MULTICYCLISTVEHICLE
1- The present invention deals with bi-energy vehicles, mainly human powered and mobilized by the folks riding them, titled Folks Mobile and abbreviated as FM, and being here developed by a legally blind man with part of the proceeds oriented for medical eye research, the full title of the invention would then be, The Blind Folks Mobile, abbreviated as BFM. 2- Comparison with the Prior Art revealed no substantial prior art in that field that could replace the present invention.
3- Field of the invention.
The present invention deals with bi-energy vehicles, mainly powered by the individuals riding them, comprising:
(A) Lightweight, portable, convertible, basically three wheel, bi-energy, multi passenger vehicles.
(B) Four wheel, bi-energy bus vehicles mainly powered by a large group of riders, adapted to roll on rail tracks as well as on paved roads.
(C) Four wheel bus vehicles as in (B) using ground cable tracks as traction means and guiding means at the same time.
4- ~Prior Art
The prior art uses: a) For short distances, light weight, two wheel bicycles that are generally used for recreation, they are unstable, require special skill and they are a traffic hazard, b) For short and long distances, four wheel, heavy vehicles or cars that present a number of disadvantages;
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Their dead weight is usually ten times the live load they carry, they are inefficient, unsafe, costly to maintain, consume a nonrenewable energy and are the main pollutant of the atmosphere. Such are the problems that the present invention tries to solve. 5 - SUMMARY
The present invention deals with a variety of bi-energy vehicles partly or fully powered and mobilized by the people ri'ding them, using: a) Lightweight, foldable, minimum three wheel vehicles powered by one to five riders or more. b) Four wheel bus vehicles partly or fully powered by a group of 5, 10. 15, passengers or more riding them. c) Four wheel vehicles as in (b) guided and pulled forward by means of ground fastened cables and a special mechanism engaging them. d) Wagon vehicles with plurality of wheels partly or fully powered by their riders, designed to roll on roads and railroads. e) Vehicles with plurality of wheels in different functions, resulting in a variety of lightweight, durable, clean, economical, short distance vehicles for everybody. 6- Brief description of the drawings: Fig. IA - shows a plan view of a basic three wheel vehicle.
Fig. IB - shows a longitudinal section 1-1 of the three wheel vehicle shown on fig. IA.
Fig. 1C - shows a transversal section 2-2 of the 3 wheel vehicle shown on fig. IA. Fig. ID - shows a plan view with additional wheel to the basic 3 wheel vehicle shown on fig. IA.
Fig. 2A - shows a front view of a four wheel vehicle with a plurality of propelling riders.
Fig. 2B - Plan view along section 2-2 of the four wheel vehicle shown on fig. 2A.
Fig. 2C - Plan view along line 3-3 of the four wheel vehicle shown on fig. 2A.
Fig. 2D - Side view along the line 4-4 of the four wheel
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vehicle shown on fig. 2A.
Fig. 2E - shows the plan view, front view 5-5 and the side view of the traction system using a fixed ground cable/track for the four wheel vehicle shown on fig. 2A. 7- Preferred Embodiments
The present invention called Blind Folks Mobile and abbreviated as BFM, deals with a variety of bi-energy vehicles, mainly human powered by the folks riding them, as illustrated in the drawings and described hereinafter: 7-l-(See fig.lA, IB, 1C and ID)
7-1-1-Figs.lA to ID show a light weight, basically three wheel vehicle powered normally with a dual source of energy, partly or fully mobilized by the rider or riders riding it, made convertible and foldable to a reduced size vehicle. Said three wheel vehicle comprises mainly four parts; The first part forming the main chassis. The second part forming a right carrying wheel, pedals and riders' seats assembly. The third part comprising a left carrying wheel, pedals and riders' seats assembly. The fourth part comprises a rotatable front carrying wheel, foot pedals and riding driver's seat assembly etc.
The front wheel assembly is hinged generally around a vertical shaft hinging on the joints of the front panel .
The said first part represents a chassis comprising a right panel 301, a left panel 302, a front panel divided into a right half 303 and a left half 304, a rear panel divided into a right half 305 and a left half 306. The forementioned panels and sections of panels are provided with hinges in between each other; 307 represents a hinge between the right panel 301 and the right half of the front panel 303, 308 shows generally multiple hinges between the right half 303 and the left half 304 of the front panel, 309 shows a hinge between the left panel 302 and the left half of the front panel 304, 310 shows a hinge between the right panel 301 and the right half of the rear panel 305, 311 shows generally multiple hinges between the right half 305 and the left half 306 of the rear panel, 312 shows a hinge between the left panel 302 and the left half of the
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rear panel 306.
Apart from the hinges the frame has adjustable ties to hold the hinged sections in a fixed position, namely: 313 represents a tie connecting the right half 305 and the left half 306 of the rear panel, 314 shows a solid tie connecting the right half 303 and the left half 304 of the front panel, 314A shows a tie connecting the right panel 301 to the right half of the front panel 303, 314B shows a tie connecting the left panel 302 to the left half of the front panel 304. The said right panel and the said left panel are spaced from each other enough distance, to prevent the vehicle from overturning when loaded on one side without the other.
For vehicles expected to be frequently folded and transported, the assembly is provided with means allowing it to be extended or reduced as the necessity requires.
The resulting chassis is also provided: a) with means preventing it from overturning, b) with extendable posts 341 supporting the vehicle's roof.
Said second part comprises: a) a mobile right frame 323 supporting a right wheel, pedals7 with seats assembly and supported by the right panel 301, with possibilities to slide forward and backward along the right panel, or to be fastened in place, b)a right conventional ground engaging wheel 315 of the vehicle, c) a chain and sprockets assembly with foot pedals 316, operated by the right front rider, d) right hands' cranks 317 operated by the right front rider, e) ties 318 connecting the arms of the right hands' cranks to the arms of the right front foot pedals, f) rear right foot pedals 319 operated by the right rear rider, with detachable solid ties 320 connecting the right rear foot pedals to the right front foot pedals, g) a right front rider seat 321, h) a right rear rider seat 322, with a T shape hand bar (not shown) for the rear rider to hold on to.
Said third part comprises: (A) a mobile left frame 324 supporting the left wheel, pedals, with seats assembly and supported by the left panel 302, with possibilities to slide forward and backward along the left panel, or to be fastened in place, (B) a left conventional ground engaging wheel 325
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of the vehicle, (C) chain and sprocket assembly with foot pedals 326, operated by the left front rider and powering the left wheel, (D) left hands' cranks 327 operated by the left front rider, (E) with ties 328 connecting the arms of the left hands' cranks to the arms of the left front foot pedals, (F) rear left foot pedals 329 operated by the left rear rider, with detachable, solid ties 330 connecting the left rear foot pedals to the left front foot pedalz;, (G) a left front rider seat 331 (H) a left rear rider seat 332, with a T shape hand bar (not shown) for the rear rider to hold on to.
The fourth part comprises: (A) rotatable front wheel frame 333, supporting a front carrying wheel, riding driver, pedal, chain and sprocket assembly, and supported by the front panel assembly 303, 304, 308.
The rotatable front wheel frame is provided with a vertical shaft 324 rotating through the hinging joint 308.
(B) a guiding front conventional ground engaging wheel 335,
(C) a chain and sprocket assembly with . foot pedals 336, operated by the riding driver, (D) a riding driver's seat.
337, (E) a removable upper hinge 338 fastened to front wheel frame 333, used to allow the assembling and the dismantling of the fourth part assembly, (F) a right hand steering handle 339 with brakes and speed control, (G) a left hand steering handle 340 with brakes and speed control.
The so described three wheel vehicle is operated by one to five riders; two riders occupying the two seats on the right wheel , two riders occupying the two seats on the left wheel in addition to the driver riding on the front wheel, the front right rider and the front left rider operate each; foot pedals and hand cranks at the same time.
The front driving rider commands the control devices of the vehicle, namely: the speed, the brakes, the forward backward
- system, the motors control, the lights etc., of the whole vehicle and orient the vehicle by pulling on the right steering handle 339 or the left steering handle 340, which fact pulls the driver and rotates with him the whole front wheel assembly so orienting the vehicle in one direction or
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the other. The center of gravity of the said three wheels vehicle with its loads is always maintained in between the central lines of the three carrying ground engaging wheels.
The orientation of the vehicle could also be made as follows:
(A) By providing the vertical shaft forming part of the joint 334 on the fourth part, with a gear system in combination with a set of gears (not shown) combined with a steering wheel operated by the riding driver. (B) By installing a flexible tie connected to the right panel 301 at one end, rolled at the left side of a pulley located below the driver's seat and extended forward and rolled around a second pulley mounted on a rotatable vertical, central shaft connected at its upper end to a steering wheel (not shown).
A second flexible tie is connected to the left panel 302 at one end and rolled around the right side of the forementioned pulleys in the same way as described for the first tie, and by rotating the said steering wheel, one of the strings is rolled around the front pulley, while the other string is unwinding, pulling the front wheel assembly closer to one panel or the other so changing the direction of the vehicle.
The fourth part could be made of two spaced front wheels (not shown) with a separate rider each, and connected with a solid horizontal rod, hinged at both ends, keeping the steering wheel with either one of the front riders.
All the wheels of the vehicle are provided with a separate standby motor, engaging the carrying wheel through speed variation and forward backward system to be used when necessary.
On an uphill drive the front wheel assembly and the two rear wheel assemblies of the vehicle slid along their supports to get closer to each other to give the vehicle a better strength in its uphill drive, and on a downhill drive, the front wheel and the rear wheels of the vehicle are slid on their supports far apart from each other to give the vehicle a better stability on its downhill drive.
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An additional wheel and pedals assembly similar to the right and left wheel assemblies, is added in the back at the center of the vehicle, rotatably connected to the rear central hinges 311 with provisional ties to the right panel and to the left panel, to accommodate two additional riders, raising the total number of riders to seven riders, (see fig. ID).
Usually the ground engaging wheel on the said fifth part is equally or more powered than the similar wheels on the said second part and the said third part, where the said fifth part could be left free to pivot around its hinges.
When the front ground engaging wheel on the said fourth part is turning to the right for example, the rear ground engaging wheel on the said fifth part would be pushing the back of the vehicle towards the le t, so giving the vehicle a dual steering mechanism.
When the rear ground engaging wheel on the said fifth part is under powered, the said fifth part would be equally spaced from, and connected to the said right panel and to said left panel, keeping a parallel alignment with the said second part and the said third part.
When not in use, the so described three wheel vehicle could be folded by releasing the ties and pulling the front and the rear panels inwardly towards the center of the vehicle bringing the right and left panels flat closer to each other spaced only by the thickness of the folded front and rear panels, reducing the overall size of the vehicle to less than five feet in length, about one foot in width, and about three feet in height, made usually of light weight metal weighing altogether about 30 to 50 kilos.
The folded three wheel vehicle could be pulled to the elevator, taken up to the office, partly open and used as a side table.
Going on a picnic, the vehicle could be kept open, fitted with a canvas cover and used as a bed.
In rainy seasons, the posts 341 would be raised, joined with a rope all around and covered with a foldable light weight cover forming a roof over the said vehicle.
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To put in service, the vehicle is unfolded by pulling the side panels apart, the front panels forward, the rear panels backward, resulting in a boat shape vehicle, before setting the ties 313, 314. The side panels are pulled far apart, enough to have a stable vehicle that would not lean when loaded on one side without the other.
The two sections of the front panel and the similar seσtions of the rear panel are inclined downward towards the right panel and the left panel so transferring the loads from the fourth part and the fifth part to the lower sections of the right panel and the left panel, and reducing the lever arm effect of the fourth part and the fifth part acting simultaneously on the right and left panels, and consequently giving the vehicle a better stability against overturning.
Two small additional wheels, commonly known as training wheels, are installed, usually in front of the right panel and the left panel, inclined outwardly, (not shown) and kept slightly above ground so that, if the front of the vehicle leans towards the right or the left, one of the said training wheels would touch the ground and prevent the vehicle from overturning to the right or to the left.
It is advisable to keep the vehicle equally loaded on both sides ._
When required, the side panels are provided with telescopic extensions at the front and the rear of the vehicle, lined with a canvas all around in the shape of a pick-up truck to be used for luggage and the like. In certain cases, the right and left panels are made longer to accommodate additional seats in between for passengers unable to pedal.
The hand cranks, the front foot pedals and the rear foot pedals on each of the 2nd and 3rd part, are interconnected, transmitting their actions together to the ground engaging wheels. The interconnection of these pedals and cranks is made by: (A) Tying the extreme ends of the arms of the hand cranks
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to the extreme ends of the arms of the front foot pedals usually with detachable flexible ties provided with a short spring as means of connection tolerance.
(B) By connecting the rear foot pedals to the front foot pedals with detachable solid ties in the same way as described for the hand cranks.
(C) By using separate gear system for the rear foot pedals combined with the front foot pedals using conventional known methods. 7-2 (See figs.2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E)
7-?-l Figs. 2A to 2E show the details of a bi-energy four wheel vehicle partly or fully powered by the folks riding it, adapted to roll on rail tracks as well as on paved roads, comprising a chassis supported on a minimum of 4 wheels and supporting a platform 401, said platform in turn supports a plurality of longitudinal supports 402 by means of typical saddles 423. Each of the said continuous supports 402 support in turn:
A) A series of foot pedal systems like the assembly 405, 406, 407.
B) A series of hand crank systems like the assembly 408, 409, 410, mounted on the posts 415.
C) A rider seat 413 supported by the posts 414.
The hand crank right arm 409 is connected to the corresponding foot pedal right arm 406. The hand crank left arm 410 is connected to the corresponding foot pedal left arm 407.
The series of the foot pedals are connected to each other by means of solid rods 403, 404, which solid rods transmit the action of each group of foot pedals, together with the action of the hand cranks, to front and rear gears
416, 416B.
The typical front gear 416 transmits its rotation with speed variation through a chain 417 or other conventional means to a gear 418 fastened on a front shaft 419 and in turn to the front wheels 420 and caused them to roll forward or backward as the case may be. A similar transmission system activates the rear wheels of the vehicle.
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The inner rims of the wheels 420 are provided with steel rings with slightly smaller diameter than the rubber wheels, protruding inwardly to enable the vehicle to roll on rail tracks while the outer rubber wheels would enable the vehicle to roll on normal paved roads.
The central gear 416A is provided with two chains 417A, 417B connected to gears 418A, 418B.
Said gears 418A, 418B are combined with grooved pulleys pressing around cable 422. Said cable 422 is fastened to ground supports and is used in combination with the said grooved pulleys as traction means for the vehicle while guiding the said vehicle at the same time. The traction means could be:
(A) A flexible, inextensible cable, a chain, a solid track with teeth to engage a rotating gear is fastened to ground supports at a short distance above ground.
(B) A cable, a chain or a solid track as in (A), fastened to a ground support sunk below the level of the road paving, with enough opening to allow the passage of the engaging pulleys and the cleaning handle.
The chains 417A, 417B" together with the gears 418A, 418B, and the traction means 422 represent an optional assembly added to the vehicle.
The orientation of the vehicle is carried on by conventional methods used—for four wheel drive vehicles or the like.
The resultant four wheel vehicle is provided with a separate standby motor connected through speed variation and forward backward system, to the front and the rear shafts (not shown) to be used when necessary.
The said four wheel vehicle is provided as well with a cabin and conventional, additional accessories used for normal passenger vehicles.
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