AU2016100055A4 - Wheeled recreational device - Google Patents

Abstract

There is disclosed a handlebar system for a wheeled recreational device comprising: a substantially vertically extending stem member in operational connection with a wheel of the wheeled recreational device at a first end such that rotation of the stem member about its vertical axis is transferred to the wheel of the wheeled recreational device to facilitate steering of said wheeled recreational device; and an elongate crossbar mounted to the stem member at a distal end thereof, opposite the first end, so as to extend substantially orthogonal to the stem member, the elongate crossbar having opposing ends configured to be gripped by a rider of the wheeled recreational device in use; wherein, the elongate crossbar is made from a lightweight material and is substantially hollow with one or more reinforcement elements extending therein along a length thereof. q

Description

WHEELED RECREATIONAL DEVICE FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a wheeled recreational device and, in particular, to a scooter for use across a variety of different purposes and which 5 has a strengthened steering structure without substantially increasing the overall weight of the device. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Scooters and other similar wheeled recreational devices are popular forms of recreation for a variety of different types of users. Such devices can be simply 10 carried and used by riders of various levels of expertise. Some riders may wish to ride the device merely as a means of enjoyment or transportation, whilst other riders may wish to perform tricks or jumps on the device. Whatever the purpose of use of the device, the popularity of scooters continues to grow across a variety of age demographics. 15 In instances where the device is to be used at relatively high speeds or to perform jumps and other types of tricks, the device must be sufficiently robust to cater for such forces and conditions without failing and causing injury to the rider. Typically, most tricks performed on scooters concentrate on the user loosing contact with their feet and with the surface of the deck of the scooter for at least a 20 period of time in which to perform the jump or similar manoeuvre, after which their feet will return to the deck of the scooter, typically with a significant degree of force. For this reason, much focus has been made on designing decks for scooters that have sufficient strength and flexibility to withstand such forces during use, without the structure of the deck failing. This focus has resulted in 25 use of a variety of different materials and structural arrangements that maintain a high degree of strength to the deck whilst maintaining the weight of the device at a level sufficient to retain manoeuvrability. However, as the handlebars of a scooter are the sole point of gripping contact with the rider for controlling the device, a rider performing a trick on a scooter 30 will place significant force on the handlebars of the device. This can be in the form of pulling the handlebars in an upward direction to perform a jump, as well as placing a downward force on the handlebars when the rider and device return to the ground. Similarly, the handlebars may be swung about their vertical axis during a trick, which can generate a twisting force or torque in the handlebars as 1 the rider lands. These forces are significantly higher for adult or older riders due to the larger weight of such riders. As such, a common area of failure of many existing devices is due to failure of the handles, which may bend or fracture thereby rendering the device largely unusable. 5 Whilst it is possible to use stronger materials such as steel to form the handles to accommodate the larger forces, such a solution adds significant weight to the overall device, which is highly undesirable when the scooter is to be used to perform jumps and other types of tricks. Further, by providing steel handles, the overall weight distribution of the device can be compromised, resulting in a 10 scooter which can be difficult to handle and perform jumps and other types of tricks. As such, there is a need to provide a means for improving the strength of the handles of such a recreational device which improve the strength of the handles without significantly increasing the weight of the device. 15 The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the 20 present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. STATEMENT OF INVENTION The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in 25 the dependent claims. Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a handlebar system for a wheeled recreational device comprising: a substantially vertically extending stem member in operational connection with a wheel of the wheeled recreational device at a first end 30 such that rotation movement of the stem member about its vertical axis is transferred to the wheel of the wheeled recreational device to facilitate steering of said wheeled recreational device; and an elongate crossbar mounted to the stem member at a distal end, opposite the first end, so as to extend substantially orthogonal to the stem 35 member, the elongate crossbar having opposing ends configured to be gripped by a rider of the wheeled recreational device in use; wherein, the elongate crossbar is made from a lightweight material and is substantially hollow with one or more reinforcement elements extending therein along a length thereof. 5 In a preferred embodiment, the elongate crossbar extends in a substantially horizontal plane with respect to the stem member. The elongate crossbar may be received within a groove provided in the distal end of the stem member. A pair of wing supports or gussets may be mounted to the elongate crossbar and the stem member on opposing sides of the stem member to 1o support the elongate crossbar in position. In a preferred embodiment, the elongate crossbar may be made from aluminium. In a preferred embodiment, the reinforcement elements may comprise at least one beam member extending between predetermined points along an internal wall of the substantially hollow elongate crossbar, along a length thereof. The 15 reinforcement elements may comprise a single beam member extending between the internal walls of the substantially hollow elongate crossbar, so as to extend vertically, horizontally or at an angle to the vertical axis along the length thereof. In another form, the reinforcement elements may comprise two or more beam members arranged to extend between predetermined points along an internal 20 walls of the substantially hollow elongate crossbar. The two or more beam members may be positioned to cross-over or may be configured to form one or more internal channels extending within the substantially hollow elongate crossbar, along a length thereof. In another embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement elements may 25 comprise a thickening of one or more regions of the wall an internal wall of the substantially hollow elongate crossbar, along a length thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: 30 Fig. 1 is a depiction of a side view of a scooter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the scooter of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a handlebar system of the scooter of Fig. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a partially disassembled view of the handlebar system of Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is cross-sectional perspective view of the handlebar system of Fig. 3; 5 Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the handlebar system of Fig. 3; and Figs. 7 - 13 show various embodiments of the reinforcement elements of the crossbar of the handlebar system of Fig. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular 10 reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. The present invention will be described below in relation to a conventional scooter design having two single wheels mounted at a front and rear region of the 15 scooter. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention may be adapted for application to a variety of different scooter arrangements having different wheel configurations, as well as to a variety of other wheeled recreational devices, such as bicycles, and the like which are steered by way of handlebars. 20 Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a scooter 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The scooter 10 is of a largely conventional configuration and generally comprises a deck 12 for supporting the feet of a rider thereon with the deck 12 being suspended above a riding surface by way of a rear wheel 11 directly mounted at a distal end thereof, and a front wheel 16, which is 25 mounted to the front end of the deck 12 by way of a fork 15 and headstock 13. The headstock 13 extends from an upper surface of the deck 12 and has a headstock tube 14 formed therein, which receives a base member (not shown) of the fork 15. A handlebar stem 18 in the form of an elongate tube that extends into the headstock tube 14 to engage with the base member of the fork 15 such 30 that rotational movement of the handlebar stem 18 about its central axis will cause the front wheel 16 to pivot in a desired direction to provide steering control of the scooter 10. A clamp 17 is also provided to facilitate secure attachment between the handlebar

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stem 18 and the headstock tube 14, which can be tightened or loosened as desired by the user to attach and remove the stem 18. A handle crossbar 19 is mounted to the upper end of the handlebar stem 18 to extend in a substantially transverse manner with respect thereto. The crossbar 19 5 has a gripping member provided at the distal ends thereof to provide a means for a rider to grip the crossbar 19 and control the steering of the scooter 10. One embodiment depicting the manner in which the handle crossbar 19 is attached to the handlebar stem 18 is depicted in Figs. 3 and 4. Referring to Fig. 4, the distal end of the handlebar stem 18 has a groove 21 10 formed in the end thereof. The groove 21 has an internal circumference substantially equivalent to the outer circumference of the crossbar 19 such that the central region of the crossbar 19 is able to be securely received within the groove 21. As is shown, the central region of the crossbar 19 is slightly bent such that the ends of the crossbar 19 project slightly upwards therefrom for gripping 15 by a rider. In order to provide additional support to the cross bar 19, a pair of wing supports or gussets 22 is mounted on opposing sides of the handlebar stem 18 to be secured to the crossbar 19. Each of the wing supports 22 have an upper groove 22a which is configured to snugly receive the underside of the cross bar 19 and 20 an end groove 22b that snugly receives the side walls of the handlebar stem 18. The wing supports 22 are preferable made from the same material as the handlebar stem 18 and crossbar 19 and are attached thereto by way of a weld or similar fastening means. It will be appreciated that when assembled in the manner as depicted in Fig. 3, the crossbar 19 is supported in position by the 25 handlebar stem 18 and the wing supports 22, such that movement of the crossbar 19 in a swivel motion about the axis of the handlebar stem 18 will be transferred to the handlebar stem 18 and to the front wheel 16. As discussed above, the crossbar 19 is preferably made from a lightweight metal material, such as aluminium. However, whilst aluminium is lightweight, it has 3o not typically been used to manufacture professional level or trick based scooter crossbars and handlebar stems, due to the poor strength of the material under the forces typical for such use. As is depicted in Fig. 5, this problem is addressed by the present invention by forming the crossbar 19 with one or more reinforcement element(s) 25 extending the length thereof. 35 In the embodiment depicted in Fig. 5 and 6, the reinforcement element 25 is in the form of a vertical beam that extends along the length of the crossbar 19. The vertical beam is preferably formed during extrusion of the crossbar 19 such that the reinforcement element(s) 25 and the crossbar 19 are formed integral with each other. Due to the presence of the vertical beam within the hollow crossbar 5 19, the crossbar 19 has increased strength and is less likely to bend or undergo deformation under an upward or downward pressure being applied to the crossbar 19 during use, as would occur during a jumping or landing action. As is depicted in Figures 7 - 13, the manner upon which the reinforcement element(s) 25 are formed can vary. In Fig. 8 two diagonal beams extend from the 1o upper inner surface of the crossbar 19, whilst in Fig. 9, three beams are provide in a triangular configuration to form an inner triangular shaped tube extending the length of the crossbar 19. In Figs. 10 and 11, the reinforcement elements 25 are provided in the form of cross-beams to provide additional strength to the crossbar 19 in all directions, 15 whilst in Fig. 12, an inner tube with connector beams is formed along the length of the crossbar 19, to provide multidirectional strength to the crossbar 19. It is envisaged that other configurations of the reinforcement element(s) 25 may also be applied, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. As is depicted in Fig. 13, in an alternative embodiment of the present invention, 20 the reinforcement element 25 may be provided as a thickening of the crossbar 19 along one region thereof. In his embodiment, the lower region of the crossbar, when viewed in cross-section, has a greater thickness than the remaining periphery of the crossbar 19, which extends along the length of the crossbar 19. Such a configuration can provide increased strength to the crossbar, especially in 25 relation to any lateral forces that may be applied to the handlebars during use. It will be appreciated that such a thickening of the walls of the crossbar may be achieved in a variety of manners, and may comprise thickening the walls of the crossbar in multiple locations, such as in opposing upper and lower regions, and still fall within the scope of the present invention. 30 It will be appreciated that the handle system of the present invention provides a simple and effective means for introducing low weight and low strength material, such as aluminium, for use in structural components of the handle of a wheeled recreational device, such as a scooter. This provides a lightweight device that is capable of performing tricks, such as jumps and the like, without deforming 35 under load. Such a design is contained within the crossbar of the handle and does not have an adverse effect on the aesthetics of the device and does not require further redesign of the handle crossbar, which may depart from the simplicity of the design. Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the 5 contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. 10 Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a particular orientation, typically with the scooter uppermost. 15 It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A handlebar system for a wheeled recreational device comprising: a substantially vertically extending stem member in operational 5 connection with a wheel of the wheeled recreational device at a first end such that rotation of the stem member about its vertical axis is transferred to the wheel of the wheeled recreational device to facilitate steering of said wheeled recreational device; and an elongate crossbar mounted to the stem member at a distal end 10 thereof, opposite the first end, so as to extend substantially orthogonal to the stem member, the elongate crossbar having opposing ends configured to be gripped by a rider of the wheeled recreational device in use; wherein, the elongate crossbar is made from a lightweight material and is substantially hollow with one or more reinforcement elements 15 extending therein along a length thereof.

2. A handlebar system according to claim 1, wherein the elongate crossbar extends in a substantially horizontal plane and is received within a groove provided in the distal end of the stem member. 20

3. A handlebar system according to claim 3, wherein a pair of wing supports are mounted to the elongate crossbar and the stem member on opposing sides of the stem member to support the elongate crossbar in position. 25

4. A handlebar system according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the elongate crossbar is made from aluminium.

5. A handlebar system according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcement elements comprise at least one beam member extending between 30 predetermined points along an internal wall of the substantially hollow elongate crossbar, along a length thereof. 8