Hand propelled velocipede, quadricycle

摘要

A vehicle has two steerable front wheels and two rear wheels that are driven by fore and aft motion of a handlebar atop a pivotted column assembly. Rotation of the handlebar steers the front wheels through a closed loop pretensioned push pull wire cable. The steering and propulsion actions are independent of one another. The column assembly translatory motion is converted to rotary motion of a sprocket by a crank mechanism. The sprocket drives a chain and derailer mechanism connected to the rear axle through an overrunning clutch for coasting forward free of the column assembly. An adjustable friction drag interposed between the rear axle and the chain drive provides enough yieldable connection between the column assembly and the rear wheels to overcome problems associated with dead center of the crank mechanism.