1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an upright cycle vehicle with long body consisting of at least two front wheels and at least one rear wheel, a plurality of seats in tandem, a push-pull rod steering system, consisting of a steering device and two push-pull rods to control manoeuvrability of the plurality of front wheels with different turning angles between the said front wheels for less tyre friction and smooth turning, together with a solar panel and a motor powered by the solar panel to ease movement and reduce usage of hydrocarbon as source of energy.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A cycle vehicle is a transportation means with at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel and can be either motorized or pedal typed. It can be a bicycle, tricycle or a quadracycle depending on the number of wheels on the cycle vehicle.

There are three layouts for tricycle, which are delta, tadpole and iL3. The most common layout is delta wherein two wheels are at the back while one wheel at the front. Usual application is to use the front wheel for steering purposes and the rear wheel for driving purposes. Nevertheless, the front and rear wheels can be used as steering or driver according to needs.

Another layout is the tadpole, wherein two wheels are at the front while one wheel at the back. Similar to the delta layout, the front and back wheels can be used for steering and driving purposes. The third layout is the iL3, with three in-lined wheels, which can perform driving or steering.

The cycle vehicles can be implemented in two types, which are recumbent and upright. Recumbent cycle vehicles have low centre of gravity and suitable for long distance travel while upright cycle vehicles have similar centre of gravity to conventional cycle vehicles. Cycle vehicles can also be made in tandem seating wherein more than one rider can ride the cycle vehicle with one rider behind another rider. The framework of the cycle vehicle is made such that additional seats and handlebars are placed behind the front rider for the riders to sit and hold on to. The plurality of seats and handlebars are all attached to one framework.

Each rider in tandem has their pedals in order for the rider to move the pedal and transfer movement to the rear wheels of the cycle vehicle. Traditional cycle vehicles with more than one rider in tandem is arranged so that either one of the rider can move their respective pedals to move the chain, which will turn the rear wheel(s).

Traditional tandem cycle vehicles have at least one rear wheel and only one front wheel. A tandem cycle vehicle that has one rear wheel and one front wheel is called tandem bicycle. A tandem cycle vehicle which has one front wheel and two rear wheels are called tandem delta typed tricycle.

Currently, there is no implementation of having a tandem cycle vehicle with two front wheels because of the difficulty in manoeuvring the cycle vehicle. The upright tandem cycle vehicle with two front wheels are called upright tandem tadpole typed tricycle if there are only one rear wheel and called upright tandem quadracycle if there are two rear wheels opposite to each other. The manoeuvrability for upright tandem cycle vehicle is not efficient with the normal type of steering used in typical cycle vehicle is due to the upright position and the long length of the tandem cycle vehicle compared to conventional cycle vehicle with one rider. This is especially true in order to turn the vehicle in a small space relative to the size of the cycle vehicle.

Conventional upright tandem tadpole typed tricycle or quadracycle have extra weight and supporting framework compared to the bicycle and this leads to added drag and higher energy requirement. Furthermore, the added size of the cycle vehicle will need wider space in order to turn the cycle vehicle.

Conventional tandem tadpole typed tricycles or quadracycles are difficult to ride because riders are used to the counter-steering effect of riding a bicycle, which explains leaning the bicycle and body towards the direction of turn for balance. The rider's accustom to the effect will cause slow cornering.

Tadpole layout of tricycles is usually rear wheel drive because of the difficulty in manoeuvring using the front wheels. One method of front wheel drive for tadpole layout is brake-steering, wherein there will be two brakes for each front wheel and controlled independently by the rider. Initiating a turn requires the rider to apply brake only one wheel. Nevertheless, this leads to friction, which will increase wear and tear, increase energy loss and decrease efficiency.

To overcome the manoeuvrability problem, tadpole tricycles also uses a steering system which utilizes the Ackermann steering geometry using rigid bars called tie rods to join the steering pivot points. Both front wheels will be turned such that the angle between the wheels is 90. degrees with the line drawn from the circle centre of the turning radius. In order to do this, both wheels will have different turning angles, to create a smaller and bigger turning circle for inner wheel and outer wheel respectively. Nevertheless, using the tie rods will utilize more material, thus adding to the cost and weight to the tricycle.

To address the above mentioned setbacks in conventional upright tandem tadpole typed tricycles or quadracycles, the present invention provides an upright cycle vehicle with long body consisting of at least two front wheels and at least one rear wheel, a plurality of seats in tandem, a push-pull rod steering system consisting of a steering device together with two push-pull rods to control manoeuvrability of the plurality of front wheels with different turning angles between the said front wheels for less tyre friction and smooth turning, together with a solar panel and a motor powered by the solar panel to ease movement and reduce usage of hydrocarbon as source of energy.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) consists of a steering device (8) with two push- pull rods (9,10) for smoother turning manoeuvrability, especially for a tandem typed tadpole tricycle or quadracycle with extra body length compared to conventional bicycle. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) provides less friction between the tyres and ground, thus providing more safety for the rider. , It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) forces the angle between the centre of the two front wheels and the line to the centre of the turning circle in a tadpole tricycle to be maintained at substantially 90° for smoother manoeuvring.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) increases efficiency, reduces energy loss and increases tyres' (36) wear life.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) permits a much smaller turning radius compared to conventional tandem tadpole tricycles with the same body length.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein the push-pull rod steering system (50) requires less steel material to manufacture compared to conventional tandem tadpole tricycles. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein solar panels (37) are attached to the roof of the tandem cycle vehicle, at least one DC motor and at least one battery are placed near the front or rear wheels (36,60) to transfer solar energy from the solar panel (37) to the battery, which will in turn provide energy to the motor to move the wheels (36,60) so that the energy to move of the said tandem cycle vehicle can be either from the pedal movement of the riders or the motor, which is powered by the battery. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein a framework (31) is attached to the cycle vehicle to create a roof base for the said solar panel (37).

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein one pair of pedals are assigned to each rider and each pair of pedal is functioned to provide movement to the rear wheels.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an upright tandem cycle vehicle wherein more seats (35) can be added at the back of the cycle vehicle in order to accommodate more passengers.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent with an understanding of the following detailed description of the invention or upon employment of the invention in practice.

In a preferred arrangement, the present invention provides,

A tandem cycle vehicle comprising of: at least one handlebar (7); at least one seat (35); a plurality of wheels (36,60); a frame (31); at least one pair of pedal (61,62); characterized in that said handlebar manoeuvres said plurality of front wheels (60) through a steering system (50) comprising of: at least one steering device (8), comprising of at least one rotary plate (14), at least one curve slot (16,17), at least one removable pin (18,19), at least one stainless steel pin (15); at least one push-pull rod (9,10); to create different turning angle between the plurality of front wheels (60) of said cycle vehicle.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides,

A tandem cycle vehicle comprising of: at least one handlebar (7); at least one seat (35); a plurality of wheels (36,60); a frame (31); at least one pair of pedal (61,62); at least one solar panel (37); at least one motor; at least one battery; characterized in that said handlebar (7) manoeuvres said plurality of front wheels (60) through a steering system (50) comprising of: at least one steering device (8), comprising of at least one rotary plate (14), at least one curve slot, at least one removable pin (18,19), at least one stainless steel pin (15); at least one push-pull rod (9,10), comprising an adjustable connecting means; to create different turning angle between the plurality of front wheels (60) of said cycle vehicle.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides,

A tandem cycle vehicle comprising of: at least one handlebar (7); at least one seat (35); a plurality of wheels (36,60); a frame (31); at least one pair of pedal (61,62); characterized in that said handlebar (7) manoeuvres said plurality of front wheels (60) through a steering system (50) comprising of: at least one steering device (8) , comprising of at least one rotary plate (14), at least one curve slot (16,17), at least one removable pin (18,19), at least one stainless steel pin (15); at least one push-pull rod (9,10), comprising an adjustable connecting means (23,24); to create different turning angle between the plurality of front wheels (60) of said cycle vehicle while the solar panel (37) collects solar energy to be transferred to said battery, which provides energy to said motor.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspect of the present invention and their advantages will be discerned after studying the Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. la shows a top view of an upright tandem tadpole quadracycle with the push-pull rod steering system (50), one tandem, two seats at tandem (32) and a long back seat perpendicular to the tandem.

FIG. lb shows a top view of an upright tandem tadpole quadracycle with the push-pull rod steering system (50), one tandem and three seats at tandem (32).

FIG. 2a shows a top view of the front portion of an upright tandem tadpole quadracycle with push-pull rod steering system (50) in turning right position.

FIG. 2b shows a top view of the front portion of an upright tandem tadpole quadracycle with push-pull rod steering system (50) in turning left position. FIG. 3 shows a top view of an upright tandem tadpole quadracycle with the push-pull rod steering system (50), two tandems with two seats each (32).

FIG. 4a shows a cross sectional view of the push-pull rod steering system (50) when the handlebar (7) is in straight position.

FIG. 4b shows the roller bearings (25) in the removable pins (18,

19).

FIG. 4c shows a cross sectional view of the push-pull rod steering system (50) when the handlebar (7) is turned in most left position.

FIG. 4d shows a cross sectional view of the push-pull rod steering system (50) when the handlebar (7) is turned in most right position.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the upright tandem tadpole tricycle with the push-pull rod steering system (50), one tandem and two seats (32).

FIG. 6 shows a top view of an upright tandem quadracycle showing the different turning radius between the two front wheels (60) when turning.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view from the rear of an upright tandem quadracycle with a solar panel (37), a plurality of motors, push-pull rod steering system (8), two seats at tandem (32) and a long back seat (35) in-line with the tandem (32).

FIG. 8 shows a close-up perspective view of the rear portion (48) of an upright tandem quadracycle.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those or ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures and/ or components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which are not drawn to scale. In the descriptions that follow, like numerals represent like elements in all figures. For example, where the numeral (2) is used to refer to a particular element in one figure, the numeral (2) appearing in any other figure refers to the same element.

Description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided as follows along with diagrams that illustrate the principles and application of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to assist in creating a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details.

Referring to FIG. la, there is shown a top view of the quadracycle with two seats at tandem (32) and one long back seat perpendicular to the tandem. The handlebar (7) is placed in line with the three seats and tandem. The push-pull rod steering device (8) is hard-tightened to the handlebar (7) through a stainless steel pin (15). Details of the push-pull steering system (50) will be shown in FIG. 4a. The push-pull rod steering device (8) is connected to the left push-pull rod (9) and right push-pull rod (10) by slotting a removable stainless steel pin (18, 19) to the end of the push-pull rods to the semi-circle rotary slots in the push-pull rod steering device (8). The other end of the push-pull rods (9, 10) is hard-tightened to the left stem (11) using a stem bush (13) and right stem (12) using a stem bush (22), which will connect to the front wheels (60).

Referring to FIG. la, items (2) and (5) refer to the position of the left and right wheel respectively in a straight position, hereafter referred to as centre point. At this position, the push-pull rod is in centre point, hence the length of the rods are the shortest.

Referring to FIG. 2a, when the handlebar (7) is turned to the right, the push-pull rod steering device (8) will push both the right rod (10) and left rod (9) and causing the right wheel to turn right into position (6) and the left wheel to turn right into position (3).

Referring to FIG. 2b, when the handlebar (7) is turned to the left, the push-pull rod steering device (8) will push both the left rod (9) and the right rod (10) and causing the left wheel to turn left into position (1) and the right wheel to turn left into position (4).

While turning left, the degree of turn for left wheel at position (1) will be more than the degree of turn for right wheel at position (4) due to the lengthening of the two pushing rods governed by the rotary plate (14) of the steering device (8) and making the turning radius for the left wheel smaller than the right wheel, which will create less friction while turning. Likewise, when turning right, the degree of turn for right wheel at position (6) due to the lengthening of the two pushing rods governed by the rotary plate (14) of the steering device (8) will be more than the degree of turn for left wheel at position (3) and making the turning radius for the right wheel smaller than the left wheel.

For the movement from left turn to centre point, the push-pull rods' length gradually decreases from the longest to the shortest. Likewise, for the movement from right turn to the centre point, the push-pull rods' length gradually decreases from the longest to the shortest.

Referring to FIG. 3, it shows the top view of the quadracycle with two tandems and two seats at each tandem (32). The handlebar (7) is placed in line with the right or left tandem.

Referring to FIG. 4a, item (8) is the steering device, which consists of a stainless steel rotary plate (14), a stainless steel pin (15) and two curve slots (16) and (17). The steering device (8) is round in shape and the rotary plate (14) is welded at the centre portion of the rotary device (8). The rotary plate (14) consists of two curve slots (16) and (17), which is curving inside with the stainless steel pin (15) welded together with the stem (11, 12) and screw tightened with the handlebar (7) so that the rotary plate (14) will rotate accordingly to the handlebar (7). Attached to the steering device are two rod holders (20) and (21) which are used to hold the left and right push-pull rods (9) and (10). One removable pin (18) is used to hold between one end of the push-pull rod (9) and the left curve slot (16). One removable pin (19) is used to hold between one end of the push-pull rod (10) and the right curve slot (17). The left push-pull rod (9) is welded to the stem of the left wheel (11) using a stem bush (13) while the right push-pull rod (10) is welded to the stem of the right wheel (12) using a bush (22). The diagram shows the steering system (50) when the handlebar (7) is in straight position.

Referring to FIG. 4a, the left curve slot (16) governs the left push-pull rod (9) to pull when the handlebar (7) is not turned and push when the handlebar (7) is turned left or right. The right curve slot (17) governs the right push-pull rod (10) to pull when the handlebar (7) is not turned and push when the handlebar (7) is turned left or right. Turning the handlebar (7) left or right will cause the removable pins (18 and 19) to move to the end of the curve slots (16 and 17). When the removable pins (18 and 19) are at the end of the curve slots (16 and 17), they will push the rods (9 and 10) attached to it. Pushing the rods (9 and 10) will cause the length of the rod to increase.

When the handlebar (7) is in straight position, the removable pins (18 and 19) will be at the centre of the curve slots (16 and 17), causing the rods (9 and 10) attached to the removable pins (18 and 19) to be in the centre position, then the length of the rod will be in the shortest position.

The adjustable connecting means (23,24) can be a bolt and nut pair. The left bolt and nut pair (23) and right bolt and nut pair (24) are used to adjust the length of the push-pull rods (9 and 10) after they are welded to the stem bushes (13 and 22). This is because after the welding of push-pull rods (9 and 10) to the stem bushes (13 and 22), there might be some small inconsistency in terms of length between the left and right push-pull rod. This small irregularity can be compensated using the bolt and nut pairs (23, 24).

Referring to FIG. 4b, the removable pin (18 and 19) consists of roller bearings (25) in order to have a smooth movement of the removable pins (18 and 19) along the curve slots.

Referring to FIG. 4c, removable pins (18 and 19) are moved to the end of the curve slots when the handlebar (7) is turned to the most left position. Referring to FIG. 4d, removable pins (18 and 19) are moved to the end of the curve slots when the handlebar (7) is turned to the most right position.

Referring to FIG. 5, the left and right push-pull rod holders (20 and 21) are attached to the steering device (8). The other end of the push-pull rods (9 and 10) are attached to their respective bushes (13 and 22). These bushes (13 and 22) are attached to the left and right stem (11 and 12), which are attached to the left and right wheels (2 and 5).

When the handlebar (7) is in straight position, the steering device (8) will make the push-pull rods (9 and 10) to be in pull condition, having shorter length. This will result in the left and right stem (11 and 12) to be in straight position as well, which causes the two front wheels to be in straight position.

When the handlebar (7) is in a left turn position, the steering device (8) will cause the left and right push-pull rod (9 and 10) to be in pushing position and causes the length to be longer, then the left push-pull rod (9) will position the left stem (11) to the left through the left bush (13). At the same time, the right push-pull rod (10) will position the right stem (12) to the left through the right bush (22). This will cause the front wheels to turn left, but in different angles. The left wheel will have more turning angle while the right wheel will have less turning angle.

When the handlebar (7) is in a right turn position, the steering device (8) will cause the left and right push-pull rod (9 and 10) to be in pushing position and causes the length to be longer, then the right push-pull rod (10) will position the right stem (12) to the right through the right stem bush (22). At the same time, the left push-pull rod (9) will position the left stem (11) to the right through the left stem bush (13). This will cause the front wheels to turn right, but in different angles. The right wheel will have more turning angle while the left wheel will have less turning angle.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the handlebar (7) is turned left, the steering device (8) will cause the left wheel to turn a smaller turning radius while the right wheel to turn a larger turning radius. When the handlebar (7) is turned right, the steering device (8) will cause the right wheel to turn a smaller turning radius while the left wheel to turn a larger turning radius. This will create less friction between the wheels and the ground and thus require less energy, easier to turn and having a very small turning circle. For example, the upright cycle vehicle will have a smaller turning radius of between 15 to 20 feet for front wheel diameter of 24 inches, rear wheel diameter of 26 inches, cycle vehicle length of 93 inches and width of 38 inches.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a perspective view from the rear of an upright tandem quadracycle with a framework (31), solar panel (37), a plurality of motors (not shown), push-pull rod steering system (50), a plurality of handlebars (7), two seats at tandem (32), a long back seat (35) in-line with the tandem and a plurality of wheels (36,60). The quadracycle has four wheels (36,60), which creates good stability to the cycle vehicle. With the added stability to the cycle vehicle, the cycle vehicle is able to withstand the load of the framework (31), which creates a roof base on top of the cycle vehicle and a solar panel (37), which is attached to the said roof base. Furthermore, the large surface area created by the tandem quadracycle is an added advantage to accommodate a larger solar panel (37). The larger the solar panel (37), the more energy it will be able to generate and provide for the motor. The quadracycle has two rider seats in tandem (32) with a pair of pedals for each other riders. There is also a handlebar (7) in front of each rider. The handlebar (7) for the front rider can be used to manoeuvre the front wheels (60) while the handlebars (7) for the other riders are only used to position the riders' hands while riding the quadracycle. The handlebar (7) for the front rider is used to manoeuvre the front wheels (60) through a steering system (50).

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a close-up perspective view of the rear portion (48) of an upright tandem quadracycle. The pedal sprocket (38) is used to connect the wheels. When moving in straight direction, two rear wheels (36) will move even when there are one or two cyclists. While turning right, right rear wheel will move while left rear wheel will be free. While turning left, left rear wheel will move while right rear wheel will be free. The pedal sprocket (38) is connected to the drive mechanism through a chain. The drive mechanism comprises a plurality of brake plate at the rear wheels, a motor sprocket and a pedal sprocket (38). The brake plates are controlled by the riders at the handlebars (7) to provide force to reduce the speed or to stop the rear wheels (36). The motor sprocket is connected to the motor. When pedals are being used, the motor sprocket will be free. When motor is being used, pedal sprocket will be free. Free wheel sprockets are located at the wheels in order to move free when not needed.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention and their advantages have been disclosed in the above Detailed Description, the invention is not limited thereto but only by the spirit and scope of the appended claim.