Wheel-unit-ready ski for ski-mounted vehicle
OwnerMichael J. Ouelletteinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A snowmobile ski adapted to accommodate wheel units that are movable between a deployed position and a stowed position. The floor of the ski has one or more wheel openings to allow wheels to drop down to the deployed position. A wheel unit may have a single wheel or two wheels in tandem. The wheel units may be mounted on the kingpin, the side wall, inner ribs, or on the steering spindle.
Claims36
A ski for a vehicle, the ski comprising:
- a ski body having a leading end and a trailing end and a longitudinal axis that extends from the leading end to the trailing end, a floor, an underside of which is a glide surface, and two side walls;
- and
- wherein the ski body is adapted to receive a wheel unit, the floor of the ski body having one or more wheel openings for allowing one or more wheels on the wheel unit to move between a stowed position, in which the wheel is raised above the glide surface, and a deployed position, in which the wheel is lowered into the wheel opening to a depth lower than the glide surface;
- and
- wherein the side walls have a reinforced section for receiving a king pin and wherein the one or more wheel openings are provided in a section of the floor that is near the reinforced section of the side walls.
A ski for a vehicle, the ski comprising:
- a ski body having a leading end and a trailing end and a longitudinal axis that extends from the leading end to the trailing end, a floor, an underside of which is a glide surface, and two side walls;
- and
- wherein the ski body is adapted to receive a wheel unit, the floor of the ski body having one or more wheel openings for allowing one or more wheels on the wheel unit to move between a stowed position, in which the wheel is raised above the glide surface, and a deployed position, in which the wheel is lowered into the wheel opening to a depth lower than the glide surface;
- wherein a saddle is provided on the ski body;
- and
- wherein one of the one or more wheel openings is provided on at least one side of the saddle.
A ski for a vehicle, the ski comprising:
- a ski body having a leading end and a trailing end and a longitudinal axis that extends from the leading end to the trailing end, a floor, an underside of which is a glide surface, two side walls, and an inner rib;
- and
- wherein the ski body is adapted to receive a wheel unit, the floor of the ski body having one or more wheel openings for allowing one or more wheels on the wheel unit to move between a stowed position, in which the wheel is raised above the glide surface, and a deployed position, in which the wheel is lowered into the wheel opening to a depth lower than the glide surface;
- and
- wherein the inner rib has a reinforced section and the wheel assembly is mountable on the reinforced section.
A wheel-and-ski system for a ski-mounted vehicle having a ski, a steering spindle, and a kingpin to couple the steering spindle to the ski, the system comprising:
- a ski that comprises a ski body having a leading end and a trailing end and a longitudinal axis that extends from the leading end to the trailing end, a floor, the underside of which is a glide surface, and two side walls;
- a wheel unit that is mounted inside the side walls of the ski body, the wheel unit including a wheel assembly and a deployment means to move the wheel assembly between a deployed position and a stowed position;
- wherein the wheel unit is coupled to the steering spindle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.