assembly has an engaged position in which the braking surface is in contact with the rear wheel and the brake assembly is movable to the engaged position in response to the user acting upon the actuator portion.
Another preferred embodiment is a scooter having at least one swivel caster wheel mounted on the rear of the scooter, and at least one swivel caster wheel mounted on the front of the scooter, with the front swivel caster wheel operably coupled to a steering mechanism available to the user. In this embodiment, the user is able to cause the scooter to travel in a generally linear forward direction by pushing off of the ground with one of the user's feet and directing the front wheel with the steering mechanism. The user is also able to propel the scooter forward using a side to side motion which causes the scooter to propel forward due to the front and rear swivel caster wheels being mounted at an angle relative to the user support platform.
In this embodiment, the front swivel caster wheel may have a centering mechanism biasing the caster wheel to a neutral steering position. A spring action device may be mounted between the caster wheel assembly and some fixed portion of the user support platform of the scooter to provide rotational resistance to the caster wheel. In another preferred embodiment, self-centering of the swivel caster assembly may be provided by a torsion spring arrangement, such as a helical torsion spring. In these embodiments, the self-centering spring provides resistance to pivoting or turning of the swivel caster wheel assembly fork about its turning axis allowing the caster wheel to be steered by the user. The self-centering spring mechanism may also provide rotational resistance and a biasing force on the swivel caster wheel to return the swivel caster wheel to its neutral steering position when the scooter is being propelled by side to side movement by the user to propel the scooter in a forward direction.
Another preferred embodiment is a scooter having at least one swivel caster wheel mounted on the rear of the scooter, a front wheel operably coupled to a steering mechanism available to the user, where the scooter includes a rear braking mechanism which creates a frictional braking force upon the rear swivel caster wheel when acted upon by the user.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention are described below with reference to illustrations of a preferred embodiment, which is intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the present invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present technology. While numerous specific embodiments of the present technology will be described in conjunction with the alternative embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present technology to these embodiments. Instead, these described embodiments of the present technology are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Furthermore, in the following detailed numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present technology. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, compositions and mechanisms have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of embodiments of the present technology.
The plane of the angled rear portion 34 also forms an angle with the plane of the riding surface and/or the plane that passes through the axles of the wheels 28 and 29. For example, the angle between the plane of the angled rear portion 34 and the plane of the riding surface is preferably an acute angle that is less than about 45 degrees. In some embodiments, this angle is less than about 30 degrees and greater than about 10 degrees. In other embodiments, the angle between the plane of the rear portion 34 and the plane passing through the axles of the wheels 28 and 29 is an acute angle and less than about 45 degrees. In other embodiments, this angle is less than about 30 degrees and greater than about 10 degrees. In other embodiments, the surfaces of the angled rear portion 34 are curved. Preferably, the inclined pivot axis of the rear swivel wheel 29 is inclined with respect to and forms an angle with plane of the riding surface, the plane of the deck 26 and the plane that passes through the axes of the axles of the wheels 29 and 28. Preferably, this angle between the inclined pivot axis and these planes is greater than about 45 degrees and in some embodiments can be between about 60 degrees and about 80 degrees.
The inclined pivot axis of the rear swivel caster wheel 29 allows the user to cause pivoting of the rear swivel caster wheel 29 by applying a force with a sideways component or an eccentric force to substantially one side of the rear portion of the foot rest surface 26 substantially above the rear swivel caster wheel 29. Pivot rotation of the rear swivel caster wheel assembly 36 allows the rear portion of the scooter 10 to travel in a substantially different direction than the general direction of the travel of the front portion of the scooter 10, rather than the rear wheel 29 necessarily substantially tracking the path of the front wheel 28. This allows the user to cause the rear portion of the scooter 10 to travel in a substantially side-to-side or sideways motion while the front of the scooter 10 is travelling in a linear forward direction following the rotation of the front wheel 28. This also allows the user to perform various stunts or tricks, including simulating a vehicular motion referred to as “drifting”, wherein while performing a turn, the rotational directions of the front wheel and rear swivel caster wheel are pointing in the opposite direction to the direction of the turn.
In another embodiment, the deck 22 of the scooter 10 is configured to be substantially flat with no inclination at the rear of the deck. The rear angled portion 34 can extend in a direction substantially parallel to the deck 22 so that it is not inclined relative to the deck. In such an embodiment, the caster wheel assembly 36 can be configured to include an inclined portion or angled feature that causes the inclined pivot axis of the rear swivel wheels 29 to be inclined relative to the riding surface, the plane of the deck 22 and/or the plane passing through the axes of the wheel axles.
In another embodiment, the rear angled portion 34 extends below the plane of the deck 22 and said rear angled portion 34 creates a declined angle with respect to the bottom surface of the scooter body 20 or the deck 22. This embodiment positions the deck 22 and foot platform at a higher elevation relative to the ground and creates a higher center of gravity for the user and scooter combination. This embodiment also provides a substantially flat deck 22 and foot platform for the user and allows the user to place one or both of the user's feet directly above the rear caster wheel to apply sideways or eccentric forces to cause the caster assembly to pivot about the pivot axis. The elevated center of gravity in combination with the substantially flat deck 22 and foot platform allows the user to apply greater eccentric force upon the rear caster wheel to cause the caster wheel assembly to pivot about the pivot axis 44.
Referring now to
The centering spring assembly 38 may further comprise a helical torsion spring 54 mounted to the outer race of the bearing assembly such that rotation of the outer race about the pivot axis 44 (along with the fork shell assembly 40) results in rotation of the helical torsion spring 54 about the pivot axis 44. The coil torsion spring 54 may include a first spring arm 56 and a second spring arm 58 extending outwardly from the center of coil torsion spring 54. One embodiment of the caster wheel assembly 36 includes a first spring post 48 and a second spring post 50 configured to abut first spring arm 56 and second spring arm 58, respectively, such that rotation of the fork shell assembly 40 about pivot axis 44 causes a twisting force to be applied to the helical torsion spring 54 when first spring arm 56 abuts first spring post 48 and restricts rotational movement of the first spring arm in one rotational direction, or second spring arm 58 abuts second spring post 50 and restricts rotational movement of the second spring arm in the other rotational direction. When all rotational force is removed from fork shell assembly 40, helical torsion spring 54 returns to its neutral position causing fork shell assembly 40 and thus swivel caster wheel assembly 36 to return to its neutral steering position.
Another embodiment of the centering spring assembly 38 may comprise one spring post, with the first spring arm 56 and second spring arm 58 extending from the center of helical torsion spring 54 in substantially a similar direction abutting the spring post on each side of said spring post. When a rotational force is applied to fork shell assembly 40 in one direction, first spring arm 56 abuts a first side of the spring post restricting rotational movement of the first spring arm and the rotational force creates a bending moment to helical torsion spring such that first spring arm 56 and second spring arm 58 are moved apart. This action is repeated for the second spring arm 58 and second side of the spring post when the rotational force is applied to the fork shell assembly in the other direction. When all rotational force is removed from fork shell assembly 40, helical torsion spring 54 returns to its neutral position causing fork shell assembly 40 and thus swivel caster wheel assembly 36 to return to its neutral steering position. It is understood that further embodiments are possible and considered incorporating similar elements to achieve the same result to cause the swivel caster wheel assembly to be centered when pivot rotational forces applied to the fork shell assembly can be overcome or are removed completely.
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the rear caster brake 60 comprises a braking surface 62 which may be configured with a concave curvature 64 such that the degree of concave curvature is greater than or at least equal to the curvature of the outer circumference surface of the rear wheel to allow for maximum frictional contact between the braking surface 62 and the rear wheel. A biasing mechanism such as a spring or elastic member is included to bias the rear caster brake 60 toward a first position in which the braking surface is not in frictional contact with the outer circumference surface of the rear swivel caster wheel 29. The rear caster brake 60 is configured such that a downward force applied by the foot of a user causes the rear caster brake 60 to move from the first position to a second position in which the braking surface is in frictional contact with the outer circumference surface of the rear swivel caster wheel 29. The frictional contact applied by the bottom surface of the rear caster brake 60 causes the rear caster wheel 29 to slow in rotation, causing the scooter 10 to slow and/or come to a stop. Advantageously, the material of the frictional braking surface 62 can be selected to exhibit desirable frictional properties or wear properties, for example. Thus, the material of the frictional braking surface 62 can be optimized relative to the material used for the rear caster brake 60, if desired.
In the illustrated arrangement, the frictional braking surface 62 is directly affixed to the rear caster brake 60; however, in other arrangements, the frictional braking surface 62 could be indirectly or otherwise coupled (e.g., through a linkage arrangement) to the rear caster brake 60. For example, in such an arrangement, the frictional braking surface 62 could rotate about the pivot axis 44 along with the rear caster wheel 29 and could be actuated by a stationary actuator portion of the brake 60, which is configured to actuate the frictional braking surface 62 in multiple positions of the wheel 29, including all possible positions or a subset of all possible positions, such as in positions in which the wheel 29 is trailing or positioned behind the pivot axis 44. Alternatively, the frictional braking surface 62 and the actuator portion could rotate about the pivot axis 44 along with the rear caster wheel 29 and the actuator portion could be configured to remain accessible to the user in multiple positions of the wheel 29, including all possible positions or a subset of all possible positions, such as in positions in which the wheel 29 is trailing or positioned behind the pivot axis 44. In such an arrangement, if provided, the void can be larger than the actuator portion to permit rotational movement of the actuator portion throughout a desired range of motion of the rear wheel 29 about the pivot axis 44. Further, the void, acting on the actuator portion, could function as a limit stop arrangement to define maximum rotational positions of the rear wheel 29 about the pivot axis 44.
The braking assembly can also include an actuation portion 70 that is coupled to the swivel brake 60. The actuation portion 70 can be configured to be accessible to the foot of a user such that a user can engage the brake 60. Preferably, the actuation portion extends upward from the brake 60 and toward a user riding the vehicle. The actuation portion 70 can extend through a void or opening in the body 20, deck 22, and/or the angled rear portion 34 so as to be accessible to the foot of a user.
In one preferred embodiment, the front swivel caster wheel assembly 69 and front swivel caster wheel 63 may rotate freely independently of the handlebar assembly 24. In another preferred embodiment, the rotation of the front swivel caster assembly 69 and the front swivel caster wheel 63 may be limited in rotation to a predefined range of motion in relation to the handlebar assembly 24 to allow the user some control as to the general direction of rotation of the front swivel caster wheel 63. In another preferred embodiment, the front swivel caster wheel assembly 69 may comprise a biasing member (such as helical torsion spring 54) to rotationally bias the front swivel caster wheel assembly to its neutral steering position. In another preferred embodiment, the front swivel caster wheel assembly 69 and the front swivel caster wheel 63 may be supported by the scooter body 20 such that the at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel are spaced apart from one another with the deck 22 extending therebetween. This embodiment may comprise a handlebar assembly 24 supported by the scooter body 20 providing a means for stability and balance to the user while riding the scooter. The handlebar assembly may also be useful to the user to exert eccentric side-to-side forces upon the at least one front swivel caster wheel 63 to cause the front swivel caster wheel to rotate about its pivot axis.
Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. In particular, while the present systems and methods have been described in the context of particularly preferred embodiments, the skilled artisan will appreciate, in view of the present disclosure, that certain advantages, features and aspects of the systems and methods may be realized in a variety of other applications, many of which have been noted above. Additionally, it is contemplated that various aspects and features of the invention described can be practiced separately, combined together, or substituted for one another, and that a variety of combination and subcombinations of the features and aspects can be made and still fall within the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the invention herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular embodiments described above, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61616121 | Mar 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13826484 | Mar 2013 | US |
| Child | 14522295 | US |
