Drifting kart

摘要

Drifting karts in accordance with embodiments of the invention are described that include a front wheel drive train and rear caster wheels that can be dynamically engaged to induce and control drift during a turn. One embodiment of the invention includes a chassis to which a steering column is mounted, where the steering column includes at least one front steerable wheel configured to be driven by an electric motor, a battery housing mounted to the chassis, where the battery housing contains a controller and at least one battery, wiring configured to provide power from the at least one battery to the electric motor, two caster wheels mounted to the chassis, where each caster wheel is configured to rotate around a rotational axis and swivel around a swivel axis, and a hand lever configured to dynamically engage the caster wheels to induce and control drift during a turn.

主权项

1. A ridable vehicle, comprising:
a chassis including a steering assembly comprising a fork, a steering column coupled to the fork, and at least one front steerable wheel configured to be driven by an electric motor, the fork oriented with a longitudinal axis of the chassis; a battery housing coupled to the chassis, where the battery housing includes a controller and at least one battery; wiring configured to provide power from the at least one battery to the electric motor; and two caster wheels coupled to the chassis, where each caster wheel is configured to rotate around a rotational axis and swivel around a swivel axis; wherein the fork supports the at least one front steerable wheel and also supports the electric motor adjacent the at least one front steerable wheel, and wherein the two caster wheels are coupled to the chassis via a rotatable member that is coupled to a hand lever coupled to the chassis and rotation of the hand lever rotates the caster wheels from a first position where the caster wheels are aligned so that the weight on the caster wheels limits the ability of the caster wheels to swivel about their swivel axes, to a second position where the caster wheels are aligned so that they are free to swivel about their swivel axes.