Personal mobility vehicle with tiltable seat
First Claim
1. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
- a base; and
a seat moveable along a curve having a focal point, the vehicle being adjustable to position an occupant in the seat to achieve a desired position for the center of gravity of the occupant relative to the focal point of the curve.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The vehicle comprises a base and a seat moveable along a curve having a focal point. The vehicle is adjustable to position an occupant in the seat to achieve a desired position for the center of gravity of the occupant relative to the focal point of the curve. A method for minimizing effort required to tilt the seat of a personal mobility vehicle comprises the steps of providing a personal mobility vehicle having a seat that is adapted to move along an arc having a center of curvature, positioning the seat substantially horizontally, providing an occupant in the seat, and adjusting the position of the vehicle occupant'"'"'s center of gravity so that the center of gravity is substantially equal to or below the center of curvature of the arc.
78 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base; and
a seat moveable along a curve having a focal point, the vehicle being adjustable to position an occupant in the seat to achieve a desired position for the center of gravity of the occupant relative to the focal point of the curve. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
a personal mobility vehicle having a seat that is supported for movement relative to a radial or quasi radial curve having a center of curvature that is preferably substantially fixed in space, the seat being adjustable with respect to the curve so that the center of gravity of a vehicle occupant is sufficiently coincident with the focal point of the curve so that force required to tilt the seat is minimized.
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4. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base; and
a seat for support a vehicle occupant, the seat being supported for movement along a curve having a center of curvature, the seat being adapted to support a vehicle occupant having a center of gravity that is adapted to be positioned relative to the center of curvature sufficient to minimize effort required to move the seat with the vehicle occupant therein along the curve. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base;
a plurality of wheels that are adapted to support the base relative to a supporting surface; and
a seat for supporting an occupant, the seat being supported relative to the base for movement along an arcuate path with a fixed center of rotation, the seat being adjustable such that the center of gravity of the occupant is adapted to be substantially coincident with the center of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base;
a plurality of wheels that are adapted to support the base relative to a supporting surface;
a seat;
one or more tracks having a constant radius arc supporting the seat for movement relative to the base; and
a low friction support assembly supported by either the base or the seat or any combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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31. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base;
a plurality of wheels that are adapted to support the base relative to a supporting surface;
a seat for supporting an occupant; and
one or more tracks supporting the seat, the one or more tracks serving as a rolling or sliding surface that allows the seat to rotate with respect to the base, the one or more tracks having a constant or substantially constant radius arc with a focal point that is substantially fixed in space, whereby the location of the center of gravity of the occupant can be adjusted to be coincident or near coincident with the focal point. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:
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a base;
a plurality of wheels that are adapted to support the base relative to a supporting surface;
a seat for supporting an occupant; and
one or more tracks supporting the seat, the one or more tracks serving as a rolling or sliding surface that allows the seat to rotate with respect to the base, the one or more tracks having a constant-radius arc with a center of rotation, such that the occupant'"'"'s center of gravity may be adapted to be sufficiently coincident with the center of rotation, and further such that the occupant may be rotationally repositioned without requiring excessive force to rotate the occupant, significantly changing overall weight distribution over the wheels, or significantly disturbing the occupant'"'"'s center of gravity.
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34. A method for minimizing effort required to tilt the seat of a personal mobility vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a personal mobility vehicle having a seat that is adapted to move along an arc having a center of curvature;
b) positioning the seat substantially horizontally;
c) providing an occupant in the seat; and
d) adjusting the position of the vehicle occupant'"'"'s center of gravity so that the center of gravity is substantially equal to or below the center of curvature of the arc. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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Specification