The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 18, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 05, 1995
Jonathan Watkins, San Marcos, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A vehicle having a chassis frame and a single front and single rear wheel aligned on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and retractable side wheels on opposite sides of the frame. A basic linkage transmits force to the side wheels for extending and retracting them in response to operator activation. The linkage may employ two hanging foot pedal levers and two independently rotatable lateral torque tubes to enable independent actuation of the left and right side wheels. The side wheels further comprise pivotally or caster-mounted side wheels in combination with a mechanism for asymmetrically limiting the range of pivotal side wheel motion, as well as lean compensation springs for controlling caster side wheel position as the lean angle of the vehicle changes. A locking mechanism is further disclosed for locking the caster side wheels in a straight-ahead position.