Children's ride-on vehicles having mechanical assemblies
View Patent ↗Children's ride-on vehicles are disclosed. In some embodiments, the vehicle may include first and second mechanical members, with the second mechanical member configured to move between a concealing position, in which the second mechanical member conceals a portion of the first mechanical member, and a revealing position, in which the second mechanical member does not conceal the portion of the first mechanical member. In some embodiments, a biasing member urges the second mechanical member toward the concealing position. In some embodiments, a user input device permits a child to lock the first mechanical member in one of a retracted position and an extended position.
1. A children's ride-on vehicle, comprising:
a body including at least one seat sized for a child;
a plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the body;
a mechanical assembly including:
a first mechanical member movably connected to the body and configured to move between a retracted extended position and an extended position;
a second mechanical member visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle, at least partially engaged with the first mechanical member, movably connected to the body, and configured to move between a concealing position and a revealing position, wherein in the concealing position the second mechanical member conceals a portion of the first mechanical member so that the portion of the first mechanical member is not visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle, and wherein in the revealing position the second mechanical member does not conceal the portion of the first mechanical member so that the portion of the first mechanical member is visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle; and
a biasing member configured to urge the second mechanical member toward the concealing position; and
a user input device positioned to receive inputs from a child sitting on the at least one seat, and configured to selectively move the first mechanical member between the retracted position and the extended position;
wherein the first mechanical member is configured to move the second mechanical member from the concealing position to the revealing position when the first mechanical member is moved from the retracted position to the extended position in response to user manipulation of the user input device; and
wherein the biasing member is configured to move the second mechanical member from the revealing position to the concealing position when the first mechanical member is moved from the extended position to the retracted position in response to user manipulation of the user input device.
2. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the biasing member includes a spring.
3. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the second mechanical member is configured to pivot laterally relative to the body between the concealing position and the revealing position.
4. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the second mechanical member is configured to pivot substantially parallel to a ground surface on which the children's ride-on vehicle is positioned between the concealing position and the revealing position.
5. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the first mechanical member is configured to pivot up and down relative to the body between the retracted position and the extended position.
6. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the second mechanical member at least partially overlaps the first mechanical member when the second mechanical member is in the concealing position, and wherein the second mechanical member overlaps less of the first mechanical member when the second mechanical member is in the revealing position.
7. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the user input device is configured to be selectively and at least temporarily locked by a child sitting on the at least one seat so that the first mechanical member is retained in one of the retracted position and the extended position.
8. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the first mechanical member includes a hood; and
wherein the second mechanical member includes a fender.
9. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the second mechanical member includes two fenders.
10. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a battery-powered drive assembly configured to selectively drive rotation of at least one of the plurality of wheels.
11. A children's ride-on vehicle, comprising:
a body including at least one seat sized for a child;
a plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the body;
a mechanical assembly including:
a first mechanical member movably connected to the body and configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position; and
a second mechanical member visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle, movably connected to the body, and configured to move between a concealing position and a revealing position, wherein in the concealing position the second mechanical member conceals a portion of the first mechanical member so that the portion of the first mechanical member is not visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle, and wherein in the revealing position the second mechanical member does not conceal the portion of the first mechanical member so that the portion of the first mechanical member is visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle; and
a user input device positioned to receive inputs from a child sitting on the at least one seat, wherein the user input device is configured to selectively move the first mechanical member between the retracted position and the extended position, and wherein the user input device is configured to be selectively and at least temporarily locked by a child sitting on the at least one seat so that the first mechanical member is retained in one of the retracted position and the extended position;
wherein the first mechanical member is configured to move the second mechanical member from the concealing position to the revealing position when the first mechanical member is moved from the retracted position to the extended position in response to user manipulation of the user input device; and
wherein the second mechanical member is configured to move from the revealing position to the concealing position when the first mechanical member is moved from the extended position to the retracted position in response to user manipulation of the user input device.
12. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the second mechanical member is configured to pivot laterally relative to the body between the concealing position and the revealing position.
13. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the second mechanical member is configured to pivot substantially parallel to a ground surface on which the children's ride-on vehicle is positioned between the concealing position and the revealing position.
14. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the first mechanical member is configured to pivot up and down relative to the body between the retracted position and the extended position.
15. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the second mechanical member at least partially overlaps the first mechanical member when the second mechanical member is in the concealing position, and wherein the second mechanical member overlaps less of the first mechanical member when the second mechanical member is in the revealing position.
16. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11 ,
wherein the first mechanical member includes a hood; and
wherein the second mechanical member includes a fender.
17. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the second mechanical member includes two fenders.
18. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 11 , further comprising a battery-powered drive assembly configured to selectively drive rotation of at least one of the plurality of wheels.
19. A children's ride-on vehicle, comprising:
a body including at least one seat sized for a child;
a plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the body;
means for transforming the children's ride-on vehicle from an untransformed configuration to a transformed configuration, wherein in the transformed configuration, portions of the children's ride-on vehicle are visible from adjacent the front of the vehicle that are not visible when the vehicle is in the untransformed configuration, and wherein the vehicle is biased toward the untransformed configuration; and
a user input device positioned to receive inputs from a child sitting on the at least one seat, and configured to selectively reconfigure the vehicle between the untransformed configuration and the transformed configuration.
20. The children's ride-on vehicle of claim 19 , wherein the user input device is configured to be selectively and at least temporarily locked by a child sitting on the at least one seat so that the vehicle is retained in one of the transformed configuration and the untransformed configuration.