Abstract:
An all-terrain board ( 10, 50 ) ridden by a rider ( 18 ) standing on the board ( 10, 50 ) is provided with a braking member which can be engaged by a leg of the rider ( 18 ) and moved into braking engagement with a wheel ( 14, 52 ). The braking engagement may be directly onto a tyre ( 15 ) of the wheel ( 14 ). Alternatively, the braking engagement may be indirectly onto a wheel ( 52 ) through a linkage connecting the brake ( 60 ) to a brake mechanism ( 74 ) acting on a rim ( 56 ) of the wheel ( 52 ).

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention is applicable in general to all-terrain boards arranged to be ridden by a rider standing on a board member such as skate boards, mountain boards, grass boards and similar devices which may have two, three or four wheels.  
           [0002]    Braking systems for all-terrain boards have been described previously such as in International Patent Application No. PCT/AU98/01007.  
           [0003]    However, there is a need for a braking system for all-terrain boards which enables braking to be effected in a way which is safe, convenient, effective, reliable and predictable.  
           [0004]    The present invention provides an all-terrain board having a braking system which, at least in part, provides safe, convenient, effective, reliable and predictable braking under a range of conditions.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an all-terrain board arranged to be ridden by a rider standing on a board member, which comprises a wheel means and a brake means having a braking member arranged to be engaged by a leg of a rider so as to apply braking force to the wheel means of the board.  
           [0006]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the braking member may be arranged to act directly on a wheel of the board. In particular, the braking member may be arranged to act on a tyre of the wheel to impart braking force to the wheel.  
           [0007]    In another embodiment of the present invention the braking member may act indirectly on a wheel of the board. In particular, the braking member may be arranged to cause a braking device to act on a rim of the wheel to impart braking force to the wheel 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an all-terrain board in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a brake means being applied by a rider;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a view of a rear portion of the all-terrain board of FIG. 1 to an enlarged scale;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a brake means being applied;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a side elevation of part of a rear portion of an all-terrain vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention showing a brake means;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 5 showing the brake means being applied to a wheel rim;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the second embodiment of FIG. 5; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 is a plan view similar to FIG. 7 showing the brake means being applied to a wheel rim. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    In FIGS.  1  to  4  of the accompanying drawings, there is shown an all-terrain board  10  including a leading wheel  12 , a rear wheel  14  and a frame  16  interconnecting the wheels  12  and  14 . Each wheel  12  and  14  is provided with a tyre  15 . Further, a board member  17  is mounted on the frame  16  between the wheels  12  and  14 . The board  10  is provided with a brake means  19 .  
         [0018]    As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the all-terrain vehicle  10  is arranged to be ridden by a rider  18  standing on the board member  17 .  
         [0019]    As can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 an upright braking member  20  of the brake means  19  extends upwardly from the frame  16 . The braking member  20  is connected to the frame  16  of the board  10  about a transverse pivotal mounting  22  (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Further, the braking member  20  has a concave shape facing the tyre  15  of the rear wheel  14 . Preferably, internally of the concave shape the brake member  20  is provided with a brake contact surface  24  which is formed of material having suitable wear and friction properties to withstand the pressure and temperature of braking against the tyre. Preferably, spring means (not shown) is provided to return the braking member  20  to the non-engaged position shown in FIG. 3 when no force is applied to the braking member  20 .  
         [0020]    In use, the rider  18  rides the all-terrain board  10  in the manner shown in FIG. 1. However, if the rider  18  decides to reduce the speed of the all-terrain board  10  when in motion he simply has to lean backward as shown in FIG. 2. This prevents a rider  18  from being thrown forward when braking and is a natural, safe stance for a rider to maintain when an all-terrain board is slowing down. However, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the arrangement of the present invention enables the rider  18  to apply pressure to the braking member  20  by means of the calf of his rearwardly disposed leg. This causes the braking member  20  to contact the tyre  15  of the rear wheel  14  by means of the brake contact surface  24 . As a result a braking force is applied to the rear wheel  14  and the all-terrain board  10  is caused to slow down. The braking member  20  may be made of steel, aluminium, plastics material or composite material whilst the braking contact surface  24  may be formed of rubber, metal, composite material or suitable plastics material able to withstand the heat, pressure and friction created by braking against the tyre  15 . In this regard, relatively low coefficient of friction plastic materials have been found to offer suitable performance for low cost.  
         [0021]    In FIGS.  5  to  8  there is shown a portion of a rear part of an all-terrain vehicle  50  which is similar to that shown in FIGS.  1  to  4 .  
         [0022]    The vehicle  50  has a rear wheel  52  mounted on a frame  54 . The wheel  52  has a rim  56  having a tyre  58  extending thereabout. The vehicle  50  is provided with a brake means  59 .  
         [0023]    A braking member  60  of the brake means  59  is mounted to the frame  54  by means of a transverse pivotal mounting  62 . Further, as can best be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, an upright plate member  64  is fixedly mounted to the frame  54  just in front of the mounting  62  of the braking member  60 .  
         [0024]    The plate member  64  has an aperture (not shown) therein through which projects a flexible cable  66 . The cable  66  has a nipple  68  mounted at outer end thereof adjacent to the plate member  64 . The nipple  68  is larger than the aperture in the plate member  64  so that the outer end of the cable  66  cannot pass through the aperture.  
         [0025]    The cable  66  then passes through a conduit  70  which may include a length adjustment means  72 .  
         [0026]    As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cable  66  is connected to a bicycle type V-brake  74 . The V-brake  74  has a pair of arms  76  pivotally mounted on pivot points  78  and extending forwardly thereof. The conduit  70  is connected to a leading end of a first arm  76  via a swivel cage  82  pivoting off a leading end of one arm  76 . The cable  66  exits the conduit  70  at one end of the cage  82  and extends across to a cable clamping screw  84  at a leading end of the other arm  76 . Further, forwardly of but adjacent to the pivot points  78  each arm  76  is provided with a brake pad  80 .  
         [0027]    As can be seen in the drawings, in operation, a rider as shown in FIG. 2, applies pressure to the braking member  60  by means of the calf of a rearwardly disposed leg and pivots the braking member  60  about the pivot  62  so as to move the braking member  60  away from the nipple  68  and therefore shorten the effective length of the cable  66  between the leading ends of the arms  76 . This causes these leading ends to be drawn towards each other about the pivot points  78  and therefore causes the brake pads  80  to engage with the rim  56 . This action applies braking force to the wheel  52  and therefore slows down the all-terrain vehicle  50  when it is in motion.  
         [0028]    Each pair of brake arms  76  incorporates internal spring means for returning the arms  76  to the position shown in FIG. 7 when braking is no longer required and pressure ceases to be applied to the braking member  60 .  
         [0029]    V Brakes have been used as the example to describe the braking means. However, it is important to note that the principle of a rider leaning against a calf operated lever to activate a cable or hydraulic operated brake also applies to other types of braking mechanisms such as disk brakes and hub brakes.  
         [0030]    Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed within the scope of the present invention.