US 11,926,387 B2Granted

Recumbent vehicle

AssigneeBarend Wilhelm Botha

InventorsBarend Wilhelm Botha, Barend de Bruyn Botha

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Abstract

The present invention relates to a recumbent vehicle (10), more particularly, it relates to a recreational electrically (38, 40, 42) and/or pedal-powered recumbent vehicle (10), specifically suited for use as a golf cart (100). The recumbent vehicle (10) includes a chassis (12), two front wheels (14A, 14B), a rear wheel (16), a reclined seat (18), a footrest (20) located forwardly of the rotary axis of the front wheel and an unobstructed load bay (22) between the chassis (12), the rear wheel (16) and a backrest of the reclined seat (18).

Claims26

Dependent claims

A recumbent vehicle including:

a chassis;
two front wheels rotatably connected to the chassis near a front end thereof, the two front wheels being rotatable about a front rotary axis;
at least one rear wheel rotatably connected to the chassis near a rear end thereof, the at least one rear wheel being rotatable about a rear rotary axis, wherein a substantially horizontal plane passes through at least one of the front rotary axis and the rear rotary axis;
a steering connected to one or more of the front wheels for steering the recumbent vehicle;
a brake for braking one or more of the wheels;
a drive for driving one or more of the wheels;
a seat mounted on the chassis substantially between the front and the rear rotary axes, the seat having a base and a backrest reclined relative to the substantially horizontal plane;
one or more foot supports located on the chassis forwardly of the front rotary axis, such that the seat and the one or more foot supports lie on opposite sides of the front rotary axis;
a load bay defined between:
the chassis,
a primary virtual line passing tangentially through the rear wheel at an acute angle, measured between the primary virtual line and the substantially horizontal plane, of between 50 and 70 degrees;
and
a secondary virtual line being parallel with the primary virtual line and passing through a rear-most point on the backrest of the seat, wherein the load bay is positioned entirely between the secondary virtual line and the primary virtual line and includes:
(i) a width at least equal to a width of the backrest of the seat;
(ii) a depth, as measured perpendicularly between the primary and secondary virtual lines, of between 100 and 800 millimetres;
(iii) a height, as measured along the secondary virtual line from the chassis upwardly of at least 1000 millimetres;
and,
(iv) a load support base rest located along the chassis:
(a) between the backrest of the seat and a front-most extremity of the rear wheel;
and (b) at a height beneath an upper-most extremity of the rear wheel, the load support base rest being adapted to operatively support a base of an elongate load.

17 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

patentgrep

Loading patent…

Abstract

A recumbent vehicle including:

a chassis;
two front wheels rotatably connected to the chassis near a front end thereof, the two front wheels being rotatable about a front rotary axis;
at least one rear wheel rotatably connected to the chassis near a rear end thereof, the at least one rear wheel being rotatable about a rear rotary axis, wherein a substantially horizontal plane passes through at least one of the front rotary axis and the rear rotary axis;
a steering connected to one or more of the front wheels for steering the recumbent vehicle;
a brake for braking one or more of the wheels;
a drive for driving one or more of the wheels;
a seat mounted on the chassis substantially between the front and the rear rotary axes, the seat having a base and a backrest reclined relative to the substantially horizontal plane;
one or more foot supports located on the chassis forwardly of the front rotary axis, such that the seat and the one or more foot supports lie on opposite sides of the front rotary axis;
a load bay defined between:
the chassis,
a primary virtual line passing tangentially through the rear wheel at an acute angle, measured between the primary virtual line and the substantially horizontal plane, of between 50 and 70 degrees;
and
a secondary virtual line being parallel with the primary virtual line and passing through a rear-most point on the backrest of the seat, wherein the load bay is positioned entirely between the secondary virtual line and the primary virtual line and includes:
(i) a width at least equal to a width of the backrest of the seat;
(ii) a depth, as measured perpendicularly between the primary and secondary virtual lines, of between 100 and 800 millimetres;
(iii) a height, as measured along the secondary virtual line from the chassis upwardly of at least 1000 millimetres;
and,
(iv) a load support base rest located along the chassis:
(a) between the backrest of the seat and a front-most extremity of the rear wheel;
and (b) at a height beneath an upper-most extremity of the rear wheel, the load support base rest being adapted to operatively support a base of an elongate load.

17 more elements