Land vehicles – Wheeled – Coasters
Patent
1988-11-29
1991-02-12
Mitchell, David M.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Coasters
280 112, 280 1123, 280810, A63C 1706
Patent
active
049918613
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a coaster vehicle having front and rear steerable wheels with the course of the vehicle being controlled by tilting the passenger-supporting body sideways, with each wheel being fixed to the body by a pair of arms pivoting about vertical axes situated firstly at one of the ends of the body and secondly at the axis of rotation of the wheel, with the distance between the vertical axes on the body being substantially different from the distance between the vertical axes at a wheel, thereby defining a trapezium which is deformable as a function of the tilt of the body.
The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle which is steerable by sideways tilting of its platform, footplate, or body, with its radius of gyration being small by virtue of suspended steering systems for both the front wheels and the rear wheels.
According to the invention, the coaster constituted by a passenger-receiving footplate mounted on at least a front wheel and a rear wheel, is characterized in that each wheel is connected to the footplate by arms which are pivotally mounted firstly about axes fixed to the footplate and secondly about axes at the ends of the wheel axle, thereby defining a trapezium.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear from the following description of particular embodiments given purely by way of non-limiting example, and with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above of a coaster in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the coaster;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the steering arrangements of each wheel;
FIG. 4 is a front view of the coaster;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view from below of a coaster equipped with rods interconnecting the wheels;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a coaster fitted with a steering column, a rear mudguard, and an anti-slip service; and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bicycle fitted with a symmetrical sail.
In the drawings, the spokes of the wheels have been omitted for reasons of clarity.
In FIG. 1, a footplate 1 or body is notched at each end in order to receive a corresponding wheel. Vertical housings are disposed on either side of each notch to receive pins 2 whose degree of offset relative to the vertical may be controlled by an accessory system.
An arm 3 pivots horizontally about each pin 2 with each arm being in the form of a crank having a vertical rod 4 slidably received in a cursor 5 to slide perpendicularly to the axle 6 of the corresponding wheel 7. The positions of the cursors 5 on their rods 4 are controlled by screws. Since the distance between the cursors 5 remains smaller than the distance between the pins 2, it will be understood that when the arms 3 swing sideways, the corresponding wheel 7 swivels, in particular when the footplate (1) is tilted. FIG. 3 shows the theory of such trapezium steering.
The footplate 1 has a point 8 which is intended to receive the base 9 of rigging for sail propulsion of the assembly. Since the rigging is of the windsurfer type, it is free to move in all directions about the point 8. A W-shaped frame 10 serves to restrict this freedom by causing the rigging 9 to engage the footplate 1 when the rigging is pushed forwardly. This makes it easier for the passenger to change the position of his feet on the footplate, in particular when changing tack.
A brake 11 is shown at the rear of the footplate 1 and comprises a frame which pivots about a horizontal axis supported by the footplate 1. The top portion of this frame is suitable for being actuated by a foot of the passenger, with its bottom portion bearing against the tread of the wheel 7. To this end, said bottom portion is provided with a nonabrasive friction coating, e.g. a rubber pipe. It should be observed that by virtue of the trapezium steering system, the tread remains at the same distance from the footplate even when turning, and as a result the degree of braking remains the same regardless of the position of the wheel 7 along the rectilinear bar constituting the bra
REFERENCES:
patent: 3023022 (1962-02-01), Boyden
patent: 3421420 (1969-01-01), Piatkowski
patent: 4445699 (1984-05-01), Darasko
patent: 4466372 (1984-08-01), Rudloff
patent: 4555122 (1985-11-01), Harvey
patent: 4681333 (1987-07-01), Rouge et al.
Carn Gwendoline M. K.
Carn Rozenn M. F.
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