Tri-fold, vehicle chassis

摘要

The teachings provided herein are generally directed to compact vehicle drive mechanisms that can be used in the design of a foldable, carry-on vehicle. The compact drive mechanisms presented herein, for example, have contributed to the advent of the compact, carry-on bicycles set-forth in the teachings which include drive-and-steering units and drive-and-chassis units.

主权项

1. A tri-fold chassis for a vehicle, comprising:
a folding chassis assembly including a channel having a height ranging from about 4″ to about 14″ and operably attached to (i) a rotatably-lockable front strut supporting a front wheel assembly having a single front wheel, the front strut having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the front strut attaching to the channel at a rotatably-lockable front strut pivot; and (ii) a rotatably-lockable rear strut supporting a rear wheel assembly having a rear wheel, the rear strut having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the rear strut attaching to the channel at a rotatably-lockable rear strut pivot;
wherein, the channel is configured forreceiving the front strut and the rear strut upon a collapsing of the bicycle, the collapsing including rotating the rotatably-lockable front strut into the channel at the rotatably-lockable front strut pivot and rotating the rotatably-lockable rear strut into the channel at the rotatably-lockable rear strut pivot, the channel covering the entire diameter of the front wheel and the entire diameter of the rear wheel upon the collapsing.