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US 9,067,633 B2Granted
Bicycle convertible to a stroller
OwnerRobert Bellinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bicycle convertible to a three-wheeled vehicle comprises a pair of auxiliary wheels mounted on either side of the rear wheel. The auxiliary wheels are movable between a raised position in which the auxiliary wheels are raised from the supporting surface when the bicycle is in a bicycle mode and a lowered position in which the auxiliary wheels contact the supporting surface when the bicycle is in a stroller mode. A locking mechanism is provided for locking the auxiliary wheels in the raised and lowered positions.
Claims20
A bicycle convertible to a three-wheeled vehicle, comprising
- a front wheel and a rear wheel,
- a frame mounted on the front and rear wheels, the front wheel being rotationally mounted to the frame so as to be selectively rotatable to steer the bicycle in a bicycle mode or locked in a rotationally fixed position in a stroller mode,
- a drive for propelling the bicycle in a forward direction in the bicycle mode,
- a pair of auxiliary wheels, one auxiliary wheel being mounted to the frame on each side of the bicycle and movable between a raised position in which the auxiliary wheels are raised from the ground when the bicycle is in the bicycle mode and a lowered position in which the auxiliary wheels contact the ground when the bicycle is in the stroller mode, and
- a lock for locking the auxiliary wheels in the respective raised and lowered positions, the lock comprising a double-locking over-center toggle bar linkage comprising a handle having a first position on one side of a toggle center and a second position on an opposite side of the toggle center, the handle being:
- movable to raise the auxiliary wheels from the lowered position to a maximum height at the toggle center and past the toggle center to lower the auxiliary wheels to the first position, wherein the auxiliary wheels are locked in the raised position, and
- movable to raise the auxiliary wheels from the raised position to the maximum height at the toggle center and past the toggle center to lower the auxiliary wheels to the second position, wherein the auxiliary wheels are locked in the lowered position.
4 more elements
A bicycle convertible to a three-wheeled vehicle, comprising
- a front wheel and a rear wheel, wherein the front and rear wheels are configured to roll in contact with a supporting surface,
- a frame, wherein the frame is mounted in operatively supported connection with the front and rear wheels, wherein the front wheel being rotationally mounted in operative connection with the frame so as to be selectively rotatable generally transversely of the ground surface, to steer the bicycle in a bicycle mode,
- a steering lock, wherein the steering lock is configured to selectively lock the front wheel in a rotationally fixed steering position, wherein the bicycle is convertible to a stroller mode,
- a drive, wherein the drive is usable to propel the bicycle in a forward direction in the bicycle mode,
- a pair of auxiliary wheels, wherein one auxiliary wheel is movably mounted in operating supported connection with the frame on each horizontal side of the bicycle, and wherein each of the auxiliary wheels is configured to be movable between a raised position in which the auxiliary wheels are raised above the supporting surface when the bicycle is in the bicycle mode and a lowered position in which the auxiliary wheels contact the supporting surface when the bicycle is in the stroller mode, and
- a lock, wherein the lock is configured to selectively hold the auxiliary wheels in respective raised and lowered positions, wherein the lock comprises:
- a double-locking over-center toggle bar linkage,
- a handle, wherein the handle is in operation with the linkage, wherein the handle is selectively moveable between a first position wherein the auxiliary wheels are held in the raised position, and a second position wherein the auxiliary wheels are held in the lowered position, wherein the handle is movable to raise the auxiliary wheels from the lowered position to a maximum height at the toggle center and past the toggle center to lower the auxiliary wheels to the first position, wherein the auxiliary wheels are locked in the raised position, wherein the handle is movable to raise the auxiliary wheels from the raised position to the maximum height at the toggle center and past the toggle center to lower the auxiliary wheels to the second position, wherein the auxiliary wheels are locked in the lowered position.
5 more elements
A bicycle convertible to a three-wheeled vehicle, comprising
- a front wheel and a rear wheel, wherein the front and rear wheels are configured to roll in contact with a supporting surface,
- a frame, wherein the frame is mounted in operatively supported connection with the front and rear wheels, wherein the front wheel being rotationally mounted in operative connection with the frame so as to be selectively rotatable generally transversely of the ground surface, to steer the bicycle in a bicycle mode,
- a steering lock, wherein the steering lock is configured to selectively lock the front wheel in a rotationally fixed steering position, wherein the bicycle is convertible to a stroller mode,
- a drive, wherein the drive is usable to propel the bicycle in a forward direction in the bicycle mode,
- a pair of auxiliary wheels, wherein one auxiliary wheel is movably mounted in operating supported connection with the frame on each horizontal side of the bicycle, and wherein each of the auxiliary wheels is configured to be movable between a raised position in which the auxiliary wheels are raised above the supporting surface when the bicycle is in the bicycle mode and a lowered position in which the auxiliary wheels contact the supporting surface when the bicycle is in the stroller mode, and
- a lock, wherein the lock is configured to selectively hold the auxiliary wheels in respective raised and lowered positions, wherein the lock comprises:
- a double-locking over-center toggle bar linkage,
- a handle, wherein the handle is in operation with the linkage, wherein the handle is selectively moveable between a first position wherein the auxiliary wheels are held in the raised position, and a second position wherein the auxiliary wheels are held in the lowered position,
- wherein the auxiliary wheels are each supported by a wheel support arm, wherein the wheel support arm includes pairs of upper and lower bridging bars each pivotally secured at one end to a wheel support bar affixed to the frame and at the other end to an axle of the auxiliary wheel, such that the auxiliary wheels remain generally parallel to one another in both the bicycle and stroller modes.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.