Patent ID: 7241197
Filing Date: 2007-07-10
Classification: A63H

Abstract:
1. A movable wheeled vehicle comprising: a vehicle chassis comprising front and back ends, an intermediate vertical member, and a bottom with a horizontal chassis member; a front steering frame comprising left and right ends and a central pivot attachment with a vertical axis attached to the bottom of the chassis; left and right front wheels rotatably attached to the respective left and right ends of the steering frame; a steering column comprising a cylindrical lower portion with a cylindrical lower end extending coaxially therewith obliquely backward from below the bottom of the chassis and having a back side, an upper portion extending upward and backward obliquely from the chassis, and an upper end with a steering wheel; the lower portion of the steering column rotatably mounted to the chassis by a journal with an axis; a steering linkage comprising a substantially horizontal flexible left span attached to the left end of the steering frame, a substantially horizontal flexible right span attached to the right end of the steering frame, and a transmission mechanism for converting rotary motion of the lower end of the steering column to complementary linear motions in the flexible spans that turn the steering frame in the same direction as the steering column; and a flexible joint in the steering column above the journal that allows the upper portion of the steering column to pivot in all directions away from the journal axis; wherein the left span spans directly between the left end of the steering frame and the lower end of the steering column; and the right span spans directly between the right end of the steering frame and the lower end of the steering column.