| 摘要 |
A motor driven or pedal powered snow vehicle (10 or 410) designed to emulate the steering and balancing characteristics of motorcycles and bicycles. The snow vehicle (10 or 410) includes a frame (14 or 414), a swing arm (64 or 464), a track carriage (86), an endless loop track (138), a snow compacting ramp (162 or 562), an elongated steering member and a ski (204). The swing arm (64 or 464) pivots upon the frame (14 or 414) and angles downward behind the frame. The track carriage (86) extends forward from a pivot connection with the rear of the swing arm (64 or 464), and pivots vertically under the swing arm (64 or 464) in scissors-fashion. A set of drive wheels (122) mounted at the rear of the track carriage (86) are drivingly coupled to a motor (18) or pedal crank (418), and the track (138) wraps the drive wheels (122) and circulates a fixed path around the track carriage (86). The snow vehicle (10 or 410) is suspended upon the track carriage (86) using a single shock absorber (68 or 468) and load-distributing bell crank (72 or 472). The snow compacting ramp (162 or 562) is attached to the track carriage (86) and compresses the snow ahead of the track (138). The steering member is like the front suspension fork (12 or 412) of a motorcycle or bicycle, and is connected to the frame (14 or 414) so that it rotates about a steering axis. The ski (204) is mounted to the lower portion of the steering member. An optional steering gyroscope (250) is mounted or coupled to the steering member to provide gyroscopic stabilization to aid in balancing and steering the snow vehicle (10 or 410).
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