Abstract:
The invention offers a conversion kit for all terrain vehicle, which is adjusted for driving both on the terrain and in the water. For that purpose, pontoons to lengthen the front and rear side of the all terrain vehicle have been constructed, the height whereof in respect of the vehicle in working position can be adjusted according to one&#39;s needs. The pontoons can be turned in such position that does not disturb the movement of the all terrain vehicle on dry land.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is related to all terrain vehicle (ATV), which has been adjusted for driving both on the terrain and in the water. The invention is related specifically to a conversion kit for universally constructed all terrain vehicle and has been intended for mounting onto different types of all terrain vehicles in order to guarantee the floatage of the vehicle. 
   BACKGROUND ART 
   All terrain vehicles have gained popularity and are used both in business in order to move on the hardly penetrable terrain and to spend one&#39;s free time. The all terrain vehicles usually have at least three wheels and a handle to rotate the wheel or pair of wheels in front. The wide specially patterned fires and appropriate transmission make it possible to permeate very different terrains including sand, soil, mud, snow, ice, etc. The only imperfection of a traditional all terrain vehicles is that although they can be used to go through shallow water, they lack the ability to float, and therefore they cannot be used to drive through the deeper water. In order to eliminate this deficiency, several solutions have been proposed. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,324 offers a solution for converting an all terrain vehicle into an amphibian. For that purpose, extensions of driving axle have been fixed onto the outer side of each rear wheel of the all terrain vehicle. Additional wheels have been fixed on the extensions with specially designed paddles in between in order to stabilize moving in the water. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,937 describes a pontoon floatation device which can be fixed onto the all terrain vehicle. The pontoons can be moved vertically, and their height in regards to the vehicle can be adjusted when driving into the water, while in the water and emerging from the water. Between the pontoons at the back of the vehicle there are rotating paddles powered by the engine of the all terrain vehicle to facilitate moving in the water. 
   All terrain vehicles adjusted for driving in the water are generally well-known for their high technical standard. However, they still have several shortcomings. The pontoons intended for ensuring floating have been mounted on the sides of the vehicle. The deficiency of this solution is the increase of the width of the vehicle, which hinders moving on the terrain with limited penetrability. Navigability and driving safety are deteriorated as well. In order to continue the travel after emerging from water and heading onto the wooded path with limited width, in case of such solutions known for their high technical standard, the pontoons should be demounted off the all terrain vehicle. The existing solutions do not offer any appropriate space on the vehicle for holding the floaters. Therefore, the pontoons should be kept separately, which does not enable mobile movement of the user. 
   SUMMARY 
   The objective of the present invention is to provide a set of universally constructed, easily and quickly adjustable and favourably priced pontoons, which do not increase the general width of the vehicle. In order to gain this objective, pontoons to lengthen the front and rear side of the vehicle have been constructed, the height of which can be adjusted in the working position according to one&#39;s needs. In addition, the pontoons can be brought into such position where the pontoons are drained from air and the frame turned completely on the luggage rack in the position not disturbing movement of the vehicle on the dry land. In the construction of the invention, elements of a standard all terrain vehicle are used to the maximum extent in order to minimize the number of the elements of the pontoons set. As a result, a set of optimum constructed, quickly adjustable and favourably priced pontoons are provided. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     All the above mentioned as well as other features of the present invention can easily be understood with the help of the following description, claims and accompanying drawings where: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates general view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the pontoons in the working position; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the set of pontoons according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates exploded view of another favourable embodiment of the set of pontoons according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4A  illustrates front view of a preferred embodiment of the pontoon bag according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4B  illustrates side view of  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates top view of the luggage rack included in the set of a standard all terrain vehicle. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   In  FIG. 1 , there is a general view of an all terrain vehicle, which has at least three wheels  1 , a seat  2 , steering and control mechanism  3  and an engine  4 , provided with the conversion kit corresponding to the present invention. Traditional all terrain vehicles have a luggage rack  5  at the front and at the rear. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, there are two immobile frame-pipes  6  fixed onto the luggage rack  5 . On the immobile frame-pipes  6 , the frame of the pontoon, consisting of frame-pipe of the pontoon  7  and bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  fixed to it, is mounted. In order to strengthen the joining attachment between the frame-pipe  7  and the bearing-pipe  8 , there is a belt, a cable or a string  9  stretched between the bearing-pipe  8  and the luggage rack  5 . The pontoon  10  is placed in the pontoon bag  11 . In  FIG. 2 , there is a dismantle view of one of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The immobile frame-pipe  6  is between the fixing plates  12 , which fix the immobile frame-pipe  6  onto the vehicle. The fixing plates  12  are fixed onto the front and rear luggage rack  5  with bolts (see  FIG. 1 ). The immobile frame-pipe  6  can be moved lengthways the all terrain vehicle, if necessary, in order to adjust the position of the pontoon  10 . The frame of the pontoon, which contains the frame-pipe of the pontoon  7 , is mounted on the immobile frame-pipes  6  with articulated plates  13 , and the bearing-pipe  8  of the pontoon is fixed onto the frame with brackets  14 . The immobile frame-pipe  6  is fixed between the articulated plates  13  with a quick latch. The articulated plates  13  can be used to change and fix the slope of the frame-pipe  7  of the pontoon towards the immobile frame-pipe  6 . When driving on dry land, the frame of the pontoon is turned into a fixed position at a suitable height from the ground level, so that the pontoon  10  will not disturb the movement of the all terrain vehicle; or the pontoons are drained from air and the frame of the pontoon is turned completely onto the luggage rack  5 . The pontoon  10  is placed in the pontoon bag  11 , which according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is designed two-sectioned. This solution enables using a suitable size inner tube of the vehicle tyre as the pontoon  10  in the preferred embodiment. The pontoon bag  11  is fixed between the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  and the cross-fastening  15 . In  FIG. 3 , there is a dismantle view of another preferred embodiment of the invention. The pontoon  10  is mounted onto the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  with belts  16 , which are fixed onto the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  with cross-fastenings of the belt  17 . 
   The pontoon bag  11  in  FIG. 4A  is made of non-stretching elastic material, in the preferred embodiment of waterproof tarpaulin. The material of the pontoon bag  11  is rectangular-shaped; the edges of the shorter sides  18  have been slightly turned back (see  FIG. 4B ). Strings  19 , which length is equal to the shorter sides, are placed in the two tubes formed, and the edges have been sewn up along the side with seam. Then the material is folded lengthways the line  20  connecting the centre points of the two longer sides, and a string, which length is equal to the shorter side  21 , is placed in the folding line and sewn up with the seam. Next, the folded material is sewn up with the seam, which length is equal to the shorter side  21 , so that the seam is crosswise with the longer edge and at a distance from the central point of the longer edge. Then the material is folded once again so that the strings  19  and  21  are at the same line. The formed two-sectioned pontoon bag  11  is fixed between the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  and the cross-fastening  15  so that the strings  19  and  21  are on one side of the joining surface of the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  and the cross-fastening  15 , and the pontoon bag  11  is on the other side of the joining surface. This excludes the edges of the pontoon bag  11  coming out from between the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  and the cross-fastening  15 . The pontoon bag  11  has additional loops  22  for the belt  9  for fixing the working position of the pontoon  10 . 
   In  FIG. 5 , there is a luggage rack  5  included in the set of the all terrain vehicle (see also  FIG. 1 ). The immobile frame-pipes  6  of the pontoon of the invention have been fixed onto suitable places of the pipes of the luggage rack (reference numbers  23  in  FIG. 5 ). 
   The pontoon  10  can be placed in the pontoon bag  11  when drained or between the fastening belts  16 . The pontoons  10  have been filled with air by using a pneumatic compressor. The set is equipped with pneumatic hoses (not shown in the figures) for leading the air into the pontoons  10 . 
   For additional fixing of the working position of the pontoon  10  and the frame of the pontoon to all terrain vehicle, a belt, a cable or a string  9  is connected with one end to the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  (see  FIG. 1 ). The other end of the belt, cable or string  9  is inserted through the loop  22  of the pontoon bag  11  and fixed onto the luggage rack  5 . Thus the pontoon bag  11  and the frame of the pontoon are firmly fixed to the all terrain vehicle so that the turning of the frame of the pontoon in relation to immobile frame-pipe  6 , and pontoon  10  in relation to the bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  is avoided. 
   Above, the preferred embodiment of the invention was described. However, the invention allows several embodiments without departing the extent of the invention. The frame-pipe of the pontoon  7  with the fixed bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  attached to it was placed above the pontoon  10  in the preferred embodiment. In case of alternative embodiments, the frame-pipe of the pontoon  7  with the fixed bearing-pipe of the pontoon  8  attached to it can be placed on one or both sides of the pontoon  10 , beneath it, or at its ends. In another alternative embodiment, the immobile frame-pipe  6  and the frame-pipe of the pontoon  7  can be fixed rigidly to one another. In order to guarantee suitable positions for the pontoon  10  in this accomplishment, the immobile frame-pipe  6  can be rotated and fixated in respect of the vehicle. In the third alternative embodiment, a suitably sized pontoon  10  can be used in such way that the articulated plates  13  can be omitted and the frame-pipe of the pontoon  8  can be fixed to the immovable frame-pipe  6 . In the fourth alternative embodiment, there are additional stretching belts fixed around or onto the pontoon bag  11  to provide better rigidity for the pontoon  10 . Extra equipment set according to the invention can be used also for such all terrain vehicles that do not have either front or rear or both luggage racks  5 . In that case the immobile frame-pipe  6  can be fixed onto the luggage rack  5  of the all terrain vehicle, onto the mounting of the winch  24 , onto the trailer hook  25  of the all terrain vehicle or onto the front protection bumper  26  (see  FIG. 1 ).