Pedal actuated drive mechanism

Claim 2

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings; and control means actuable by an operator to simultaneously shift the point of connection of said mechanism to both of said structures toward or away from the axes of said structures.

Claim 3

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternatively in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and corresondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings; and control means actuable by an operator to simultaneously shift the point of connection of said mechanism to both of said structures toward or away from the axes of said structures; said control means including a control part mounted to turn about an axis, and two elongated flexible elements longitudinally actuable simultaneously by said control part to shift said points of connection along said structures simultaneously.

Claim 4

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternatively in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and corresondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings; and control means actuable by an operator to simultaneously shift the point of connection of said mechanism to both of said structures toward or away from the axes of said structures; said control means including a control part mounted to turn about an axis, and two elongated flexible elements longitudinally actuable simultaneously by said control part to shift said points of connection along said structures simultaneously.

Claim 5

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions; and a mechanism driven by swinging movement of said structure; said swinging structure including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis, and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from said axis to vary the effective lever arm of the pedal and thereby alter the transmission ratio of the drive assembly; said foot actuated structure including an elongated arm to which said pedal is mounted slidably for movement longitudinally of the arm and toward and away from said axis, there being an elongated flexible element extending along said arm and operable by endless movement to shift said pedal longitudinally of the arm and toward and away from said axis, and a manually actuable control element mounted to turn about an axis and operable by such turning movement to move said flexible element longitudinally.

Claim 6

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions; and a mechanism driven by swinging movement of said structure; said swinging structure including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis, and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from said axis to vary the effective lever arm of the pedal and thereby alter the transmission ratio of the drive assembly; said foot actuated structure including an elongated arm to which said pedal is mounted slidably for movement longitudinally of the arm and toward and away from said axis, there being an elongated flexible element extending along said arm and operable by endless movement to shift said pedal longitudinally of the arm and toward and away from said axis, and a manually actuable control element mounted to turn about an axis and operable by such turning movement to move said flexible element longitudinally.

Claim 7

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions; a mechanism driven by swinging movement of said structure; said swinging structure including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis, and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from said axis to vary the effective lever arm of the pedal and thereby alter the transmission ratio of the drive assembly; a second foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis oppositely from said first structure and coacting with said first structure in driving said mechanism and having a second pedal movable toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings; two elongated flexible elements associated with said two swinging structures respectivly and operable to shift said two pedals respectively toward and away from their axes, and a common control unit actuable by an operator to simultaneously advance said flexible elements in unison and thereby actuate said pedals toward and away from their respective axes in correspondence with one another.

Claim 8

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions; a mechanism driven by swinging movement of said structure; said swinging structure including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis, and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from said axis to vary the effective lever arm of the pedal and thereby alter the transmission ratio of the drive assembly; a second foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis oppositely from said first structure and coacting with said first structure in driving said mechanism and having a second pedal movable toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings; two elongated flexible elements associated with said two swinging structures respectivly and operable to shift said two pedals respectively toward and away from their axes, and a common control unit actuable by an operator to simultaneously advance said flexible elements in unison and thereby actuate said pedals toward and away from their respective axes in correspondence with one another.

Claim 9

A drive assembly comprising: two foot actuated structures each mounted to swing about an axis and alternately in opposite directions but swinging reversely with respect to one another, and including two pedals respectively to be actuated by the two feet of a user; a rotary member to be driven by said structures; elongated flexible means connected at opposite ends to said structures and acting to drive said rotary member rotatably in response to osicllatory swinging movement of said structures; two connecting units attaching said opposite ends of said elongated flexible means to said structures respectively and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from the axis about which said structures swing; a common control element for said two connecting units actuable by a user; and means for shifting said two connecting units and thereby said points of connection of said opposite ends of said elongated flexible means to said structures toward and away from the axes about which said structures swing in unison and in response to operation of said common control element.

Claim 10

A drive assembly comprising: two foot actuated structures each mounted to swing about an axis and alternately in opposite directions but swinging reversely with respect to one another, and including two pedals respectively to be actuated by the two feet of a user; a rotary member to be driven by said structures; elongated flexible means connected at opposite ends to said structures and acting to drive said rotary member rotatably in response to osicllatory swinging movement of said structures; two connecting units attaching said opposite ends of said elongated flexible means to said structures respectively and mounted for shifting movement toward and away from the axis about which said structures swing; a common control element for said two connecting units actuable by a user; and means for shifting said two connecting units and thereby said points of connection of said opposite ends of said elongated flexible means to said structures toward and away from the axes about which said structures swing in unison and in response to operation of said common control element.

Claim 11

A drive assembly as recited in claim 5, including means for shifting said pedals in unison toward and away from said axes of their respective foot actuated structures.

Claim 12

A drive assembly as recited in claim 5, in which said means for shifting and connecting units include two elongated flexible elements extending along said structures respectively and actuable in unison by said common control element, said pedals being shiftable toward and away from the axes of said swinging structures, and there being two additional elongated flexible elements actuable by said control element to move said pedals toward their swinging axes when said connecting units are moved away from the axes, and vice versa.

Claim 13

A drive assembly comprising: two pedals mounted for actuation in a prdetermined first direction by the two feet respectively of a user, and returnable in an opposite second direction; rotary means to be driven by said pedals; two one-way clutches each having a rotary input element and each adapted to drive said rotary means from said input element in a predetermined driving direction but not in the opposite rotary direction; a first length of flexible material actuable longitudinally by a first of said pedals to turn one of said clutch input elements in said predetermined driving direction in response to foot actated movement of said first pedal in said first direction; a second length of flexible material actuable by the second pedal to turn the second of said clutch input elements in said predetermined driving direction in response to foot actuated movement of said second pedal in said first direction; and a connection for transmitting force between said two lengths of flexible material in a relation to retract each of said pedals in said second direction by force transmitted through said flexible material in response to foot actuated movement of the other pedal in said first direction.

Claim 14

A drive assembly comprising: two pedals mounted for actuation in a prdetermined first direction by the two feet respectively of a user, and returnable in an opposite second direction; rotary means to be driven by said pedals; two one-way clutches each having a rotary input element and each adapted to drive said rotary means from said input element in a predetermined driving direction but not in the opposite rotary direction; a first length of flexible material actuable longitudinally by a first of said pedals to turn one of said clutch input elements in said predetermined driving direction in response to foot actated movement of said first pedal in said first direction; a second length of flexible material actuable by the second pedal to turn the second of said clutch input elements in said predetermined driving direction in response to foot actuated movement of said second pedal in said first direction; and a connection for transmitting force between said two lengths of flexible material in a relation to retract each of said pedals in said second direction by force transmitted through said flexible material in response to foot actuated movement of the other pedal in said first direction.

Claim 15

A drive assembly as recited in claim 8, in which said connection is an additional length of flexible material extending between said two input elements of the clutches and interconnecting them for movement reversely with respect to one another.

Claim 16

A drive assembly as recited in claim 8, in which said rotary means include a differential having two power output shafts projecting in opposite directions and driven by said two clutches respectively, and two ground engaging vehicle propulsion wheels driven by said shafts respectively, said connection including an additional length of flexible material extending from one of said clutch input elements to the other and interconnecting them for movement reversely with respect to one another.

Claim 17

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly, and; an elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said connecting means, and thereby said point of connection of said mechanism to said structure, toward or away from said axis; said mechanism including a second elongated flexible element movable longitudinally by said oscillatory swinging movement of said structure and driving said member, and adjustably connected to said foot actuated structure by said connecting means.

Claim 18

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly, and; an elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said connecting means, and thereby said point of connection of said mechanism to said structure, toward or away from said axis; said mechanism including a second elongated flexible element movable longitudinally by said oscillatory swinging movement of said structure and driving said member, and adjustably connected to said foot actuated structure by said connecting means.

Claim 19

A drive assembly as recited in claim 11, in which said foot actuated structure includes an arm mounted to swing about said axis, said connecting means including a unit to which said second flexible element is operatively connected, and means mounting said unit to said arm for adjusting movement relative thereto and toward and away from said axis by said first elongated flexible element.

Claim 20

A drive assembly as recited in claim 11, in which said structure includes an arm carrying said pedal and mounted to swing about said axis, said connecting means including a part to which said second elongated flexible element is connected and slidably mounted to said arm for movement therealong toward and away from said axis, said first mentioned elongated flexible element extending along said arm and being guided for longitudinal movement and connected to said part to actuate it slidably along the arm.

Claim 21

A drive assembly as recited in claim 13, including a control element mounted to swing about an axis and operable by such swinging movement to advance said first mentioned elongated flexible element and thereby move said part longitudinally of said arm.

Claim 22

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly; an elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said connecting means, and thereby said point of connection of said mechanism to said structure, toward or away from said axis; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which second structure swings; and an additional elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said second connecting means, and thereby its point of connection to said second structure, toward and away from the axis of the second structure.

Claim 23

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ratio of said drive assembly; an elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said connecting means, and thereby said point of connection of said mechanism to said structure, toward or away from said axis; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which second structure swings; and an additional elongated flexible element movable longitudinally and acting by such movement to shift said second connecting means, and thereby its point of connection to said second structure, toward and away from the axis of the second structure.

Claim 24

A drive assembly as recited in claim 15, including common control means actuable by an operator to simultaneously shift both of said elongated flexible elements longitudinally and thereby shift the point of connection of said mechanism to both of said structures toward or away from the axes of said structures.

Claim 25

A drive assembly as recited in claim 16, in which said control means include a manually operated common control part mounted to turn about an axis and operable to simultaneously and in unison move said two elongated flexible elements longitudinally to shift said points of connection along said structures simultaneously.

Claim 26

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ration of said drive assembly; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; and second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings, said mechanism including two lengths of elongated flexible material connected adjustably to said two foot actuated structures respectively by said two connecting means and movable longitudinally in accordance with the swinging movement of said structures.

Claim 27

A drive assembly comprising: a foot actuated structure mounted to swing about an axis alternately in opposite directions, and including a pedal against which force is exerted by a user's foot to swing the structure about said axis; a movable member to be driven by said structure; mechanism for driving said member in response to oscillation of said foot actuated structure in said opposite directions about said axis; means connecting said mechanism operatively to said structure for actuation thereby at a location offset from said axis, and mounted for shifting movement in a relation moving the operative connection between said structure and said mechanism toward and away from said axis to thereby vary the effective length of lever arm of said structure and correspondingly alter the transmission ration of said drive assembly; a second of said foot actuated structures swinging oppositely from said first structure; and second connecting means connecting said mechanism to said second structure for actuation thereby and in a relation enabling shifting movement of the effective point of operative connection of said mechanism to said second structure toward and away from the axis about which said second structure swings, said mechanism including two lengths of elongated flexible material connected adjustably to said two foot actuated structures respectively by said two connecting means and movable longitudinally in accordance with the swinging movement of said structures.