Patent Publication Number: US-2020290698-A1

Title: Child off-road vehicle

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to apparatus for vehicles. More particularly, it relates to off-road vehicles for children. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Ride-on vehicles for children have become increasingly popular due in part to the desire of children to drive self-propelled vehicles resembling full-size vehicles. Such ride-on vehicles, or ride-ons, are typically propelled by battery-powered motors and generally include scaled-down features of full-size vehicles. 
     One challenge in designing reduced-scale vehicles is to make the vehicle resemble a full-size vehicle, while still providing a vehicle that is safe for use by children. When a ride-on is designed to resemble a four-wheeled vehicle, such as a car or truck, the corresponding ride-on tends to also have four wheels. When a ride-on is designed to resemble a motorcycle, however, a balance must be reached between safety and the accuracy of the reproduction. 
     Certainly, the most accurate reproduction is for the ride-on to only have two wheels. However, children may not have the size, strength or coordination to balance a two-wheeled ride-on, especially when propelled by the ride-on&#39;s motor. Adding additional wheels to the ride-on detracts from the accuracy of the reproduction, and thus may reduce the child&#39;s desire for the ride-on. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  a frontal view of the exemplary vehicle. 
         FIG. 2  is side view of the exemplary vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. All terms in the plural shall also be taken as singular and vice-versa. Further, any reference to he shall also be applicable to she and vice-versa. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a child off-road vehicle  100  is presented. The vehicle  100  includes a frame assembly  102  and which may have any specific configuration. However, in a preferred embodiment, the frame  102  is steel and is welded, but could be aluminum or any other material that is appropriate for off-road vehicles. Further, the frame  102  is welded but other techniques may be utilized to make the vehicle strong and safe. 
     The vehicle  100  has two front wheels  104  are supported at the front end of the frame  102  by means of a front suspension system  106  which may be comprised of the parallel A arm type with the inboard pivot points for the arms being located substantially close to the longitudinal center line of the frame  110  and vehicle  100 . The front wheels  104  mount all-terrain vehicle (ATV) tires  108 . The term “ATV tires” is intended to encompass those types of tires that are normally mounted on ATVs such as a Kendra K99 Bear Claw ATV tire, a Sedona Extreme Mud All Terrain Tire, etc. 
     The front wheels  104  and tires  106  are also supported by the suspension system  106  for steering movement about respective steering axes. The steering of the front wheels  104  and tires  108  is accomplished by means of a handlebar mechanism  110  that is mounted on the frame assembly  102  for steering movement and which is coupled to the front wheels  104  in a suitable manner. 
     The vehicle  100  also includes a rear wheel  112  that mounts a single mud grip tire  1114 . It will be seen from the figures that the rear wheel  112  and specifically its mounted tire  114  has a substantially greater width than the width of the front wheels  104  and their mounted tires  108 . The contact area between the tires on the front wheels and the ground equals the contact area between the rear wheel tire and the ground give a superior handling experience. 
     The rear wheel  112  and mounted tire  114  are supported for suspension movement relative to the frame  102  by a trailing arm assembly  116 . The trailing arm assembly  116  has a pair of arm portions  118  that extend on the opposite sides of the rear wheel  112  and its mounted tire  114 . The suspension movement about this pivot axis is damped and controlled by means of a combined tubular shock absorber and surrounding coil spring assembly. 
     A power plant  120  is supported within the frame  102  for driving the rear wheel  112  and tire  114 . The power plant  120  may be a four-cylinder, gas powered engine that is chain driven. 
     An output shaft drives a first chain  122  that is disposed substantially close to the longitudinal center line of the frame  102 . Alternatively, a shaft drive may be employed. The chain  122  or shaft drive, if it is employed, is utilized to drive one end of an intermediate shaft that is rotatably journaled on the trailing arm  118  in a suitable manner. 
     A body of a suitable configuration and comprised of a pair of front fenders  124  and a rear fender  126  which overlie the front tires  104  and rear tires  114 , respectively, is carried on the frame  102  in an appropriate manner. This body includes a single saddle type seat  128  that is positioned to accommodate a single rider. A pair of foot rests  130  are carried on the frame  102  on opposite sides of its center line and on opposite sides of the power unit  120  for accommodating the feet of the rider on the seat  128 . 
     The placement of the seat  128  and foot rests  130  is such that the rider may center his weight between the front and rear wheels  102  and  112  and specifically between the contact patches of their respective tires  14  and  114 . Also, the configuration is such that the rider may conveniently shift his weight forward or rearwardly to assist in maneuvering the vehicle  11 . 
     It should also be noted that even though the rear wheel  112  and rear tire  114  are quite wide, the width is not such that a rider may not place his feet on the ground and permit the vehicle  100  to ride out under him under emergency conditions with the rear wheel and tire  114  passing between the rider&#39;s legs. 
     Also, it should be noted that because a single rear wheel is employed, there will not be the effect of rear wheel steering as would result if there were a pair of driven rear wheels with no differential when traveling over rough terrain when one rear wheel might leave contact with the ground. 
     Also, the relative contact patches between the front and rear wheels and the rider placement on the frame  102  is such that it is unlikely that the front wheels  104  and specifically their tires  104  will leave contact with the ground when sudden applications of power are made by the rider. 
     Also, the width of the rear tire  112  should not be too great so as to make steering or turning difficult and the aforementioned relationship is particularly useful in such an arrangement. If these dimensions are equal, there is a very good balance between the front and rear end and even though there are only three wheels, the vehicle is extremely stable and offers very good maneuverability. 
     The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.