Abstract:
An amphibious float system removably and nondestructively attached to a bicycle, having floats that raise and lower simultaneously on pivoting arms that swing longitudinally in a fore and aft arc and lock in place in a desired position by hand manipulable connections for transition between land and water travel without modification of the bicycle. The bicycle remains fully assembled and the lift arms provide ample clearance above land and water to keep the bicycle and rider fully out of the water for dry feet operation. The system carries everything with it to convert between multiple modes of operation, including as an amphibious bicycle, an amphibious water cycle, a conventional bicycle, and a pontoon boat. A self-engaging drive system and removably attached rudder aid in changeovers for repeated land and water evolutions, and both kick-up when encountering land or underwater obstructions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/653,689, filed May 31, 2012 by the present inventor. 
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Amphibious travel presents unique challenges due to the dual nature of traveling over both land and water. For example, some attributes of the craft that are an advantage on land become a disadvantage on water, and vice versa. Prior art reveals how this dilemma has been handled previously with respect to amphibious bicycle floatation systems in general, and specifically with the ability to raise and lower the floatation devices. 
     The height, or elevation, of the floatation devices attached to a bicycle for amphibious travel, relative to the bicycle and the ground, impact its performance and the rider&#39;s comfort on land and water. While on water it is desirable to have the floatation devices below the bicycle wheels and pedals in order to lift the bicycle and rider sufficiently above the water to keep the bicycle and rider dry. Alternatively, on land, the opposite is desirable, to have the floatation devices and related support frame sufficiently above the bottom of the bicycle wheels, that is, as high above ground level as practical, to provide ample clearance for land obstructions over varied terrain. 
     Previously, amphibious bicycle floatation devices can be categorized into two general groups, those with floatation devices that are fixed in place, and those that employ a lift system for raising and lowering the floats. Generally those that do not employ a lift system fix the floats at the midpoint between the two optimum elevations for traveling over both land and water. This is not ideal, but rather an accommodation to make the craft amphibious. Those with a lift system have the ability to raise and lower the floats for better clearance over both land and water. 
     Among the examples of amphibious bicycle devices lacking the ability to raise and lower the floatation devices is U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,945, issued to Ankert (1978), which reveals an amphibious float attachment system for a conventional bicycle. Though it is amphibious, its limitations are immediately apparent since, without a lift system, the bicycle and rider remain partially submerged in the water during water travel, and the pontoon floats appear to have little ground clearance when on land. Also, the paddles attached to each pedal for propulsion would be very inadequate for meaningful water travel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,365, issued to Jones (1988), shows an alternative method of fixing an amphibious float system to a conventional bicycle. The float system cannot be raised or lowered, similar to the previous example, but the structure is arranged such that the bicycle and rider sit on top of the entire system. This keeps the bicycle and rider out of the water. However, it creates the undesirable option of having to remove the entire device from the bicycle in order to use the bicycle to travel on land. This takes time and effort, and likely tools. Also, once the floatation device has been removed there is no provision to transport it with the bicycle in the likely event that another conversion to water mode will be desired later. So the rider is stuck without the ability to cross more than one body of water over the entire ride, making it a non-amphibious system for practical purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,148, issued to Siviero (1998) solves the portability issue in one respect by making the entire float and frame system able to be stowed in a back-pack to be carried by the rider. It is also adaptable to a conventional bicycle. While this theoretically solves the issue of crossing multiple bodies of water on a single trip, the practicality of stopping, assembling or disassembling the frame system and inflating the pontoons, before every transition between land and water would be very time consuming and limiting. Because of the time and effort required to temporarily convert between land and water use, the previous two examples are not amphibious in their immediate form, and are therefore not practical for everyday recreation, sport, or travel where outings are likely short and multiple consecutive land and water crossings may be desired. 
     Among the examples of amphibious cycles having the ability to raise and lower their floatation devices is U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,864, issued to Perdue (2000), which demonstrates amphibious floats attached to a conventional bicycle having floats that fold up and down in a sideways motion. The floats must be uncoupled from each other and then folded individually to raise the floats, and water and land clearance issues exist as it appears portions of the bicycle and likely the rider&#39;s feet contact the water, similar to previously discussed systems where the floatation devices did not lift at all. U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,747 (Locher, 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 1,034,278 (Munsen, 1912); and U.S. Pat. No. 799,667 (Payette, 1905) show amphibious floatation systems that lift longitudinally in various ways and combinations, but they are cumbersome, complicated, and do not lift all of the needed floatation devices simultaneously and in the same direction for efficient conversion between land and water travel. 
     Advantages 
     Accordingly several advantages of one or more aspects are as follows: to provide an amphibious float attachment that can be temporarily connected to a bicycle, making it amphibious, having generally a frame structure and pontoon floats attached to it that deploy and recover expeditiously and simultaneously, and lock in place by hand manipulable connections, without the need for tools or reconfiguring the bicycle. The floats swing longitudinally in a fore and aft arc on pivoting arms simultaneously in the same direction, resulting in lifting the floats at twice the lift height as the length of the lift arms at the pivot point, allowing the lift system to be very efficient, compact and provide excellent clearance for the floats above both land and water, keeping the entire bicycle and the rider&#39;s feet dry and above the water when in water cycle mode, and the floats free and clear of ground obstructions when in amphibious land mode. And where bicycle remains fully assembled with no need to remove any parts or engage any systems or gears to the chain or sprockets of the bicycle. It has four modes of operation: as a conventional bicycle, as an amphibious bicycle in road mode, as an amphibious water cycle, and as a personal catamaran, without the need for tools to convert from one mode to another. Having also the characteristic of carrying with it in its amphibious road and water cycle modes everything needed to make unlimited consecutive water and land conversions and to also convert to the bike only mode or personal catamaran mode. Having light-weight inflatable floats, upright bicycle seating for optimized leg muscle use and efficient transfer of energy to the propulsion system, with underwater propeller propulsion for quiet and efficient movement, and drive transmission by an automatically-engaging friction wheel that makes contact with the back wheel of the bicycle. Having also a simple rudder attachment with a form-fitting rudder boot to the front wheel of the bicycle, held in place by bungees and hooks for the bungees for quick and easy attachment and removal, and provides natural and intuitive bicycle steering input to the rudder in water cycle mode. The connection of the rudder to the front wheel of the bicycle also allows it to rotate in an upward fashion when striking an underwater obstacle, beaching, or otherwise coming into contact with land. 
     The result is a float attachment and lift system for making a bicycle amphibious which overcomes many limitations of prior art, combines multiple previous achievements, and improves upon prior teaching to produce an efficient and practical amphibious cycle apparatus for recreation, sport and meaningful travel across water barriers. 
     Other advantages of one or more aspects will be apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment a float attachment and lift system for making a bicycle amphibious, with a frame structure and longitudinally swinging arms that lift and lower the floats simultaneously into a desired position, having the ability to convert also to a personal catamaran or a conventional bicycle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         FIG. 1 : Left side view, floats down. 
         FIG. 2 : Front view, floats down. 
         FIG. 3 : Left rear isometric view, floats down. 
         FIG. 4 : Left isometric view of head tube bracket. 
         FIG. 5 : Front isometric view of front receiver assembly. 
         FIG. 6 : Left isometric view of rear receiver assembly. 
         FIG. 7 : Left rear isometric view of transmission frame. 
         FIG. 8 : Left side view, floats up, with near float removed for clarity. 
         FIG. 9 : Front view, floats up. 
         FIG. 10 : Left rear isometric view, floats up. 
         FIG. 11 : Left front isometric view of pontoon boat form. 
         FIG. 12 : Isometric view of rudder. 
         FIG. 13 : Left side view of conventional bicycle form with floats removed. 
     
    
    
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 REFERENCE NUMERALS 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1 
                 Bicycle 
                 2 
                 Top Tube 
               
               
                 3 
                 Head Tube 
                 4 
                 Down Tube 
               
               
                 5 
                 Seat Tube 
                 6 
                 Seatstay 
               
               
                 7 
                 Chainstay 
                 8 
                 Headset 
               
               
                 9 
                 Stem 
                 10 
                 Fork 
               
               
                 11 
                 Front Wheel 
                 12 
                 Seat 
               
               
                 13 
                 Seatpost 
                 14 
                 Seatpost Clamp 
               
               
                 15 
                 Rear Wheel 
                 16 
                 Front Receiver Assembly 
               
               
                 17 
                 Main Tube Bracket 
                 18 
                 Head Tube Bracket 
               
               
                 19 
                 Rear Receiver Assembly 
                 20 
                 Seat Tube Bracket 
               
               
                 21 
                 Lower Seatstay Bracket 
                 22 
                 Adjustable Rear Frame Bar 
               
               
                 23 
                 Rotating Receiver Tube 
                 24 
                 Support Arm 
               
               
                 25 
                 Front Frame Arm 
                 26 
                 Lift Arm 
               
               
                 27 
                 Pivot and Lockdown Bracket 
                 28 
                 Rear Frame Arm 
               
               
                 29 
                 Bolt 
                 30 
                 Pivot Bolt 
               
               
                 31 
                 Pin 
                 32 
                 Lockup Bracket 
               
               
                 33 
                 Pontoon Float 
                 34 
                 Pontoon Frame 
               
               
                 35 
                 Pontoon Strap 
                 36 
                 Transmission Frame 
               
               
                 37 
                 Transmission Friction Wheel 
                 38 
                 Transmission Wheel Frame 
               
               
                 39 
                 Transmission Wheel Tensioner Bungee 
                 40 
                 Flexible Drive Housing 
               
               
                 41 
                 Drive Tube 
                 42 
                 Skeg 
               
               
                 43 
                 Flexible Drive Shaft 
                 44 
                 Propeller 
               
               
                 45 
                 Rudder 
                 46 
                 Rudder Boot 
               
               
                 47 
                 Rudder Bungee 
                 48 
                 Rudder Bungee Hook 
               
               
                 49 
                 Catamaran Spacer Bar 
                 50 
                 Trampoline 
               
               
                 51 
                 Boat Seat 
                 52 
                 Seatback Adjustment Strap 
               
               
                 53 
                 Seat Attachment Strap 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One embodiment of the amphibious bicycle float attachment lift system and frame structure is illustrated as follows. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a left side view of one embodiment, with floats lowered, showing a conventional bicycle  1 , having front and rear wheels  11  and  15 , respectively, a frame consisting of top tube  2 , down tube  4 , seat tube  5 , with seat  12 , seatpost  13 , seatpost clamp  14 , and chain stay  7 . Front receiver assembly  16  is attached to bicycle  1 , fixed in place between top tube  2 , down tube  4 , and surrounding head tube  3 . Rear receiver assembly  19  is attached to seatpost clamp  14  and rear frame arms  28 . Lift arms  26  attach to pontoon frame  34  which attach to pontoon floats  33  and are held secure by pontoon straps  35 . A transmission friction wheel  37  contacts rear wheel  15  of bicycle  1  and connects to drive tube  41 , skeg  42  and propeller  44 . Rudder boot  46  is attached to front wheel  11  and holds rudder  45 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates floats in a lowered position showing front frame arms  25  held in place to front receiver assembly  16  by pins  31 , and connected to pivot and lockdown brackets  27 , which connect to lift arms  26  and pontoon frames  34 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a rear isometric view with floats lowered, showing lockup bracket  32  and pivot bolt  30 . Also shown in more detail is rudder boot  46  held in place with rudder bungees  47  connected to rudder bungee hooks  48 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates front frame arms  25  held to head tube bracket  18  with pins  31 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates how bicycle stem  9  connects via headset  8  through head tube  3  to hold fork  10  in place. Front receiver assembly  16  is comprised of main tube bracket  17 , consisting of two left and right sides, mirror images of each other, connected in the middle and wedged between top tube  2  and down tube  4  ( FIG. 4 ), connected and pulled snug to head tube bracket  18  with bolts  29 , held fast around head tube  3 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates rear receiver assembly  19 , comprising rotating receiver tube  23 , adjustable rear frame bar  22 , and support arms  24 . Adjustable rear frame bar  22  is held on one end by seat tube bracket  20  which is connected to seatstays  6  and seatpost clamp  14  ( FIG. 1 ), and on the other end to rotating receiver tube  23  which is held up by support arms  24  connected to seatstays  6  by lower seatstay brackets  21 . Rear receiver assembly  19  connects to and supports rear frame arms  28 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates transmission frame  36  and related components when pontoon floats  33  are in a lowered position. Transmission friction wheel  37  is in contact with rear wheel  15  of bicycle  1  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) and connects to transmission wheel frame  38 . Transmission wheel frame  38  and transmission friction wheel  37  are held in tension with two transmission wheel tensioner bungees  39  attached to either side of the upper portion of transmission wheel frame  38  and front end of transmission frame  36 . Transmission friction wheel  37  connects to flexible drive shaft  43 , housed inside of flexible drive housing  40  and inserts into drive tube  41 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a left side view with floats up and the near float removed from the figure to reveal otherwise hidden components, showing a clear view of pivot bolt  30  with floats locked in a raised position and held securely in place with pins  31 . 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  illustrate floats in a raised position showing a relative perspective of the ground clearance of pivot and lockdown brackets  27  and floats  33  when in amphibious cycle mode for land use. A clear view is revealed of pivot bolt  30 , and pin  31  inserted in lockup bracket  32  to secure floats  33  in the raised position. Also shown are pins  31  inserted into pontoon frames  34  to secure frames to lift arms  26  (shown previously in lowered position in  FIG. 2 ). 
       FIG. 11  is a front isometric view of one embodiment in boat mode, showing the same pontoon floats  33  and pontoon frames  34  attached by catamaran spacer bars  49 , fixed together with pins  31  at each connection point to pontoon frames  34 , with trampoline  50  stretched between catamaran spacer bars  49 . Boat seat  51  with seatback adjustment straps  52  are attached to trampoline  50  with seat attachment straps  53 . 
       FIG. 12  illustrates an isometric view of rudder  45  housed in rudder boot  46  with rudder bungees  47  shown removed from front wheel  11  of bicycle  1  (both shown previously in  FIG. 1 ) and rudder bungee hooks  48 . 
       FIG. 13  illustrates the left side view of bicycle  1  in conventional bicycle mode with only front receiver assembly  16 , seat tube bracket  20 , and lower seatstay brackets  21  attached. 
     Operation—Attachment of Brackets to Bicycle— FIGS. 4 ,  5  &amp;  6   
     Four brackets are nondestructively and removably attached to bicycle  1  serving as attachment points for the amphibious and water cycle embodiments of the lift and attachment system. Front receiver assembly  16  of  FIG. 5  is slipped into place between top tube  2  and down tube  4  ( FIG. 4 ) to fit snugly in place and held to head tube bracket  18  with four bolts  29 . Seat tube bracket  20  ( FIG. 6 ) is attached to seatpost clamp  14  ( FIG. 1 ) and seatstays  6 . Two lower seatstay brackets  21  are attached to both seatstays  6  on each side of the rear of bicycle  1 . 
     Operation—Connection of Frame Structure to Brackets on Bicycle— FIGS. 4 ,  5 ,  6 , &amp;  7   
     Once the four brackets are attached to bicycle  1 , as described above,  FIG. 5  shows how front frame arms  25  slide into head tube bracket  18  and are secured with pins  31  ( FIG. 4 ). Rear receiver assembly  19  is held in place by connecting adjustable rear frame bar  22  to seat tube bracket  20  with one pin  31 , and two support arms  24  emanating from rotating receiver tube  23  are connected to lower seatstay brackets  21  on either side of bicycle  1  with two pins  31 . Rear frame arms  28  slide into rear receiver assembly  19  in the same fashion as front frame arms  25  and are secured with pins  31 . Transmission frame  36  already having affixed to it other drive components, attaches to pontoon frame  34  with two pins  31 . Next, pontoon frames  34  are attached to two lift arms  26  on each side of bicycle  1  with pins  31 . 
     Operation—Amphibious Bicycle— FIGS. 8 &amp; 9   
     To operate the apparatus on land as an amphibious bicycle, carrying with it everything needed to operate in the other modes, simply reach down toward the rear of bicycle  1  and grasp both pontoon frames  34  and swing them up to the raised position until lift arms  26  ( FIG. 2 ) contact lockup brackets  32  and lock in place with pins  31 , one on either side of the apparatus in the holes provided in lockup brackets  32 . 
       FIG. 3  shows lift arms  26  are pivotally attached to pivot and lockdown brackets  27  with pivot bolts  30 . Lift arms  26  rotate about pivot bolts  30  in a longitudinally swinging arc raising or lowering pontoon floats  33  and all related components simultaneously and expeditiously in one motion at twice the height of lift arms  26 , allowing ample clearance above land or water in one lifting motion. There is nothing to connect or disconnect from the bicycle or drive system, and the apparatus is now ready for operation as an amphibious bicycle on land. 
     Operation—Amphibious Water Cycle— FIGS. 1 ,  2  &amp;  3   
     To convert from amphibious land mode to water mode as a water cycle, simply pull two pins  31  ( FIG. 9 ) from lockup brackets  32  on either side of the apparatus, lower pontoon floats  33  to the ground and then raise bicycle  1  in a rearward lifting motion until it stops in the raised position when the four lift arms  26  contact the forward edge of the four pivot and lockdown brackets  27 . Insert four pins  31  into the holes in the trailing edges of pivot and lockdown brackets  27  to lock pontoon floats  33  securely in the lowered position. Next, attach rudder boot  46  to front wheel  11  with rudder bungees  47  already attached to one side of rudder boot  46 , and pull them across the inside rim of front wheel  11  and loop them over two rudder bungee hooks  48  on the other side of rudder boot  46 . Since rudder  45  is attached to the freely rotating front wheel  11 , rudder  45  will kick-up if it hits an underwater obstruction and when launching and beaching. Natural and intuitive bicycle steering is achieved in water as with normal bicycle steering on land. 
     Transmission friction wheel  37  will automatically engage rear wheel  15  of bicycle  1  when the apparatus is lowered because of the tension that will be applied from transmission wheel tensioner bungees  39  ( FIG. 7 ) when pontoon floats  33  are lowered into place. Drive tube  41  will kick-up in a swinging motion when contacting an underwater obstruction, beaching or when otherwise contacting land. 
     The apparatus can be readily and repeatedly swung into land or water mode use expeditiously for unlimited land and water crossings without the use of tools, and transporting with it everything needed to operate in bicycle-only mode or as a personal catamaran boat. 
     Operation—Boat Mode— FIG. 12   
     To operate in boat mode as a personal catamaran, simply pull pins  31  from pontoon frames  34 , attach trampoline  50  to catamaran spacer bars  49 , attach catamaran spacer bars  49  to pontoon frames  34  with pins  31 , and attach seat  51  to catamaran spacer bars  49  on top of trampoline  50  with seat attachment straps  53  for stability. 
     Operation—Bicycle Mode— FIG. 13   
     To operate as a conventional bicycle with the frame structure removed, simply pull pins  31  from transmission frame  36  ( FIG. 7 ) to remove transmission frame  36 , then pull pins  31  from front and rear frame arms,  25  and  28  respectively, to release bicycle  1 . If it is desired to remove rear receiver assembly  19  from bicycle  1  prior to riding, simply remove pin  31  from seat tube bracket  20  ( FIG. 6 ), thereby freeing adjustable rear frame bar  22 , and remove pins  31  from lower seatstay brackets  21  on either side of bicycle  1 . Now bicycle  1  is ready to ride on land as a conventional bicycle with only front receiver assembly  16 , seat tube bracket  20 , and two lower seatstay brackets  21  attached to bicycle  1 , as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE 
     Thus the reader will see that at least one embodiment of the amphibious float attachment provides a more efficient and effective means of amphibious bicycle and water cycle operation, as well as the ability to quickly and easily convert the apparatus to a conventional bicycle or personal catamaran, for effective travel, recreation and exercise over land and water in multiple modes. 
     While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but rather as an exemplification of several embodiments thereof. Many other variations of size, material, shape, color, densities, and configurations are possible. For example, a variety of suitable structural materials could be employed, such as steel, wood, aluminum, plastic, composites, carbon fiber, etc., and could be round, oval, square, triangular, etc.; the pontoon floats could be made of a variety of material, such as fabric, foam, wood, plastic, etc., and could be solid, hollow, semi-rigid, inflatable, etc.; and the connections and holding devices could be pins, latches, catches, straps, hooks, bungees, etc., suitable for the intended use. 
     Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.