Motor vehicles – Special driving device – Portable track
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-13
2001-10-09
Hurley, Kevin (Department: 3619)
Motor vehicles
Special driving device
Portable track
C280S206000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298934
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles, and, more specifically, to generally spherical vehicles incorporating an internal platform with mounted seats and engine, an outside spherical body and an outside wheel for advancing the vehicle forward.
2. Description of the prior art
In the past, various spherical vehicles have been proposed. The earlier versions of such devices can be found in the U.S. Pat. No. 475,130 by Mattison issued in 1892; U.S. Pat. No. 1,625,327 by Moore issued in 1927, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,002,205 by Marten issued in 1935. They generally describe vehicles employing a rotatable outer wheel and a passenger carrying member which is supported in a nonrotating position on roller bearings. These devices are all mechanically complex and do not incorporate all the features of a typical automobile of the present time, most notably those increasing the passenger safety.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,267,254 by Reilley issued in 1942, describes a spherical vehicle provided with an outer shell, an inner platform revolvably mounted to the outer shell, an internal combustion engine driven wheel drivably communicating with the interior of the outer shell, an operator controlled shifting weight for steering the vehicle while in motion, brake shoes controllably coupled to a brake pedal and positioned to decelerate the shell by contacting the inner surface of the shell, and periscopic means to permit the operator the external vision from within the shell, among other features. The apparatus described in this patent is remarkably complex.
Other examples of spherical vehicles in which the outer body is constantly rotating and traversing the terrain while the inside portion is supported with the proper orientation can be found in the following U.S. Pat. No. 3,428,015 by Cloud; U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,443 by Agullar; U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,117 by Alred; U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,956 by Heberlein; U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,314 by Zimmerman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,787 by Maplethorpe; U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,569 by Clark; U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,446 by Sefton; U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,053 by Yeomans; 4,927,401 by Sonesson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,410 by Heijman. Complexity and lack of proper safety features is characteristic of these devices.
Modem automobiles in spite of the great variety of safety precautions and devices invented in the recent years are still causing a great deal of injuries and fatalities during acidents and collisions. A significant contributing factor for this phenomenon is the general rectangular shape of the present cars. In case of a collision, the vehicle is forced to stop very rapidly with high levels of braking deceleration. That in turn causes violent shifts inside the vehicle and injuries to its passengers.
Therefore, the need exists for a vehicle with the ability to decrease the braking deceleration in case of an accident thus providing high level of safety and preventing passenger injuries and fatalities.
The general type of a spherical vehicle is capable of providing such an ability with modifications of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other drawbacks of the prior art by providing a novel spherical vehicle capable of gentle deceleration in case of an accident leading to increased safety of operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spherical vehicle capable to withstand the initial shock of a collision and be deflected away from the place of accident while slowly decreasing its speed in a controlled fashion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spherical vehicle equipped with an outer wheel driven by an internal engine or a battery powered electrical motor for advancing the vehicle forward during normal operation while the inside portion remains engaged with an outside spherical body.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a spherical vehicle having increased stability during turning and while parked in a stationary condition.
According to the invention, a spherical vehicle consists of two generally round semi-spherical halves forming an outer body equipped with doors for entering and exiting the vehicle. Alternately, a single spherical outer body may also be employed. An internal platform is positioned inside the spherical body and is resting on four columns positioned in its corners. Each column has a generally telescopic design and is equipped on each end with a braking shoe in such a way that each of the total of eight shoes can move up and down independently of others and is controlled by an emergency control system. The internal platform also contains passenger seats, the engine, steering system, and all other systems typically present in a modern day automobile.
The outer spherical body is equipped with an outer wheel diametrically positioned between the top and the bottom of the vehicle. The wheel is coupled with and driven by the internal engine in such a way that the coupling may be disengaged during emergency. In normal operation, the wheel propels the vehicle forward while the platform is engaged with the spherical body so the orientation of the vehicle remains constant. The spherical body contains all necessary attributes of the regular car: the set of windows for observing the road equipped with the windshield wipers, the set of doors for entering the vehicle, etc. Also attached to the outer body are two retractable steering wheels that can automatically extend from the inside compartment of the body in case of a turn of the vehicle to improve its stability. These retractable wheels are also used when the vehicle is stopped or parked to maintain the proper orientation and prevent accidental movements.
Alternate configurations include a smaller central spherical or regular single wheel positioned on the bottom of the spherical outer body.
During normal operation, the platform is firmly engaged with the outer spherical body, the engine causes the outer wheel to rotate and thus the vehicle is propelled forward. In case of a collision, upon withstanding the initial impact, the emergency system is instantly activated to disengage the braking shoes from the outer body, all internal components such as the engine are instantly disengaged from the outside components so the spherical vehicle is bounced off the subject of collision and starts to move away from the place of the accident due to its spherical shape. Since the braking shoes are disengaged, the platform with the passengers remains in the proper orientation and it is only the outer body which is rotating and therefore the passengers are being carried away from the accident. The emergency system is designed to use the braking shoes to controllably decelerate the motion of the vehicle until a complete stop is achieved in a preprogrammed optimum way. After that the engine and other components can be re-engaged with the corresponding outside components so the vehicle can be used further without incurring much damage to its components. As a result, the safety of the passengers is greatly improved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1265496 (1918-05-01), Pare
patent: 2107766 (1938-02-01), Rose
patent: 2372043 (1945-03-01), Aghnides
patent: 3876025 (1975-04-01), Green
patent: 4386787 (1983-06-01), Maplethorpe
patent: 4401314 (1983-08-01), Zimmerman
patent: 4501569 (1985-02-01), Clark
patent: 4729446 (1988-03-01), Sefton
patent: 4861053 (1989-08-01), Yeomans
patent: 4927401 (1990-05-01), Sonesson
patent: 5370410 (1994-12-01), Heijman
Hurley Kevin
Leschinsky Boris
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