Personal transportation system

• US 6,752,231 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ross Gordon Mckenzie Hume
• Original Assignee: Ross Gordon Mckenzie Hume
• Inventors: Hume, Ross Gordon McKenzie
• Primary Examiner(s): Morris, Lesley D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINNER, TONY H
• Application Number:
  US10/259,634
• Publication Number:
  US 20040060759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 180/218, 180/6.2, 180/6.48, 180/6.5, 180/21, 180/6.28, 280/205, 280/210, 280/211, 280/206, 280/207, 280/208
• US Class Current: 180/218
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 61/00 Motor vehicles or trailers, characterised by the arrangement or number of wheels, not otherwise provided for, e.g. four wheels in diamond pattern
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 1/00 Unicycles
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 17/00 Cycles not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A two wheeled automotive vehicle having a heavily weighted passenger compartment pivotally mounted on, and with its center of gravity below, a trapeze cross bar that is in turn pivotally mounted between axially aligned stub axles for the road wheels. Attitude control is provided and other function for controlling the reactive forces of braking is also disclosed.

Claims

1. An automotive vehicle having a pair of road wheels each rotatably mounted on a respective one of a pair of axially aligned stub axles;

a trapeze frame, comprising a pair of spaced apart side arms and a horizontal bar mounted therebetween, rotatably mounted between said road wheels and depending from said stub axles;

a weighted passenger compartment rotatably mounted on said horizontal bar and having a centre of gravity below said horizontal bar;

a pair of powered drive motors each operatively connected to respective one of said road wheels;

means to control said motors, mounted in said passenger compartment;

braking means operatively connected to said road wheels; and

means to temporarily reduce braking force in response to angular displacement between said side arms of said trapeze frame and said passenger compartment so as to prevent rotation of said trapeze bar about said axially aligned stub axles.

2. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said drive motors are electric motors.

3. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein said motors are dc motors.

4. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 3 including a plurality of batteries fixedly mounted in said passenger compartment.

5. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 4 including passenger compartment attitude control means.

6. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 5 wherein said attitude control means comprises weight means adjustably mounted in said passenger compartment.

7. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein said weight means comprise slidably mounted battery means.

8. An automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 7 including a pair of batteries slidably mounted adjacent said fixedly mounted batteries.