Patent ID: 8398095
Filing Date: 2013-03-19
Classification: B61B,B62B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A skibob apparatus for riding on and dismounting from a benchrest of a moving chairlift while a rider is seated on the seat of the skibob, which comprises: a) a frame having an anterior leg member for attaching a front ski by a front ski mounting foot and a posterior leg member for attaching a rear ski by a rear ski mounting foot; b) a seat member rearwardly and pivotably cantilevered from a hinge mounted on a supraposterior aspect of said frame, said hinge comprising a helical spring with a first prong captive in said supraposterior aspect of said frame and a second prong disposed in said seat member, wherein said seat member comprises a rearwardly cantilevered seat arm and a seat posteriorly disposed thereon for seating a rider, said pivotable seat member having a horizontal position wherein the seat member is generally horizontal relative to the frame and an elevated position wherein the seat member angles upward posteriorly from the frame, said spring having a bias to oppose downward pivoting of said seat member from said elevated position to said horizontal position; c) wherein said rearwardly cantilevered seat member and said posterior leg member define a benchrest receiving space therebetween, said benchrest receiving space having a depth and height so dimensioned that a benchrest of a chairlift is insertable therein, and said seat member having a generally planar underside surface with contralateral projections, said underside surface and contralateral projections having a length and a width dimensioned so as to enable stably supporting the underside surface of the seat member on a benchrest with a seated rider on the seat when a chairlift is in motion; d) further wherein said rear leg member is pivotably attached to said frame at an inferiorposterior pivot; and e) a rear suspension having a mechanical linkage and a shock absorber, said shock absorber pivotingly connecting at a first nose to said mechanical linkage and at a second nose to said frame; said rear operating with said posterior leg member by compressingly storing energy in said shock absorber when said posterior leg member is up-thrustingly elevated upward in relation to said frame by contact of said rear ski with the ascending foreslope of the offloading platform of the chairlift and decompressingly releasing energy from said shock absorber by a reciprocating downward rotation of said posterior leg member as said seat member slides off of a benchrest.