Abstract:
A SEGWAY adapted with a mechanism to manually override the rider detection mechanical sensors to allow a golfer to choose to ride or not ride the SEGWAY while playing golf. A handle attachment extends outwardly enabling the golfer to manually steer and thus control the speed and direction of the SEGWAY while not riding the SEGWAY. The golfer can ride, walk, or run as desired in unison with the improved SEGWAY. A rider detection override mechanism is positioned under each existing step pad. A counterweight is placed at the rear of the SEGWAY to balance the SEGWAY when there is no rider present.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION 
     This application, under 35 USC §119(e), claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/091,967, filed on Aug. 26, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a SEGWAY and particularly to a SEGWAY with golf improvements. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a top perspective view of an embodiment of the SEGWAY with golf improvements, illustrating the kick plates in the engaged position; 
         FIG. 2  shows an enlarged, top perspective view the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the kick plates in the disengaged position; 
         FIG. 3  shows a top view of the right side manual override mechanism and counterweight of  FIG. 2 , with the counter weight partially broken away; 
         FIG. 4A  shows a top view of the tab of the manual override mechanism of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4B  shows a bottom view of the kick plate of the manual override mechanism of  FIG. 3 , with portions of the kick plate partially broken away; 
         FIG. 4C  shows a top view of the right base plate of the manual override mechanism of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows a sectional view of override mechanism of  FIG. 2  taken along line  5 - 5  illustrating the kick plate in the disengaged position; 
         FIG. 6  shows a sectional view of override mechanism of  FIG. 1  taken along line  6 - 6  illustrating the kick plate in the engaged position and overriding the rider detection sensor of the Segway. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” “in communication with” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. 
     Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and that other alternative mechanical configurations are possible. 
     The SEGWAY has been available in recent years to enable golfers to ride with their golf bag positioned over a single wheel, as in the SEGWAY x2 Golf. However, the rider/golfer must dismount the SEGWAY, turn off the device, and lay the device back onto the golf bag stand before selecting his/her club due to rider detection sensors. This results in the golf bag being substantially vertical. After completing the swing the golfer must reverse these laborious steps to get back on the SEGWAY to proceed to the next golf ball location. 
     The presently designed invention as shown in  FIGS. 1-6  enables the golfer to manually override the rider detection sensors in order to direct and control the speed of the improved SEGWAY  1  while not requiring the user to be presently riding the SEGWAY, as well as having the option of riding all or portions of the golf course. The improved SEGWAY  1  does not have to be turned off nor laid over to go swing the golf club. The improved SEGWAY  1  remains in the upright and riding position. The golfer has the option of riding the improved SEGWAY  1  or directing the improved SEGWAY when the user is on foot (not riding), at any pace such as walking, jogging, or running. The golfer now has the option to exercise by choosing not to ride the SEGWAY, even though the golf bag (not shown) is still being carted by the SEGWAY. 
     The presently designed SEGWAY improvement is used to provide the golfer with the ability to choose whether to ride or not ride the improved SEGWAY  1  while playing golf. The SEGWAY  1  improvement comprises an elongated handle attachment or “Balance Control Handle Extension Attachment” or acronym “BHx”  20  projecting forward from the existing handle bars  2  of the SEGWAY. The handle attachment  20  is a 2″ diameter pipe  28  ½″ in length with a 4″ U-cut into the one end of the pipe. The U-cut end of the handle attachment  20  adjacent handle bars  2  may be secured by a fastener  23 . The golfer, positioned in front of the SEGWAY, directs the elongated handle attachment  20  in the direction of travel and controls the speed of the SEGWAY by simply applying or removing downward pressure of the handle attachment. The user is able to set his/her own pace while not riding, with the SEGWAY traveling in unison. The handle attachment  20  may be a variety of shapes and may have a grip  22  for hand comfort. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the existing rider detection sensors or buttons  6   a ,  6   b  of each of the existing step pads  3  and  4  are manually overridden to allow for the improved SEGWAY  1  to engage and move without an individual thereon. Thus, once the improved SEGWAY  1  is turned on and balanced, a pair of manual override mechanism  30  and  40  is engaged to override the rider detection sensors of each step pads  3 ,  4 . If however only one override mechanism is engaged, the SEGWAY will still function substantially as intended except for that the SEGWAY will be slower to turn in the direction of the single engaged override mechanism. A pair of sensors  6   a ,  6   b  are disposed under each step pad  3 ,  4 . Sensors  6   a  and  6   b  under step pad  3  are shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3 , a counterweight or “counter weight kick stand”  50  serves to balance the improved SEGWAY  1 . Counterweight  50  serves to balance the weight of the existing handle  2  along with the weight of the elongated handle  20 , compensating for the lack of a rider. Counterweight  50  is connected to the rear of the SEGWAY platform by a pair of hinges  5   a  and  5   b . Counterweight  50  is a plate  52  made of metal, such as steel; along with tire tread  54  disposed on the outward facing surface of the metal plate  52 . The counterweight  50  weighs about 19 lbs. Even with the manual override mechanisms  30  and  40  engaged, the user is able to step back on the SEGWAY and immediately ride. With the pair of rider detection sensors  6   a  and  6   b  overridden by the override mechanisms  30  and  40  and counterweight  50  compensating for the handle attachment and lack of rider, the improved SEGWAY  1  may remain balanced and engaged during the entire golfer&#39;s game. 
     The manual override mechanisms  30  and  40  of the present embodiment is positionable between an engaged position ( FIGS. 1 and 6 ) and a disengaged position ( FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  5 ). Each manual override mechanism  30  and  40  is affixed under their respective step pads  3 ,  4 . When in the engaged position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , a kick plate  80  ( FIG. 4B ) is positioned towards the front of the SEGWAY  1  whereby a pair of tabs  60  ( FIG. 4A ) is biased downwardly in contact with respective rider detection sensors  6   a ,  6   b  thereby mimicking that a user is currently standing on the SEGWAY. When in the disengaged position shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the kick plate  80  is positioned towards the rear of the SEGWAY  1  whereby the pair of tabs  60  is unbiased upwardly out of contact with the rider detection sensors  6   a ,  6   b . While the override mechanisms  30  and  40  are in its disengaged position, a rider is able to step upon the step pads  3  and  4  and engage the rider detection sensors just as if the override mechanism was not present. When the kick plates  80  are in the disengaged position ( FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  5 ), the kick plates  80  extend out from underneath the rear of the step pads  3 ,  4 , whereby the user has access to push or slide the kick plate forward into the engaged position ( FIGS. 1 and 6 ). Once in the engaged position, the kick plates  80  extends out from underneath step pads  3 ,  4  in the front of the SEGWAY, thus presenting itself for the user to push or slide the kick plate back in the disengaged position. Each kick plate  80  travels along its straight path by a series of slots  82  each restricted by a respective bolt  71  therethrough and extending from the SEGWAY platform and through the base plate  70  ( FIG. 4C ), thus allowing the kick plate  80  to travel/slide between its disengaged position and the engaged position. As shown in  FIGS. 4B ,  5 ,  6 , each kick plate  80  also may have a groove  84  adjacent the opening  86  which guides the smaller width of each tab  60  when biased between the engaged and disengaged positions. The kick plates  80 , tabs  60 , and base plates  70  may be made from metal. Each base plate  70  is rigidly affixed to the platform and is shaped to substantially conform to the surface area under each respective left step pad  4  or right step pad  3 . Each base plate  70  has a corresponding opening  76  permitting the rider detection sensor  6   a  or  6   b  to pass therethrough. Each tab  60  is fastened to the bottom surface of the base plate  70  adjacent to and extending into the opening  76  above the sensor  6   a ,  6   b  when assembled. Each base plate opening  76  corresponds with the openings  86  of the kick plate  80 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the kick plate opening  86  is aligned with the base plate opening  76  the tabs  60  are not biased into contact with the sensors  6   a ,  6   b  the rider detection sensors will not be engaged. However as shown in  FIG. 6 , as the kick plate  80  travels from the disengaged position to the engaged position, the kick plate opening  86  traverses out of alignment with the base plate opening  76  and sensor  6   a ,  6   b  resulting in groove  84  and material adjacent the kick plate opening  86  to bias tabs  60  downwardly to depress and engage the rider detection sensors  6   a ,  6   b . Although it is not shown in the figures, a handbrake and tension cable may be included to assist a variety of manual override mechanisms in overriding the rider detection sensors. 
     The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.