US3781031A — Three wheeled vehicles having static and dynamic …

Claim 1

Independent Claim 210 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles having a frame symmetrical relative to a median plane and carrying a forward guiding wheel mounted, in the said median plane, on a fork with positive castor, a rear framework comprising two wheels mounted on an axle on either side of the median plane of the frame, an organ for pivoting the frame relative to the rear framework, comprising a cylindrical bearing rigidly attached to the framework and having an axis which is substantially horizontal and positioned in the median plane, and on which pivots a coaxial, cylindrical part, connected to the frame, and a device for locking the pivoting organ comprising a drum rigidly connected to the framework and coaxial with the cylindrical bearing and an organ for locking on the drum by friction, operated by a pendulum oscillating on either side of the median plane under the effect of weight and centrifugal force, characterized by the fact that the friction locking organ consists of at least one pair of belts wound symmetrically, each in one direction, on the drum and attached at one end to the pendulum and at the other end to the frame, the anchorage points of the said belts on the frame being spaced on either side of the median plane.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 210 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles having a frame symmetrical relative to a median plane and carrying a forward guiding wheel mounted, in the said median plane, on a fork with positive castor, a rear framework comprising two wheels mounted on an axle on either side of the median plane of the frame, an organ for pivoting the frame relative to the rear framework, comprising a cylindrical bearing rigidly attached to the framework and having an axis which is substantially horizontal and positioned in the median plane, and on which pivots a coaxial, cylindrical part, connected to the frame, and a device for locking the pivoting organ comprising a drum rigidly connected to the framework and coaxial with the cylindrical bearing and an organ for locking on the drum by friction, operated by a pendulum oscillating on either side of the median plane under the effect of weight and centrifugal force, characterized by the fact that the friction locking organ consists of at least one pair of belts wound symmetrically, each in one direction, on the drum and attached at one end to the pendulum and at the other end to the frame, the anchorage points of the said belts on the frame being spaced on either side of the median plane.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 62 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the pendulum consists of a mass suspended by at least one arm passing around the drum from a pivot mounted on the frame in its median plane, and that the belts each makP several turns on the drum and are attached at their ends to the said mass.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 244 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles having a frame which is symmetrical relative to a median plane and carries a forward guiding wheel mounted, in the said median plane, on a fork with positive castor, a rear framework comprising two wheels mounted on an axle, on either side of the median plane of the frame, an organ for pivoting of the frame relative to the rear framework, positioned inside a portion of the frame forming a housing and comprising a cylindrical bearing rigidly attached to the framework and having a substantially horizontal axis positioned in the median plane, and on which pivots a coaxial, cylindrical part connected to the frame, and a device for locking the pivot organ, comprising a drum rigidly attached to the framework and coaxial with the cylindrical bearing and an organ for locking on the drum by friction, operated by a pendulum oscillating on either side of the median plane under the joint effect of weight and centrifugal force, characterized by the fact that the pendulum consists of the frame of the vehicle itself, and said frame being suspended from a yoke positioned inside the housing and mounted pivotably on the cylindrical bearing, by means of at least one pair of suspension arms, positioned symmetrically each on one side of the median plane and each hinged about two axes parallel to the median plane, at their lower portion to the bottom of the housing and at their upper portion to the yoke.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 244 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles having a frame which is symmetrical relative to a median plane and carries a forward guiding wheel mounted, in the said median plane, on a fork with positive castor, a rear framework comprising two wheels mounted on an axle, on either side of the median plane of the frame, an organ for pivoting of the frame relative to the rear framework, positioned inside a portion of the frame forming a housing and comprising a cylindrical bearing rigidly attached to the framework and having a substantially horizontal axis positioned in the median plane, and on which pivots a coaxial, cylindrical part connected to the frame, and a device for locking the pivot organ, comprising a drum rigidly attached to the framework and coaxial with the cylindrical bearing and an organ for locking on the drum by friction, operated by a pendulum oscillating on either side of the median plane under the joint effect of weight and centrifugal force, characterized by the fact that the pendulum consists of the frame of the vehicle itself, and said frame being suspended from a yoke positioned inside the housing and mounted pivotably on the cylindrical bearing, by means of at least one pair of suspension arms, positioned symmetrically each on one side of the median plane and each hinged about two axes parallel to the median plane, at their lower portion to the bottom of the housing and at their upper portion to the yoke.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 65 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 3, characterized by the fact that the yoke consists of two rigidly connected side plates which are spaced apart and perpendicular to the pivot axis, the said side plates each having a circular orifice passing through them for passage of the cylindrical bearing, bearings being placed along the orifice between each side plate and the cylindrical bearing.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 52 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 3, characterized by the fact that the friction locking organ consists of at least one pair of belts wound symmetrically, each in one direction, on a drum, and each attached at its two ends to the yoke and to one of the suspension arms.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 56 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 5, characterized by the fact that the belts are each attached at one end to the articulation axis of one of the suspension arms on the yoke and at the other end to an anchorage point positioned on the same suspension arm and distant from the articulation axis.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 95 words

Improvements to the three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 6, characterized by the fact that the lever consists of a rod carrying at its lower end the roller bearing against the ramp and extended upwardly by two arms forming a fork provided at their ends with two knife-edges bearing in two corresponding grooves formed in the outer surface of the distributor ring and aligned along a diameter of the latter, the said lever bearing on the yoke along a knife-edge engaged in a groove formed in the surface of the yoke facing the distributor ring.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 190 words

Improvements to three-wheeled vehicles as described in claim 3, characterized by the fact that locking organ consists of a multi-disc clutch having a male element rigidly attached to the cylindrical bearing, a female element consisting of a cylindrical sleeve rigidly attached to the yoke, a plurality of clutch discs which are axially slidable and fixed for rotation, some relative to the male element and the others relative to the female element, and a distributor ring able to cause the axial sliding of the discs, the said ring being subjected, firstly, to the action of an elastic organ for separating the discs and, secondly, to the antagonistic action of a lever pivoting about a fixed point positioned on the yoke and bearing firstly on the distributor ring and secondly on a ramp rigidly attached to the bottom of the housing, by means of a roller running on the said ramp, the shape of the latter being such that spacing of the median plane of the frame on either side of the plane of the apparent vertical causes the rotation of the lever and the progressive engagement of the pivot locking clutch.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-12-24	1977-06-25	1977-12-25	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-12-24	1981-06-25	1981-12-25	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-12-24	1985-06-25	1985-12-25	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Three wheeled vehicles having static and dynamic equilibrium

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