Abstract:
The Dude Tandem has been developed to assist a companion of a person in a motorized wheelchair or scooter to travel with them at the rear of their vehicle on a seat. It will relieve the companion of any discomfort or fatigue from walking and trying to keep up. The Dude Tandem is a new device, which has been welcomed by the public as a much needed convenience.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    not applicable  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPEMENT  
         [0002]    not applicable  
         REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    not applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    My wife has a battery-powered scooter, I would walk with her and before long I would get lower back pain and become fatigued. The Dude Tandem was the answer to my problem. Now with my Dude Tandem attached to the rear of her scooter my problems are in order.  
           [0005]    We have made an extensive patent search at the Chicago Public Library and on the Internet and could not find any references to the Dude Tandem.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The Dude Tandem is a chair mounted on a deck with two six-inch swivel casters mounted at the back. The deck is connected to the rear bumper of a motorized scooter or wheelchair to carry a companion. Speaking with many people they say there is a definite need for the Dude Tandem. One in particular, a man said his wife had a scooter but she was afraid to operate it. He would purchase one so he could operate the scooter and she could ride on the Dude Tandem.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    Sheet  1 / 9 :  
         [0008]    Side view FIG. 1 with part numbers. FIG. 2 showing the arm rest exposing its parts and fold up movement.  
         [0009]    Sheet  2 / 9 :  
         [0010]    Rear view FIG. 3 with part numbers.  
         [0011]    Sheet  3 / 9 :  
         [0012]    Deck FIG. 4 part number  35  showing seventeen holes; size, locations and dimensions. All holes 9 mm diameter except hole Y is 11 mm diameter.  
         [0013]    Sheet  4 / 9 :  
         [0014]    Side view seat shaft support FIG. 5 with part numbers. FIG. 6 top view of parts  15 ,  20 ,  22  assembly.  
         [0015]    Sheet  5 / 9 :  
         [0016]    Side view FIG. 7 with seat removed. Showing seat shaft support FIG. 8 disconnected, shaft lowered to the deck so complete assembly FIG. 9 can be raised and secured to the back of the motorized scooter or wheelchair.  
         [0017]    Sheet  6 / 9 :  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 10 seat exploded view with part numbers.  
         [0019]    Sheet  7 / 9 :  
         [0020]    Side view for Official Gazette.  
         [0021]    Sheet  8 / 9 :  
         [0022]    Parts list with part numbers, description and quantity.  
         [0023]    Sheet  9 / 9 :  
         [0024]    Part suppliers and their part numbers.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]    We designed three prototype units and tested them extensively. The first two exposed safety hazards and some discomforts, which we were able to overcome. The third prototype is the one we will use as our production model.  
       Deck  
       [0026]    The Deck part number  35  sheet  3 / 9  with sixteen 9 mm diameter holes and one 11 mm diameter hole.  
         [0027]    a Four holes in each rear corner for the two swivel casters part number  1  fastened with four parts number  4  and  12  (bolts &amp; nuts).  
         [0028]    Four holes in the center just forward of the caster holes are for two U bolts part number  13  to fasten the seat shaft assembly with mounting plate and nuts.  
         [0029]    Four holes at the front of the deck (two on each side) are for the two tow tubes, sheet  1 / 9  part number  2 . The tow tubes are made from ¾″ EMT electrical conduit 222 mm long with a ¼″ body universal coupler hex end pressed into one end of the tube and a ½″ IPT plug threaded flush to the other end. Two 9 mm holes drilled 10 mm from each end to fasten the tube to the deck with two part number  3  curved weld nuts round base curved flange up to conform to the outside circumference of the OD of the tube along with two joint connector bolts.  
       Seat Shaft Assembly  
       [0030]    The seat shaft assembly sheet  2 / 9  part number  21  is reworked with a piece of 1″ EMT electrical conduit 150 mm long as the base. There is a groove rolled in 25 mm from each end 0.5 mm deep using a tubing cutter with a restrictor roller wheel in place of the cutter wheel. The grooves are to allow the two U bolts to fit over the tubes and to hold the assembly centered. The seat shaft is cut at the bottom with a 1{fraction (3/16)}″ diameter metal hole saw centered ½″ from the bottom. The hole is open at the bottom to be set over the tube centered and welded in place. Two gussets, one on each side of the shaft made from ½″×½″ square steel tube cut at 45° on each end welded to the ends of the base tube and to the shaft below the 1″ clamp part number  20 . The clamp is welded in place 105 mm from the bottom of the shaft assembly to the bottom of the clamp with the tabs clamped together and facing the rear.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Continued)  
     Seat Shaft Support  
       [0031]    The seat shaft support sheet  1 / 9  is made up of part number  15 , clevis nipple ¼″ IP×060 mm long. Threaded one end with a clevis cut 3 mm wide×20 mm deep on the other end. A ¼″ diameter hole drilled at right angle to the clevis centered 9 mm from the end. The clevis straddles the tab on the clamp and is held in place with a ½″ diameter×⅝″ long roll pin pressed through the holes in the clevis and the clamp tabs. The treaded end is screwed into part number  6  coupler. The parts  15  and  16  have a total length of 105 mm, which can be adjusted by screwing them together or apart. Part number  24 , ¼″ IP×38 mm long running thread connects part number  7  coupler plug to part number  16  a 45°¼″ IP coupling. The other end of the coupling is connected to the deck through hole Y tapped to ¼″ IP. With a ¼″ IP nipple running tread×45 mm long. Two ½″ IP×1⅜″ OD flat washers, one on top of the deck and one on the bottom of the deck tightened with a ¼″ IPT locknut. The Y hole is threaded so the nipple fits tight in the hole without having any lateral motion.  
       Seat Plate  
       [0032]    The seat plate part number  25  was reworked with the armrest tube ½″ EMT electrical conduit 32″ long. A 10″ stub bent up on each end, centered on and welded to the bottom of the plate just behind the seat shaft hole. The armrest part number  36  is oak hardwood, 1″ thick×2″ wide×6½″ long. A slot is cut in the center bottom ½″ wide×½″ deep full length to accept the ½″×½″ steel tube part number  33 . The tube has a ¼″ diameter hole drilled at one end centered ¼″ from the back end. The stub ends of the ½″ thin wall tube are slotted to ½″ wide and ½″ deep with a ¼″ diameter hole 5 mm from the top and 5 mm from the back to accept the ½″ square tube and fasten with part number  22  roll pin. The bellows 1¼″ diameter×1″ long sump pump corrugated black plastic hose. A plastic plug is fitted to one end with a ½″×½″ square hole in the center to fit over the ½″×½″ steel tube.  
       Parts Lists  
       [0033]    Sheet  8 / 9  is a list of our part numbers and sheet  9 / 9  is a list of suppliers/manuafactures and their part numbers.