Slalom sled arrangement
OwnerJohn R. Muyskensinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A slalom sled arrangement (100) is disclosed for use by a sled rider for traversing through snow. The slalom sled includes a pair of skis (108) and a sled platform (102) mounted on the skis by means of forward and rear support assemblies (112, 114). Each support assembly includes a pivot position which allows the skis to rotate in a limited manner about longitudinal axes relative to a horizontal plane defined by the sled platform. Steering means (200, 220) are connected to the skis through a rod and bar assembly (160, 170) which allows the rider to manually and selectively control the skis in a simultaneous or independent manner.
Claims20
A slalom sled arrangement for use by a sled rider and adapted to be controllable by said rider for turning and braking operations, said sled arrangement comprising:
- platform means for providing a positioning location for said sled rider;
- ski means mounted beneath said platform means for providing sliding surfaces to said sled arrangement and traversing through snow by gravitational effects, said ski means comprising a pair of skis each mounted on opposing lateral sides of said sled arrangement;
- forward support means connecting said platform means and said ski means for supporting said platform means above said ski means at a position forward of a longitudinal midpoint of said ski means;
- rear support means connecting said platform means and said ski means for providing additional vertical support of said platform means above said ski means at a position rearward of said longitudinal midpoint of said ski means and a longitudinal midpoint of said platform means;
- steering means connected to said ski means for manually controlling direction and braking of said sled arrangement by said rider;
- said forward support means comprising first pivot means and first rigid portions interconnecting said first pivot means and said platform means, wherein said first pivot means provides pivotal movement and conical rotation of front portions of each of said skis through a vertical axis extending upward from each ski relative to said platform means, and wherein said first pivot means comprises a first single pivot center on each axis below a vertical midpoint between said platform means and said ski means, with each of said skis effecting both tilting and turning movements at said first single pivot centers relative to said first rigid positions;
- and
- said rear support means comprising second pivot means and second rigid portions interconnecting said second pivot means and said ski means, wherein said second pivot means provides pivotal movement and conical rotation of rear portions of each of said skis through an additional vertical axis extending upward from each ski relative to said platform means, and wherein said second pivot means comprises a second single pivot center on each additional axis above a vertical midpoint between said platform means and said ski means, with said second rigid portions effecting both tilting and turning movements at said second single pivot centers relative to said platform means, and further wherein the vertical offset of said first and second pivot centers associated with one of said skis allows said one ski to turn relative to a normal longitudinal axis of said one ski while simultaneously tilting at said first and second pivot centers in response to forces applied on said steering means by said sled rider.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.