US20070034434A1

US20070034434A1 - Liftable seat frame of electric scooter

Info

Publication number: US20070034434A1
Application number: US11/202,171
Authority: US
Inventors: Chien-Liang Chiu
Original assignee: Wu's Tech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Wu's Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2005-08-12
Filing date: 2005-08-12
Publication date: 2007-02-15

Abstract

A liftable seat frame of an electric scooter includes a scooter body provided with a plurality of wheels on the bottom thereof, a driving device provided at a suitable position on the scooter body, at least one supporting pillar extended from a suitable position on the scooter body and around the periphery of the driving device, a frame provided at a suitable position on an upper end of the driving device, one end of which being pivotably connected to the supporting pillar, and a seat provided on the frame. According to the above structure, the seat is supported by the frame, and thus the driving device can be exposed and easily maintained by using the supporting pillar as a center of rotation to pivotably lift the frame and the seat thereon.

Description

1. FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a liftable seat frame of an electric scooter. Especially, the present invention provide a liftable seat frame for easily maintaining the driving device of the electric scooter without detaching the bulky seat and the protective shell.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the progress of society, people need more and more social benefits. Most problems relating to the social benefits do not depart from food, clothing, residence, transportation, education and entertainment. In Taiwan, refitted motorcycles, electric wheelchairs and even electric scooters are very common products designed to solve certain problems of transportation. Further, in view of the tendency towards aging in the population of the world, the development of electric scooters will be flourishing.
Since more and more elder people use electric scooters, the physiological functions of these elder people have been degenerated and their reactions become very slow and insufficient. Therefore, using electric scooters exactly conforms to the need of elder people. In recent years, the market of the electric scooters grows very fast, and many advanced countries have paid more attention to the value of the electric scooters.
At the present stage, many advanced countries have classified the electric scooters into the biotechnology and medical technology, and thus are preferentially assisted. With the participation and investment of industries, officials and academics, the electric scooters will gradually replace the traditional wheelchairs, canes or the like, and become the major means of transportation for middle-aged people and elder people in most advanced and newly industrialized countries.
Existing electric scooters are configured that the driving device are hidden under the seat and within the scooter body to minimize the scooter body and efficiently use the space. With the covering of the protective shell, the effects of saving space and beautifying the appearance can be achieved.
Although the aforementioned design of conventional electric scooters has minimize the scooter body and efficiently use the space, there are still some problems during production and utilization:

- (1) Since the driving device is under the seat, it has to detach the bulky seat and the protective shell when a user intends to maintain the driving device, which is very inconvenient.
- (2) The seats in conventional electric scooters cannot be pivotably lifted. Such structure impedes the maintenance, and a user cannot adjust the inclination angle of the seat depending on the his/her need.

In view of the above problems in utilizing conventional electric scooters, the inventor employs his expert experience in this field and takes some valuable opinions from the customers into consideration to propose a liftable seat frame of an electric scooter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is to provide a liftable seat frame of an electric scooter, in which the seat can be easily lifted to maintain the driving device.
Accordingly, the liftable seat frame of an electric scooter of the present invention comprises a scooter body provided with a plurality of wheels on the bottom thereof, a driving device provided at a suitable position on the scooter body, at least one supporting pillar extended from a suitable position on the scooter body and around the periphery of the driving device, a frame provided at a suitable position on an upper end of the driving device, one end of which being pivotably connected to the supporting pillar, and a seat provided on the frame.
According to the above structure, since the seat is supported by the frame, the driving device can be exposed and easily maintained by using the supporting pillar as a center of rotation to pivotably lift the frame and the seat thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings disclose an illustrative embodiment of the present invention which serve to exemplify the various advantages and objects hereof, and are as follows:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an action view of the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In order to make the Examiner understand the structure, operation and characteristics of the present invention more clearly, the inventor provides a preferred embodiment of the present invention for illustrative purpose. The detailed description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the present invention comprises a scooter body 1, a driving device 2, a supporting pillar 3, a frame 4, two elastic supporting members 5, a protective shell 6, and a seat 7.
Four wheels 11 are provided on the bottom of the scooter body 1, and two turnover-preventing wheels 12 are provided on both sides of the rear end of the scooter body 1. Each of the rear wheels 11 is provided with a disc brake 13 for braking the scooter by one hand. A locking portion 14 is provided at a suitable position on the scooter body 1, and a supporting rod 15 is extended upward from a suitable position on the scooter body 1. When the seat 7 covers the scooter body 1, the supporting rod 15 also provides an auxiliary force to support the protective shell 6.
The driving device 2 is provided at a suitable position on the scooter body 1.
The supporting pillar 3 is extended from a suitable position on the scooter body 1 and in front of the driving device 2.
Two elastic supporting members 5 are pivotably provided on both sides of the scooter body 1 and in back of the driving device 2.
The frame 4 is provided at a suitable position on an upper end of the driving device 2 and includes a main beam 41. The front and rear ends of the main bean 41 are respectively provided with a first lateral beam 42 and second lateral beam 43. An auxiliary rod 44 is extended from a suitable position on the bottom face of the main beam 41. The auxiliary rod 44 comprises an upper rod 441, a lower rod 442 and a stopper 443. One end of the upper rod 441 is pivotably connected to the lower rod 442 and the stopper 443 is extended from one side of the upper rod 441. The stopper 443 is exactly positioned on the rotating path of the lower rod 442. An actuating pin is provided on a side end of the stopper 443 for controlling the stopper 443. A connecting pillar 45 is extended from a suitable position on the top face of the main beam 41 of the frame 4. The bottom end of the first lateral beam 42 is provided with a first pivoting portion 421 for pivotably connecting to the supporting pillar 3. Both sides of the rear end of the second lateral beams 43 are provided with two second pivoting portions 431 for pivotably connecting to the elastic supporting members 5. After a pin 46 penetrates the second pivoting portion 431 and the end of the elastic supporting member 5 for fixing purpose, the frame 4 can be supported by the elastic supporting members 5 and keep a suitable inclination and elasticity. Thus, the frame 4 can be pivotably connected to the elastic supporting members 5 at suitable positions.
The protective shell 6 covers the exterior of the frame 4. A locking block 61 is provided on the bottom of the protective shell 6 exactly corresponding to the locking portion 14, and thus the protective shell 6 can stably cover on the scooter body 1 without swinging. Further, a handle 62 is provided on the rear end of the protective shell 6.
The seat 7 is provided on the frame 4 and locked to the connecting pillar 45.
According to the above structure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the seat 7 can be supported by the frame 4, and additionally supported by the auxiliary rod 44 on the lower end of the frame 4. When a user intends to overhaul or maintain the driving device, he just needs to lift the handle 62 such that the frame 4 and the seat 7 thereon can thus be simultaneously lifted by using the top end of the supporting pillar 3 as a center of rotation. As a result, the driving device 2 can be exposed for easy maintenance. When the use intends to cover the seat 7, he first pulls out the actuating pin on the auxiliary rod 44 to control the stopper 443 such that the stopper 443 is exactly positioned on the rotating path of the lower rod 442. Then, the user controls the lower rod 442 to have a supporting force. After covering the seat 7, the seat 7 can be supported on the scooter body 1 such that the seat 7 can sufficiently support the weight of a human body without sinking. Further, depending on the need of the user, the height and the inclination of the seat 7 can be adjusted by adjusting the height of the elastic supporting members 5.
According to the above, the present invention has advantages as follows:

- (1) The present invention employs a frame 4 pivotably connected to a supporting pillar 3 to support the seat 7. Therefore, the seat 7 can be easily lifted to expose the driving device 2 under the seat 7 for maintenance.
- (2) According to the present invention, the height and inclination of the seat 7 can be adjusted depending on the need of the user.

Many changes and modifications in the abovementioned embodiment of the present invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and useful arts, the present invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electric scooter, comprising:

a scooter body provided with a plurality of wheels on the bottom thereof;

a driving device provided at a suitable position on the scooter body;

at least one supporting pillar extended from the scooter body and around the periphery of the driving device;

a frame positioned on an upper end of the driving device, one end of which being pivotably connected to the supporting pillar; and

a seat provided on the frame,

wherein the seat is supported by the frame such that the frame and the seat thereon can be pivotably lifted by using the supporting pillar as a center of rotation.

2. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein at least one elastic supporting member is pivotably provided at a suitable position on the scooter body for supporting the frame.

3. The electric scooter according to claim 2, wherein the frame is pivotably connected to the elastic supporting member.

4. The electric scooter according to claim 2, wherein the frame includes a main beam and two lateral beams provided on both sides of the main beam.

5. The electric scooter according to claim 4, wherein a connecting pillar is extended from a suitable position on the top face of the main beam for supporting the seat.

6. The electric scooter according to claim 4, wherein at least auxiliary rod is extended downward from a suitable position on the bottom face of the main beam.

7. The electric scooter according to claim 4, wherein a pivoting portion is provided on the rear end of the lateral beam and the rear end of the main beam such that a pin can penetrate the pivoting portion and the elastic supporting member for fixing purpose.

8. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein a protective shell is provided in the exterior of the frame.

9. The electric scooter according to claim 8, wherein a locking portion is provided at a suitable position on the scooter body, and a locking block is provided on the bottom of the protective shell corresponding to the locking portion, to thereby the protective shell stably cover the scooter body without swinging.

10. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein a handle is extended from the rear end of the protective shell.

11. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary rod comprises an upper rod, a lower rod and a stopper 443, one end of the upper rod is pivotably connected to the lower rod, the stopper is extended from one side of the upper rod, the stopper is exactly positioned on the rotating path of the lower rod, and an activating pin is provided on a side end of the stopper for controlling the stopper.

12. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein a supporting rod is extended upward from a suitable position on the scooter body, and the supporting rod provides an auxiliary force to support the protective shell when the seat covers the scooter body.

13. The electric scooter according to claim 1, wherein the rear wheels are provided with disc brakes for braking the scooter by one hand.