Patent Publication Number: US-2023158415-A1

Title: Ride on toy vehicle

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DISCLOSURES 
     This disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. Application, Serial No. 63/282855 (Attorney Docket No. H121415US01) entitled “RIDE-ON ELECTRIC VEHICLE”, filed on Nov. 24, 2021; the entirety of the above-noted application(s) is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The disclosed subject matter relates generally to a ride on vehicle for a child. More particularly, the disclosed subject matter relates to a ride on electric toy vehicle that enables an infirmed child to enjoy the experience of driving. 
     Some toys allow a child to maneuver their own personal trucks, vehicles, and ATVs. These toys may be miniaturized and include a six (6) or twelve (12)-volt battery which supplies power to an electric motor. A steering wheel may allow the child to move the toy as they actuate a pedal with their foot. Unfortunately, not all are able to enjoy the use of these toys. For example, in a hospital, these toys are not typically found as children who are sick require special medical equipment or machines. The present disclosure provides a ride-on vehicle that overcomes these challenges as well as provide other benefits. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a ride on vehicle for a child is provided. The ride on vehicle includes a vehicle body supported on a plurality of wheels, and an electric motor powered by a battery and operatively coupled to at least one drive wheel of the plurality of wheels to propel the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a rod structure arranged at a rear of the vehicle and coupled to the vehicle body. The rod structure is adapted to hold medical equipment. The vehicle further includes a lever adapted to be displaced between a first position and a second position to selectively enable or disable a propelling of the vehicle through the electric motor. In the first position of the lever, the vehicle is configured to be propelled by operating the electric motor. In the second position, the propelling of the vehicle through the electric motor is disabled. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a ride on vehicle for a child is provided. The ride on vehicle includes a vehicle body supported on a plurality of wheels, and an electric motor powered by a battery and operatively coupled to at least one drive wheel of the plurality of wheels to propel the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a rod structure arranged at a rear of the vehicle and coupled to the vehicle body. The rod structure is adapted to hold medical equipment. The vehicle further includes a lever adapted to be displaced between a first position and a second position to selectively enable or disable a propelling of the vehicle through the electric motor. Moreover, the vehicle also includes a steering lock adapted to be moved to a locked position and an unlock position to selectively disable or enable a steering of at least one steering wheel of the plurality of wheels in response to a rotation of a steering handle. 
     In accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a ride on vehicle for a child is provided. The ride on vehicle includes a vehicle body supported on a plurality of wheels, and an electric motor powered by a battery and operatively coupled to at least one drive wheel of the plurality of wheels to propel the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a rod structure arranged at a rear of the vehicle and coupled to the vehicle body. The rod structure is adapted to hold medical equipment. The vehicle further includes a lever adapted to be displaced between a first position and a second position to selectively enable or disable a propelling of the vehicle through the electric motor. Moreover, the vehicle also includes a steering lock adapted to be moved to a locked position and an unlock position to selectively disable or enable a steering of at least one steering wheel of the plurality of wheels in response to a rotation of a steering handle. Furthermore, the vehicle includes a speed control knob adapted to be displaced between a plurality of positions to select a maximum speed of the vehicle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a front perspective view of a ride on vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is rear perspective view of the ride on vehicle of  FIG.  1   , in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is top perspective view of a passenger compartment of the ride on vehicle of  FIG.  1   , in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is an enlarged view of a portion of the ride on vehicle depicting a steering lock of the ride on vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is an enlarged view of a rear of the ride on vehicle having a tether connector engaged to a port of the ride on vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the rear of the ride on vehicle depicting a lever, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is an enlarged view of a portion of the rear of the ride on vehicle depicting a license plate holder, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  8    is an enlarged view of a portion of the rear of the ride on vehicle with the license plate holder and depicting a speed control knob and a charging port of the ride on vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     A few inventive aspects of the disclosed embodiments are explained in detail below with reference to the various figures. Exemplary embodiments are described to illustrate the disclosed subject matter, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations of the various features provided in the description that follows. Embodiments are hereinafter described in detail in connection with the views and examples of  FIGS.  1 - 8   , wherein like numbers indicate the same or corresponding elements throughout the views. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of a ride on vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle), indicated generally at  100 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle  100  allows a child who has certain conditions to enjoy the pleasures of riding and driving. While the vehicle  100  is shown as a car, it may be appreciated that other mobility devices, for example, a truck, ATV, scooter, bike, and the like may be encompassed within the present disclosure. The vehicle  100  is powered by a battery  124  for propelling over a path. The battery  124  provides power to an electric motor  162  of the vehicle  100  which in turn rotates at least one wheel of the vehicle  100 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   , the vehicle  100  includes a body  102  defining a passenger compartment  104  with at least one seat  106  that is sized to accommodate at least one child, including a child driver. The seat  106  may be integral with or otherwise mounted on the body  102  and may have any suitable configuration known in the art. The body  102  typically is formed from molded plastic and may be integrally formed or formed from a plurality of parts that are secured together by screws, clips or other suitable fasteners. Alternatively, the body  102  may be made of some other suitable material including metal, wood, or composite structure having suitable strength to accommodate and support the weight of at least one child. The body  102  may include an underlying frame on which a chassis is mounted. 
     Further, the vehicle  100  includes a rod structure  110  arranged at a rear of the vehicle  100  and engaged to a rear end of the body  102 . In an embodiment, the rod structure  110  may be a detachable rod structure  110  that is removably engaged with the body  102  by a clasping mechanism, fasteners, or any other suitable mechanisms known in the art. As shown, the rod structure  110  may include a first rod  112  having a lower end engaged to the body  102  and extending in a vertically upward direction from the body  102 . Also, the rod structure  110  includes a second rod (i.e., handlebar  114 ) extending in a substantially horizontal direction from an upper end of the first rod  112 . As shown, the handlebar  114  extends on both sides of the first rod  112 , and defines two handle portions  116 ,  118  to be held by a caretaker of the child sitting inside the vehicle  100 . Moreover, the rod structure  110  may include at least one hook structure  120  to enable a hanging of at least a medical equipment, for example, one bottle or pouch carrying intravenous fluids, or any other article on the rod structure  110 . Further, a protective box  122  housing the medical hardware may be mounted on the rod structure  110 , for example, on the handlebar  114 . It may be envisioned that the power required for operating the medical hardware may be provided by the battery  124  of the vehicle  100 . 
     The vehicle  100  also includes a plurality of wheels  130  supporting the body  102  to facilitate am movement of the vehicle  100  on a surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle  100  includes four wheels  130 , with front wheels  132  forming steerable wheels, and rear wheels  134  forming drive wheels. It should be understood that the number of wheels  130  on the vehicle  100  may vary from two wheels to four, six or more wheels, although children’s ride-on vehicles typically include at least three wheels for stability. It is within the scope of the disclosure that either or both of front wheels  132  or rear wheels  134  are driven and steerable. Similarly, one front wheel  132  and one rear wheel  134  may be driven and/or steerable, or the vehicle  100  may include one or more driven or steerable wheels underneath its body  102  that are generally hidden by the body  102  of the vehicle  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  3   , the steerable wheels  132  are adapted to be steered by a steering assembly  136  in response to a rotation of a steering handle  140  of the steering assembly  136  by a child sitting inside the vehicle  100 . By moving/rotating the steering handle  140  in a left and a right direction, the child may steer the vehicle  100  in a left direction and a right direction, respectively. Further, referring to  FIG.  4   , the steering assembly  136  includes a steering lock  142  adapted to lock the steering wheels  132  in a straight position to prevent a movement of the steering wheels  132  in the left and right direction. In an embodiment, the steering lock  142  includes a lock pin  144  adapted to move between a first position corresponding to an unlock position of the steering lock  142  and a second position corresponding to a locked position of the steering lock  142 . In the unlock position, the steering wheels  132  move in the left and the right direction in response to the rotation of the steering handle  140 , while in the locked position, the movement of the steering wheels  132  in the left and the right direction from the straight position (shown in  FIG.  4   ) is prevented even if the steering handle  140  is rotated. Accordingly, the steering lock  142  selectively disables or enables a steering of at least one steering wheel  132  of the plurality of wheels  130  in response to a rotation of the steering handle  140 . The lock pin  144  is moved between the first position and the second position by displacing and/or rotating the lock pin  144  to displace the steering lock  142  between the unlock position and the locked position, respectively. In an embodiment, before moving the lock pin  144  to the second position, the steering wheels  132  are positioned/arranged in the straight position (as shown in FIG) by operating the steering handle  140 . Thereafter, the lock pin  144  is displaced to the second position from the first position to lock the steering wheels  132  in the straight position. 
     Further, again referring to  FIGS.  2  and  3   , the vehicle  100  includes two accelerator pedals, a first accelerator pedal  146  and a second accelerator pedal  148 , mounted on the steering handle  140 . The first accelerator pedal  146 , when pressed by a user, enables a rotation of the drive wheels  134 , i.e., rear wheels  134 , to propel the vehicle  100  in a forward direction, while the second accelerator pedal  148 , when pressed by a user, enables a rotation of the drive wheels  134  to propel the vehicle  100  in a rearward direction to facilitate a reversing of the vehicle  100 . Accelerator pedals  146 ,  148  are released to slow down and eventually stop the movement of the vehicle  100 . It may be appreciated that acceleration and speed of the vehicle in the forward direction and the reverse direction corresponds to a value of the displacement of each of the pedals  146 ,  148  from their respective free positions. Additionally, or optionally, the vehicle  100  may include a horn actuator  150  that may be mounted on the steering handle  100 . The horn actuator  150 , upon pressed by a user, causes an actuation of a horn (not shown) of the vehicle  100 . Moreover, the vehicle may include at least one cup holder, two cup holders  154  arranged/defined at two sides of the seat  106  to enable a positioning of cups or bottles. 
     In addition, referring to  FIGS.  2  and  6   , the vehicle  100  may include a lever  156 , for example, a foot pedal  160 , to prevent the rear wheels  134  driving the vehicle  100  from propelling forwards or backwards in response to the actuation of the first accelerator pedal  146  and the second accelerator pedal  146 , respectively. The lever  156  is adapted to move between a first position and a second position and may be depressed in a downward direction to move to the second position from the first position, by the caretaker when the caretaker wants to take control of the vehicle  100 , or where the child may be too young to press the accelerator pedals  146 ,  148  for actuating the rear wheels  134 . Once moved to the second position, the lever  156  remains in the second position until the caretaker moves the lever  156  to the first position. In an embodiment, the lever  156  is moved upwardly to arrange/position the lever  156  back to the first position from the second position. In one embodiment, upon displacement/positioning of the lever  156  to the second position, an output shaft of the electric motor  162  (shown in  FIGS.  1  and  2   ) of the vehicle  100  is disengaged from the rear wheels  134 , thereby preventing a transfer of rotation of the output shaft to the rear wheels  134 . Accordingly, to engage the rear wheels  134  with the output shaft, the lever  156  is displaced to the first position by moving the lever  156  upwardly. In an embodiment, the vehicle  100  may include a coupling (not shown) that couples the output shaft to the rear wheels  134 , and the lever  156  is adapted to control the coupling to engage and disengage the output shaft from the rear wheels  134 . In some embodiments, the rear wheels  134  are lifted from the ground upon positioning of the lever  156  at the second position. Accordingly, the rear wheels  134  spin when the accelerator pedals  146 ,  148  are pressed without propelling the vehicle  100  in the forward or rearward direction. The propelling of the vehicle  100  through the electric motor  162  is enabled when the lever is arranged in the first position, and the propelling of the vehicle  100  through the electric motor  162  is disabled when the lever is arranged at the second position. In this manner, the caretake may move the vehicle  100  manually by pushing or pulling the vehicle through the handlebar  114  in the second position of the lever  156 . 
     Moreover, referring back to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , the vehicle  100  may include a safety switch  164  to enable a user to stop the vehicle  100  and cease all electrical functions of the vehicle  100 . In the embodiment, the safety switch  164  selectively enables or disables a supply of electric power to the electric motor  162  and other electrical components of the vehicle  100 . In an embodiment, the safety switch  164  may be a push pull button  166  adapted to be displaced between a depressed position (shown in  FIG.  1   ) and a reset position. To stop the vehicle  100  in an emergency condition, a caretake may displace the safety switch  164  to the depressed position from the reset position by pushing the safety switch  164  towards the vehicle  100 . To reset the safety switch  164 , i.e., to restore the electric supply to the electric motor  162  and other systems of the vehicle  100 , the safety switch  164  is moved to the reset position by pulling the safety switch  164  towards the user. Although, the safety switch  164  is contemplated as the push pull button  166 , it may be envisioned that any other type of switch that may be moved between two positions is also possible. 
     In an embodiment, the safety switch  164  may include an indicator  168  (as shown in  FIG.  1   ), for example, a color marking, to indicate a user a position of the safety switch  164 . It may be appreciated that the indicator  168  is visible to user when the safety switch  164  is arranged/positioned at the reset position, indicating to the user that vehicle  100  may be moved by operating the accelerator pedals  146 ,  148 , and electrical supply is available to all the systems of the vehicle  100 , while in the depressed position, the indicator  168  is invisible to the user. In an embodiment, the safety switch  164  is a first safety switch  170  (shown in  FIG.  1   ) disposed at a front of the vehicle  100 . Alternatively, the safety switch  164  may be a second safety switch  172  (best shown in  FIG.  2   ) positioned/arranged at a rear of the vehicle  100 . As shown, the second safety switch  172  is mounted/arranged at the handlebar  114  of the rod structure  110 . In some embodiments, the vehicle  100  may include both safety switches  170 ,  172  with identical functionality. In such a case, the electric supply to the electric motor  162  and other electric components may be restored when both the safety switches  170 ,  172  are arranged at the reset positions. Accordingly, the vehicle  100  may be stopped by moving/displacing any one of the two safety switches  170 ,  172  to the second position. However, the vehicle  100  having either the first safety switch  170  or the second safety switch  172  are also encompassed within the present disclosure. 
     In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  5   , the vehicle  100  may include a tether connector  174  for activating or deactivating the vehicle. The activation of the vehicle  100  refers to making the vehicle  100  maneuverable through the electric motor  162 , and the deactivation of the vehicle  100  refers to rendering the vehicle  100  non-maneuverable via the use of the electric motor  162 . As shown, the tether connector  174  includes a switch  176  and a pin  178  connected to the switch via a communication cable  180 . Further, the vehicle  100  may include a port  182  defined at a rear of the body  102  in which the pin  178  is inserted to couple the tether connector  174  with an electric control of the vehicle  100 . The tether connector  174  may be unplugged from the port  182  by removing the pin  178  from the port  182 . For deactivating the vehicle, the pin  178  is inserted inside the port  182 , and the switch  176  is moved to an off position that corresponds to the deactivation of the vehicle  100 . For activating the vehicle  100 , the switch  176  is moved to an on position with the pin  178  being inserted inside the port  182 . In an embodiment, the port  182  may be a USB port and the pin  178  may be USB plug. 
     Further, referring to  FIG.  7   , the vehicle  100  includes a license plate holder  186  arranged at a rear side of the vehicle  100 . The license plate holder  186  is a tray  188  having two side rails to hold a license plate  190  and a front opening  192  through which the license plate  188  is visible from an outside. In an embodiment, the license plate holder  186  is removably or movably mounted to the body  102  and may be moved or removed to access a charging port  194 , a charge display  196 , and a speed control knob  198  (shown in  FIG.  8   ) covered behind the license plate holder  186 . The charge display  196  is adapted to display a remaining power and/or charge of the battery  124  of the vehicle  100 , while the charging port  194  enables a connection of a battery charger (not shown) to the battery  124  of the vehicle  100  for recharging the battery  124 . In some embodiments, the speed control knob  198  facilitates the user to select a maximum speed of the vehicle  100 . The user may set or select the maximum speed of the vehicle  100  by moving/rotating the knob  198  to one of a plurality of positions of the knob  198 . Although, the speed control knob  198 , the charging port  194 , and the charge display  196  are contemplated to be arranged behind the license plate holder  186 , it may be appreciated that the speed control knob  198 , the charging port  194 , and the charge display  196  may be positioned at any suitable location. Also, it may be appreciated that the positions of the speed control knob  198 , the charging port  194  are selected such that the speed control knob  198  and the charging port  194  are difficult to access by the children or remain hidden from the children. 
     The foregoing description of embodiments and examples has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the forms described. Numerous modifications are possible in light of the above teachings. Some of those modifications have been discussed and others will be understood by those skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best illustrate certain principles and various embodiments as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The scope of the invention is, of course, not limited to the examples or embodiments set forth herein, but may be employed in any number of applications and equivalent devices by those of ordinary skill in the art. Rather it is hereby intended the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.