Surf service vehicle
AssigneeHealy Tibbitts Construction Co.
InventorRichard H. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An offshore service vehicle of tricycle configuration employs three vertical legs to support a platform which remains above the water surface as the vehicle travels from a dry land station outwardly to service stations offshore such, for example, as a stationary tower or anchored barge. One of the legs at a forward location is rotatable for steering. Wheels at the bottoms of the legs are individually driven by motors in sealed housings immediately adjacent of the legs.
Claims18
A service vehicle for varied terrain comprising a substantially horizontal load carrying frame, three legs having upper ends of each in anchored engagement with said frame in a triangular disposition and extending vertically downwardly from the frame, each of said legs having a communicating passageway therein and having a rolling assembly at the lower end adapted to provide for transportation of the frame over said terrain, at least one of said rolling assemblies having a motor with a sealed housing, a drive shaft in driven relationship with the motor and a rotatable traction member on the drive shaft, control means on the frame for said motor including a control connection between said control means and said motor and extending from the control means through the communicating passageway in the respective leg, one of said legs being a steerable leg having an upper end section in fixed position on said frame, a lower end section having a rotatable engagement with said upper end section and steering means in engagement with said lower end section having an operative control accessible from said frame whereby to steer said vehicle during travel.
A service vehicle as in clam 1 wherein the rolling assembly with the motor is on the leg which is in fore and aft relationship with respect to the other two legs.
A service vehicle for varied terrain comprising a substantially horizontal load carrying frame, three legs having upper ends of each in anchored engagement with said frame in a triangular disposition and extending vertically downwardly from the frame, each of said legs having a rolling assembly at the lower end adapted to provide for transportation of the frame over said terrain, at least one of said rolling assemblies comprising a motor having a sealed housing and having a horizontally extending drive shaft with a rotatable traction member on the drive shaft, control means on the frame for said motor including a control connection between said control means and said motor, one of said legs being a steerable leg having an upper end section in fixed position on said frame, a lower end section having a rotatable engagement with said upper end section and steering means in engagement with said lower section having an operative control accessible from said frame whereby to steer said vehicle during travel, the rolling assembly on said steerable leg comprising a wheel fork assembly having laterally spaced parallel legs, said traction member comprising a wheel rotatably supported between said legs, a flexible connection between said wheel fork assembly and the steerable leg whereby to enable tilting of said wheel fork assembly in a direction transverse to the fore and aft axis of said vehicle, said wheel fork assembly having a tubular base forming a junction for said legs and said flexible connection comprising hinge means on said wheel fork assembly, complementary hinge means on said steerable leg, a pivot means for said hinge means forming a restricted joint enabling tilting of said wheel fork assembly in a direction transverse to the fore and aft axis of said vehicle and inhibiting tilting of said wheel fork assembly in said fore and aft direction, and a flexible sleeve between the steerable leg and the base of said wheel fork assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.