Claims
- 1. A suspension for a vehicle comprising:
a frame; a releasable locking assembly comprising a plurality of selectively actuatable locking states, said plurality of locking states ranging from a first position to a second position and at least one other position between the first and second positions, the plurality of states being selectively actuatable upon the frame exhibiting a tipping behavior.
- 2. The suspension of claim 1 wherein the locking assembly further comprises a first undulating portion.
- 3. The suspension of claim 2 wherein the locking assembly further comprises a second undulating portion.
- 4. The suspension of claim 2 wherein the first undulating portion comprises a toothed surface.
- 5. The suspension of claim 3 wherein the second undulating portion comprises a toothed surface.
- 6. The suspension of claim 4 wherein the toothed surface comprises a stepped surface.
- 7. The suspension of claim 5 wherein the toothed surface comprises a stepped surface.
- 8. The suspension of claim 2 wherein the first undulating portion is coupled to a pivot arm having a drive assembly and a front caster.
- 9. The suspension of claim 3 wherein the second undulating portion is coupled to a pivot arm attached to the frame.
- 10. The suspension of claim 3 wherein movement of the frame in a first direction is limited by engagement of the first and second undulating portions and wherein movement in a second direction is not limited by engagement of the first and second undulating portions.
- 11. A suspension for a vehicle comprising:
a frame; at least one pivot arm coupled to the frame; a releasable locking assembly having a first portion coupled to the pivot arm and a second portion coupled to the frame, the first and second portions having a state of selective engagement restricting movement of the frame relative to the pivot arm, the state of selective engagement comprising a state selected from a range of states comprising a first state, second state, and at least one other state between said first and second states.
- 12. The suspension of claim 11 wherein the first state comprises at least a pair of locking members having first engagement surfaces disposed at a first location on the pair of locking members, the second state comprises second engagement surfaces disposed at a second location on the pair of locking members, and the at least one other state between the first and second states comprises third engagement surfaces disposed between the first and second engagement surfaces on the pair of locking members.
- 13. A suspension for a vehicle comprising:
a frame; a releasable locking assembly comprising:
a first assembly movably coupled to the frame; a second assembly movably coupled to the frame; and a plurality of releasable locking states comprising at least one releasable locking state disposed between at least two distal releasable locking states; wherein movement of the frame relative to the first and second assemblies causes the first and second assemblies to engage each other in at least one of the plurality of releasable locking states to further limit movement of the frame in at least a first direction.
- 14. The suspension of claim 13 wherein the plurality of releasable locking states are disposed along an arcuate surface of at least one locking member.
- 15. The suspension of claim 13 wherein said plurality of releasable locking states further comprising at first, second, and third releasable locking states; the first releasable locking state comprising a first limit on the movement of the frame; the second releasable locking state comprising a second limit on the movement of the frame; and the third releasable locking state comprising at least a third limit ranging between the first and second limits.
- 16. The suspension of claim 13 wherein the first assembly comprises a first undulating surface.
- 17. The suspension of claim 16 wherein the second assembly comprises a second undulating surface.
- 18. The suspension of claim 16 wherein the first undulating surface comprises at least one tooth.
- 19. The suspension of claim 18 wherein the second undulating surface comprises at least one tooth.
- 20. The suspension of claim 17 wherein the first and second undulating surfaces are configured to engage and disengage from each other.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from Provisional U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 60/421,178, filed Oct. 25 2002, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/643,010, filed on Aug. 18, 2003 and titled “Vehicle having An Anti-Dive/Lockout Mechanism,” both of which are hereby fully incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60421178 |
Oct 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10643010 |
Aug 2003 |
US |
Child |
10695045 |
Oct 2003 |
US |