A lean-induced steerable wheel assembly has a pair of parallel wheel hub carriers arranged on either side of a leanable chassis spine. A linkage connects the wheel hub carriers to the chassis spine so that the wheels lean in unison with the chassis spine. A steering mechanism couples the wheel hub carriers to the chassis spine so that an induced lean on the chassis spine steers the wheel hub carriers through a steering angle dependent on the angle of induced lean.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATE APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/344,811, filed Jan. 7, 2002.
The present invention relates to an improved skateboard system and method of assembly. One embodiment of the present invention relates to an improved skateboard system that includes coupling a mounting bracket between a conventional skateboard deck and truck. The mounting bracket effectively drops the deck closer to the ground, thereby enabling increased stability and performance. Likewise, the design and materials of the bracket provide increased vibrational dampening for the system. In addition, the couplings between the bracket and deck and the bracket and truck are releasable to enable interchanging of components. A second embodiment of the present invention relates to an individual skateboard bracket. The bracket further includes a truck coupling region, a medial region, and a deck coupling region. In profile, the truck coupling region is generally higher than the deck coupling region, facilitating an overall drop-down shape. The medial region is a sloped or curved region disposed below the truck coupling region and the deck coupling region. A third embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for assembling a skateboard, including releasably coupling a deck to a bracket and releasably coupling a truck to the bracket such that the releasable coupling between the deck and the bracket is lower than the releasable coupling between the truck and the bracket.
A steerable wheeled sport conveyance is disclosed employing a unique diamond shaped footprint especially adapted for riding at relatively high speeds over various types of terrain. A first set of singular in-line steering wheels are rotatably mounted on the opposing ends of an elongated frame in a manner that also allows one or both of them to pivot on a vertical axis, and a second set of parallel wheels are mounted in an opposing manner across the longitudinal tilt axis of the conveyance. The opposing parallel wheels are attached to corresponding struts, which in turn are independently pivotably mounted near the longitudinal centerline of the frame, and are rotatable in a plane perpendicular to the rotationary plane of the two sets of wheels. Side to side tilting motions of the frame relative to the opposing struts creates vertical displacements between them, thus providing the steering forces that are conveyed and connected to the axles of one or both of the in-line steering wheels.