Patent Publication Number: US-9844719-B1

Title: Electric skateboard with hinge mechanism

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an electric skateboard structure and, in particular, to an electric skateboard with a hinge mechanism. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Due to problems such as increased use of vehicles, traffic jams, air pollution, and vehicle parking, electric skateboards are becoming popular and more prevalent in the market. The electric skateboard is electrically driven, a user stands on the electric skateboard to move forward or make turns along with the skateboard. 
     However, a load plate of a conventional electric skateboard normally has an integral form, and the load plate is a metal board, a plastic board, or other rigid board. Therefore, when riding on a slope or on an uneven road, the load plate has difficulty in accommodating ground level variations. In addition, a skateboard made in an integral form needs more room for storage, so it is troublesome to put it away for storage or to carry it around. 
     In views of this, in order to solve the above disadvantage, the present inventor studied related technology and provided a reasonable and effective solution in the present disclosure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an electric skateboard with a hinge mechanism. By using the hinge mechanism connected between a first load plate and a second load plate, the first load plate and the second load plate can be folded up. A first wheel set and a second wheel set are staggered in position, and an electric wire is inserted through a wiring slot of the hinge mechanism. The electric skateboard is highly adaptive to ground level variations, is collapsible for easy storage, can be carried around conveniently, can be collapsed into a small size, and can protect the electric wire and also maintain good electrical connection. 
     The electric skateboard with the hinge mechanism according to the present invention comprises: a first load plate, the first load plate including a first bottom plate, a first wheel set being installed in the first bottom plate, the first bottom plate including a first accommodating space; a second load plate, the second load plate being disposed at one side of the first load plate, the second load plate including a second bottom plate, a second wheel set being installed in the second bottom plate, the second bottom plate including a second accommodating space; a hinge mechanism, the hinge mechanism including a bridge base and two shaft sleeves pivotally connected at two sides of the bridge base, the bridge base and the two shaft sleeves together defining a wiring slot, wherein one of the shaft sleeves is fixed to the first load plate, and the other shaft sleeve is fixed to the second load plate, so that the first load plate and the second load plate are foldable toward each other, the first wheel set is received in the second accommodating space, the second wheel set is received in the first accommodating space, and the first wheel set and the second wheel set are staggered in position; and an electronic module, the electronic module including a first electronic assembly, a second electronic assembly and at least one electric wire, the first electronic assembly being assembled to the first load plate, the second electronic assembly being assembled to the second load plate, the electric wire being inserted through the wiring slot and electrically connected to the first electronic assembly and the second electronic assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description, and the drawings given herein below is for illustration only, and thus does not limit the disclosure, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is still another perspective view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating a hinge mechanism according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is another perspective view illustrating the hinge mechanism according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a first in-use view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a second in-use view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a third in-use view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a fourth in-use view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is a fifth in-use view illustrating the electric skateboard according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Detailed descriptions and technical contents of the present invention are illustrated below in conjunction with the accompany drawings. However, it is to be understood that the descriptions and the accompany drawings disclosed herein are merely illustrative and exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 10 , the present invention provides an electric skateboard with a hinge mechanism. The electric skateboard  10  includes a first load plate  1 , a second load plate  2 , a hinge mechanism  3 , and an electronic module  4 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  FIGS. 6 to 10 , the first load plate  1  includes a first bottom plate  11 , a first wheel set  12  is installed in the first bottom plate  11 , the first bottom plate  11  includes a first accommodating space  13 , the first wheel set  12  includes one or multiple connected wheels  121  installed in the first bottom plate  11 , and the connected wheel  121  includes a linkage rod  122 . 
     In detail, in the present embodiment, the number of the connected wheels  121  is two. The first accommodating space  13  consists of two first indentations  131  formed on the first bottom plate  11 , at an inner area between the two connected wheels  121 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  FIGS. 6 to 10 , the second load plate  2  is disposed at one side of first load plate  1 , the second load plate  2  includes a second bottom plate  21 , a second wheel set  22  is installed in the second bottom plate  21 , and the second bottom plate  21  includes a second accommodating space  23 . The second wheel set  22  includes one or multiple driven wheels  221  installed in the second bottom plate  21 . The second load plate  2  includes two outer walls  25  disposed at two sides of the second bottom plate  21 , respectively. 
     To be specific, in the present embodiment, the number of the driven wheels  221  is two. The second accommodating space  23  consists of two second indentations  231  formed outside the two driven wheels  221  and defined by the second bottom plate  21  of the second load plate  2  and the two outer walls  25 . Each connected wheel  121  is received in each second indentation  231 , and each driven wheel  221  is disposed in each first indentation  131 . 
     Moreover, the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  have two adjacent surfaces  14 ,  24  opposite to each other. The adjacent surface  14  of the first load plate  1  has a recessed groove  141 , and the adjacent surface  24  of the second load plate  2  has another recessed groove  241 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 10 , the hinge mechanism  3  includes a bridge base  31 , two shaft sleeves  32  and four pivot shafts  33 . The two shaft sleeves  32  are pivotally connected at two sides of the bridge base  31 , one shaft sleeve  32  is fixed to the first load plate  1 , and the other shaft sleeve  32  is fixed to the second load plate  2 , so that the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  are foldable toward each other. When the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  are folded together, the first wheel set  12  is received in the second accommodating space  23 , the second wheel set  22  is received in the first accommodating space  13 , and the first wheel set  12  and the second wheel set  22  are staggered in position. The bridge base  31  and the two shaft sleeves  32  together define a wiring slot  34 . 
     To be specific, one shaft sleeve  32  is fixed to the recessed groove  141  of the first load plate  1 , and the other shaft sleeve  32  is fixed to the recessed groove  241  of the second load plate  2 . 
     Furthermore, the bridge base  31  includes a front side  311  and a rear side  312 , the front side  311  and the rear side  312  each include two first pivot holes  313 , each of the shaft sleeves  32  includes a recess  321  and two side walls  322  respectively disposed at two sides of the recess  321 , each of the side walls  322  includes a second pivot hole  323 , the two shaft sleeves  32  are engaged with two sides of the bridge base  31  while receiving the bridge base  31  through the recess  321 , each of the pivot shafts  33  is pivotally connected to each of the first pivot holes  313  and each of the second pivot holes  323 , so that the two shaft sleeves  32  are pivotally connected at two sides of the bridge base  31 . 
     Furthermore, the bridge base  31  includes a bottom side  314 , a left side  315  and a right side  316 , the wiring slot  34  includes a through slot  341  defined by the bottom side  314 , the left side  315  and the right side  316  and also includes an opening  342  formed on each shaft sleeve  32 , and the two openings  342  are disposed corresponding to two ends of the through slot  341 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  FIGS. 6, 8 and 10 , the electronic module  4  includes a first electronic assembly  41 , a second electronic assembly  42  and one or multiple electric wires  43 . The first electronic assembly  41  is assembled to the first load plate  1 , the second electronic assembly  42  is assembled to the second load plate  2 , and the electric wire  43  is inserted through the wiring slot  34  and electrically connected to the first electronic assembly  41  and the second electronic assembly  42 . 
     In detail, the first electronic assembly  41  includes a first circuit board  411  and multiple first weight sensors  412  installed inside the first load plate  1 . The second electronic assembly  42  includes a second circuit board  421  and multiple second weight sensors  422  installed inside the second load plate  2 . The electric wire  43  is electrically connected to the first circuit board  411  and the second electric board  421 , and the electric wire  43  is inserted through the through slot  341  and the two openings  342 . 
     The first weight sensor  412  is used to sense changes in weight on the first load plate  1 , and the second weight sensor  42  is used to sense changes in weight on the second load plate  2 , thereby adjusting a center of gravity or a moving direction of the electric skateboard  10 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the electric skateboard  10  further includes one or multiple drive assemblies  5 . The drive assemblies  5  correspond in number to the number of the connected wheels  5 . 
     In the present embodiment, the two first indentations  131  are disposed at the inner area between the two connected wheels  121 , so there is not much room left at the inner area between the connected wheels  121  for installing the drive assembly  5 . Hence, in the present embodiment, the drive assembly  5  includes a motor  51  and a belt  52  installed inside the first load plate  1 . The motor  51  includes a drive rod  511 , the belt  52  surrounds the drive rod  511  and is connected to the linkage rod  122  outside the connected wheel  121 , and thereby the linkage rod  122  is driven to rotate by rotation of the drive rod  511 . As a result, an adjacent portion of the inner area adjacent to the connected wheel only needs to accommodate the linkage rod  122 . In addition, the motor  51  is installed inside the first load plate  1 , so a thickness of the first load plate  1  is greater than a thickness of the second load plate  2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the electric skateboard  10  further includes a battery  6 ; the battery  6  is installed inside the second load plate  2  and is electrically connected to the second circuit board  421 , and the battery  6  supplies power to the first electronic assembly  41  and the second electronic assembly  42  via the electric wire  43 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 10 , in the electric skateboard  10 , the first load plate  1  includes the first bottom plate  11 , the first wheel set  12  is installed in the first bottom plate  11 , the first bottom plate  11  includes the first accommodating space  13 , the second load plate  2  is disposed at one side of the first load plate  1 , the second load plate  2  includes the second bottom plate  21 , the second wheel set  22  is installed in the second bottom plate  21 , the second bottom plate  21  includes the second accommodating space  23 , the hinge mechanism  3  includes the bridge base  31  and two shaft sleeves  32  pivotally connected at two sides of the bridge base  31 , the bridge base  31  and the two shaft sleeves  32  together define the wiring slot  34 , one of the shaft sleeves  32  is fixed to the first load plate  1 , the other shaft sleeve  32  is fixed to the second load plate  2 , so that the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  are foldable toward each other; the first wheel set  12  is received in the second accommodating space  23 , the second wheel set  22  is received in the first accommodating space  13 , and the first wheel set  12  and the second wheel set  22  are staggered in position; the electronic module  4  includes the first electronic assembly  41 , the second electronic assembly  42  and the electric wire  43 , the first electronic assembly  41  is assembled to the first load plate  1 , the second electronic assembly  42  is assembled to the second load plate  2 , and the electric wire  43  is inserted through the wiring slot  34  and electrically connected to the first electronic assembly  41  and the second electronic assembly  42 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 6 to 10 , which are in-use views illustrating the electric skateboard  10  according to the present invention. The hinge mechanism  3  is connected between the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2 . The two shaft sleeves  32  are rotatable with respect to the bridge base  31 , so the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  can swing to fold up. Therefore, the electric skateboard  10  is highly adaptive to ground level variations, is collapsible for easy storage, and can be carried around conveniently. 
     Moreover, the first wheel set  12  and the second wheel set  22  are staggered in position. Therefore, when the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  are folded up, a position of the first wheel set  12  does not interfere with a position of the second wheel set  22 , and the first wheel set  12  with a thickness and the second wheel set  22  with a thickness are disposed at the same level in height, and thus the electric skateboard  10  can be collapsed into a small size. 
     Furthermore, the electric wire  43  is inserted through the through slot  341  and the two openings  342 , so that when the first load plate  1  and the second load plate  2  swing to fold up, the electric wire  43  passes through the hinge mechanism  3  smoothly and keeps electrical connection to the first electronic assembly  41  and the second electronic assembly  42 , thus avoiding sharp bending, turning or twisting of the electric wire  43 , and as a result, the electric wire  43  of the electric skateboard  10  is protected, and good electrical connection is maintained. 
     In summary, the electric skateboard with the hinge mechanism certainly can achieve anticipated objectives and solve the conventional defects. The present invention also has industrial applicability, novelty and non-obviousness, so the present invention completely complies with the requirements of patentability. Therefore, a request to patent the present invention is filed pursuant to patent law. Examination is kindly requested, and allowance of the present application is solicited to protect the rights of the inventor.