Patent ID: 7290774

Claim:
A wheel unit mountable on a ski of a ski-mounted vehicle, said ski having a ski gliding surface for traveling over a ground surface, a substantially opposed ski upper surface, a ski inner side surface, a substantially opposed ski outer side surface, said ski defining a ski longitudinal axis; said wheel unit comprising: an actuating plate, said actuating plate defining a wheel attachment section and a piston attachment section, said actuating plate being pivotally attached to said ski substantially intermediate said wheel and piston attachment sections for pivotal movement about a plate pivotal axis; a wheel attachment means for rotatably attaching said wheel to said wheel attachment section for rotation about a wheel rotation axis; an actuator operatively coupled to said actuating plate for selectively pivoting said actuating plate about said plate pivotal axis between a plate deployed configuration and a plate retracted configuration wherein in said plate deployed configuration the position of said actuating plate is such that said wheel protrudes at least partially below said ski gliding surface for engaging said ground surface and in said plate retracted configuration the position of said actuating plate is such that said wheel is retracted above said ski gliding surface for preventing said wheel from engaging said ground surface; a plate transversal moving means operatively coupled to said actuating plate for selectively moving said actuating plate substantially transversally relative to said ski.