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All terrain vehicle and method of operating same

  • US 4,727,949 A
  • Filed: 01/12/1987
  • Issued: 03/01/1988
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1984
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method of self-righting an articulated vehicle combination which is inverted and immersed in water, the vehicle combination having two vehicle units and an articulating link means which interconnects the vehicle units when aligned in tandem along a central longitudinal axis, each vehicle unit having a watertight body provided with a relatively low center of gravity when the body is in an upright position, the method being further characterized by:

  • (a) from an aligned inverted position in which the vehicle units are aligned with the central axis, forcibly rotating one particular vehicle unit relative to the articulating link means about a first pitch axis disposed normally to the longitudinal axis so that the vehicle bodies rotate towards each other causing lower ends of the bodies to be submerged further in the water and upper ends of the bodies to rise upwardly out of the water to attain an unstable inverted raised position,(b) permitting the combination in the raised unstable position to fall laterally onto one of its sides, and then rotating the particular vehicle unit in an opposite direction to attain the aligned position once more in which the vehicle bodies lies on their sides in the water,(c) yielding to a bouyancy force generated on the vehicle combination which acts through a center of bouyancy spaced from the center of gravity, which force tends to rotate the vehicle bodies to attain an upright position.

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