NZ260270A - Three wheeled buggy: seat frame and front wheel pivotable in unison about steering head and post top pivot - Google Patents

Description

PATENTS FORM 5 Number 260270 PATENTS ACT 1953 Dated 8 April, 1994 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STEERABLE BABY BUGGY OR STROLLER {tySpy I, RYAN GOW LOCK, of Cobhatn Outward Bound School, .Private Bag, Picton, New Ar ft ' Zealand, a New Zealand citizen, do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement. /'■v 1 si -■&&*. ;\ ~8 MAY 1295 *ij - / a iM 28 0 2 H This invention relates to a human powered wheeled conveyance. While the conveyance is particularly designed for the tran^p jrtation of young children it is to be understood that this is a highly preferred form only and it will be readily apparent that the conveyance can be utilized for transporting older people and also inanimate objects.

Devices such as perambulators are well known for transporting young children. These devices generally have a frame with four ground wheels, the frame supporting a seat or a cot to support and retain the child while being transported. It is also kno wn for such conveyances to have three wheels only with the wheels being arranged so that one wheel is in front and is generally in the form of a caster wheel with the other two wheels being at the rear. The three wheels are often of the same diameter • • ♦ so that the wheels can readily traverse rough ground.

The three wheeled conveyances are generally known as buggies and have a frame which is supported by the wheels with the frame in turn supporting a seat to receive the young child. The frame generally has an extension in the form of a handle bar or the like for gripping at a suitable height by the person using the conveyance.

It is becoming increasingly common for young children to be transported in the buggies by people who are engaging in walks, sometimes of a moderately substantial length and sometimes for jogging. The three wheel buggy has found considerable favour for this purpose because of its comparatively rugged nature and because of the larger size of the wheels which enables the buggy to be used on other than smooth surfaces.

Many buggies do not have a steerable front wheel and therefore to change direction, it is necessary to lift the front wheel and this detracts from the stability of the buggy. It is also known for the front wheel of the buggy to have a caster action and can swivel about a substantially vertical axis. However it has been found that such a buggy is liable to become unstable in use with the consequent likelihood of injury to the child being carried in the buggy. 0 2 7 0 It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved three wheeled buggy which will overcome the above disadvantages or at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly, one form of the invention comprises a buggy having a steerable front wheel and having rear wheels supported in a spaced apart condition by a cross member, wherein a spine extends from the cross member towards the front wheel, with the forward end of the spine being joined to a steering head, a stem is pivotally maintained within said steering head in a substantially upright condition with the lower end of the stem being joined to a member which supports the front wheel and with the upper end of the stem having means to connect a seat frame to the stem, the said seat frame including spaced apart side arms which extend substantially upwardly from said head member and which are joined at their upper ends by a handle bar, a post extending upwardly from the said cross member and being pivotally attached to said handle bar, and a seat supported on said side arms and on said handle bar, the construction and arrangement being that the seat frame, the seat and the front wheel will pivot in unison about the said steering head and about the pivotal connection between the said post and the handle bar.

Preferably the lower end of the post is connected to the cross member by a pivot arrangement.

Preferably the upper end of the post is connected by a pivotal arrangement to the handle bar. 26 0 2 Preferably pivotal arrangement by which the upper end of the post is conected to the handle bar includes damping means.

Preferably the buggy includes a handle bar extension in the form of an inverted U shape, the arms of which are removably secured to the upper ends of the side bars.

Preferably the seat is formed of a flexible material.

A preferred form of the invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a three quarter view from above of a preferred form of the buggy showing a seat in phantom outline; and Fig. 2 is a further side view of the buggy showing one form of seat.

Figs 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views of one method of forming the buggy so it can be collapsed when required.

Fig. 5 is a view of a detail.

Referring to the drawings, the buggy has a front wheel 1 and a pair of rear wheels 2. The wheels preferably, but not necessarily, are of the same size and construction and can be shod with pneumatic or solid tires as desired. The front wheel 1 is supported on a pair of forks 3 by a steering head 4 which has a stem 7 by which the front forks can be pivotally maintained within the steering head so that the stem 7 can rotate within the head 4 to enable the front wheel 1 to change direction in a known manner. The front forks in conjunction with the steering head are formed to provide a caster action as is known.

A frame is attached to the steering head and extends rearwardly, the frame consisting of a spine 5, one end of which is attached to the steering head and the other end is attached to approximately the middle of a cross member 6 which extends substantially transversely to the proposed direction of travel and which has suitable means so that the wheels 2 can be journalled to the cross member 6 to enable the wheels 2 to support the frame and yet freely rotate on the frame. 26 0 2 70 Preferably, but not necessarily, the cross member 6 can include suspension means so that the rear wheels 2 can move substantially vertically in relation to the cross member 6 and be spring influenced to provide a form of suspension as is known in the art.

A post 8 extends upwardly from the approximate centre of the cross member 6 and terminates at a handle bar pivot point 9 as best seen in Fig. 1. In its preferred form, the post can be constructed as shown in Figs 3 and 4 wherein the lower portion 8a of the post is formed from a length of metallic channel section stock with the bottom of the lower portion being pivotally connected at 30 to the cross member 6. The other end of the lower portion 8a is formed with a joint mechanism to enable it to be pivotally connected to the upper end 8b of the post. The upper portion 8b of the post may be constructed of box section metallic stock. As shown in the drawing, a pivot pin 31 passes through the walls of the lower portion 8a and through the upper portion 8b of the post so the two parts are permanently pivotally connected. A locking pin 32 is provided so that when the portions 8a and 8b are in the configuration shown in Fig.3, the pin can be manipulated to lock the two portions into that configuration. Preferably the upper portion 8b is non linear as illustrated to facilitate the pivotal connection of the portion 8b to the handle bar member 17.

A seat frame includes a seat head member 12 which is attached to the steering stem 7 by a suitable known form of clamp such as that indicated at 13. The seat head member 12 also includes spaced apart side arms IS which extend upwardly from the ssat head member and which are joined at their upper ends to a handle bar member 17 which includes a pivotal joint formed by a stud 18 or the like which can pass through a hole in the pivot point 9 of the post 8 with the end of the. stud 18 which projects out of the post 8 being screw threaded to receive a steering damper 19. The steering damper can conveniently be a wheel having a screw threaded bore and friction discs (not shown in the drawings) can be employed in conjunction with the steering damper so that the amount of friction in the pivot joint can be varied between a situation of very little friction to where the joint is essentially locked. 26 0 2 The seat head member 12 and the side arms 15 may conveniently be formed of metallic tube with the fixed joints suitably welded or otherwise joined as is known in the art.

In a modification illustrated in Fig. 5, the seat frame is attached to the stem 7 by a shock absorbing arrangement. The upper portion of the stem 7 is formed with a transverse hole to accept a pivot pin 40 which passes through a steering arm 41 which can be in the form of a tubular member and which is connected by a pivot joint 42 to the side arms 15. A buffer member 44, which may be formed of an elastomeric substance such as rubber, is positioned between the steering arm 41 and the steering head 4 so that the steering arm can have pivotal movement as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5 with the movement being cushioned and controlled by the buffer member 44.

The seat frame also includes a handle bar extension 20 which is of an inverted U shape, the extension having legs 21 of which are shaped to telescope within the side arms 15 and to be retained therein by lock wheels 22.

As can be seen particularly in Fig. 2 the buggy also includes a seat 25. The seat can be formed of canvas or a woven or non woven fabric or other suitable material as is known in the art or it can be moulded from a plastics material. The sides of the seat are suitably attached to the side arms 15 of the frame. The seat 15 is also attached to and is supported by the handle bar member 17. If desired foot extensions such as those indicated at 26 can be attached to the front forks 3 on which the feet of a passenger seated in the seat 25 can be supported.

When the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is utilised, to fold the buggy into a collapsed form, the locking pin 32 is withdrawn so the post 8 can be folded. The seat frame is so constructed that this will enable the seat frame to be lower, with the front of the frame pivoting about the steering head. To change the buggy into an erected form, the handle bar is lifted and when the post 8 reaches the configuration shown in Fig.3, the locking pin 32 is reinserted to retain the post 8 in that 26027 configuration and the buggy is then ready for use.

The particular construction of the buggy according to this invention means that the frame together with the seat frame and seat are pivoted in unison with the front wheel 1 which will assist in the stability of the buggy while traversing the ground. In addition, because the height of the handle bar extension 20 can be varied to suit the requirements of the person using the buggy and because of the low centre of gravity of the buggy, considerable control of the buggy can be exercised with a minimum amount of effort.

Structural components can be formed from square or round section metallic tubing as is known in the art which will provide suitable lightness in weight as well as the necessary rigidity and all components can be either welded or joined by any suitable means as is known in the art.

The foregoing describes one preferred form of putting the invention into effect and modifications and amendments to the main concept of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. All such amendments and changes are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (9)

26 0 2 J o WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A buggy having a steerable front wheel and having rear wheels supported in a spaced apart condition by a cross member, wherein a spine extends from the cross member towards the front wheel, with the forward end of the spine being joined to a steering head, a stem is pivotally maintained within said steering head in a substantially upright condition with the lower end of the stem being joined to a member which supports the front wheel and with the upper end of the stem having means to connect a seat frame to the stem, the said seat frame including spaced apart side arms which extend substantially upwardly from said steering head and which are joined at their upper ends by a handle bar, a post extending upwardly from the said cross member and being pivotally attached to said handle bar, and a seat supported on said side arms and on said handle bar, the construction and arrangement being that the seat frame, the seat and the front wheel will pivot in unison about the said steering head and about the pivotal connection between the said post and the handle bar.

2. The buggy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said post is connected at one end to the cross member by a pivot and wherein the post is divided into two portions which are pivotally connected together, with means being provided whereby the two portions of the post can be maintained in an erected position or to be pivoted into a collapsed position.

3. The buggy as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pivotal arrangement between the said post and the said handle bar comprises asti the upper portion - 8 - f 15 MAR 1996 7 26 0 2 70 of the pc~: and the said handle bar and wherein means are provided to enable the pivotal movement to be damped.

4. The buggy as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means to connect the seat frame to the said stem comprises a pivotal connection which includes a buffer device to control and cushion the movement in the pivotal connection.

5. The buggy as claimed in claim 2, wherein the buggy can be folded to a collapsed condition.

6. The buggy as claimed in any one of the previous claims including a handle bar extension of a substantial inverted U shape and wherein the handle bar extension is adapted to be removably attached to the said upper ends of the side arms of the buggy.

7. The buggy as claimed in any one of the previous claims wherein the seat is formed of a flexible material.

8. The buggy as claimed in claim 6 including extensions to the said member which supports the front wheel, to support the feet of a person sitting in the said seat.

9. The buggy substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.