Patent ID: 6467560
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: A63C

Abstract:
A motorized vehicle steerable by the user's lateral weight transfer, the vehicle comprising:a platform for supporting the user; transversely extending front and rear axle assemblies each having an inboard side, each of said front and rear axle assemblies supporting ground-engaging wheels or tracks positioned on respective sides of a central longitudinal upright plane of the vehicle, at least one axle assembly being a driven axle assembly wherein the respective wheels or tracks of such driven axle assembly are fixed thereto in driven relationship; coupling structure pivotally coupling each of the front and rear axle assemblies relative to the platform for pivoting about respective front and rear steering axes substantially positioned in said central longitudinal plane; an inboard joint positioned on the inboard side of each of the axle assemblies and operatively connecting the axle assembly to the platform, each of said inboard joints having a pivot center; a resilient joint positioned on each of the axle assemblies outboard of each inboard joint and operatively connecting the axle assembly to the platform, each resilient joint having resilient means for providing suspension and also biasing the respective axle assembly to a position substantially perpendicular to the central plane, each of said resilient joints having a pivot center, each steering axis lying substantially on a line between the pivot center of the respective resilient joint and the pivot center of the respective resilient joint; a motor; braking means; and a transmission connected to the motor for driving at least one driven wheel or track throughout the pivoting of each driven axle assembly about its steering axis, wherein the transmission includes a driveshaft section that rotates about a transmission axis intersecting with the pivot center of the inboard joint connected to each driven axle assembly.