IP Library Granted Patent US 11,511,564
Granted Patent B2
US 11,511,564 · App. 16/598,840 · Granted Nov 29, 2022

Electromobility vehicle

Inventors: Yoshihiro Hirata (Tokyo, JP); Tsuyoshi Uchino (Tokyo, JP); Satoshi Nakagawa (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: WHILL, INC
B60B19/003A61G5/04A61G5/1081B60B2360/50B60Y2200/84
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,511,564
App. No.
16/598,840
Granted
Nov 29, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

This electromobility vehicle includes a vehicle frame, a seat unit mounted to the vehicle frame, a suspension mounted to a front-end side of the vehicle frame, a pair of front wheels aligned in a direction parallel to a width dimension of the vehicle and supported by the suspension, at least one rear wheel supported by the vehicle frame, and a drive device that drives either of the front wheels and the rear wheel, where the front wheels are omnidirectional wheels whose outer circumferential surfaces are formed by a plurality of rollers and the pair of front wheels is supported by the suspension such that it is placed in a toe-in arrangement.

Claims (15)

1. An electromobility vehicle on which one person is to be seated to ride, the electromobility vehicle comprising:

a vehicle frame;

a seat mounted on the vehicle frame;

a suspension attached to a front-end side of the vehicle frame;

a pair of front wheels arranged in a vehicle-width direction and supported by the suspension;

at least one rear wheel supported by the vehicle frame; and

a drive device that drives either of the front wheels and the at least one rear wheel, wherein the front wheels are omnidirectional wheels whose outer circumferential surface is formed by a plurality of rollers, the front wheels are supported by the suspension such that the front wheels are placed in a toe-in arrangement, the suspension includes a support member that supports an axle of the front wheel and a biasing member that applies a biasing force to the support member, the biasing force is directed to a vehicle-front side, the suspension is configured such that the axle is moved toward a vehicle-rear side relative to the vehicle frame against the biasing force when force acts upon the front wheel from a vehicle-front side or from a lower side, the suspension further includes a restricting section that abuts the support member and to restrict movement of the support member by the biasing force in a vehicle-front direction at a predetermined position, and the suspension is configured such that the support member is moved to the vehicle-rear side against the biasing force when a rider is seated in the seat in a static state on a flat ground and thereby the support member and the restricting section do not have contact with each other.

2. An electromobility vehicle on which one person is to be seated to ride, the electromobility vehicle comprising:

a vehicle frame;

a seat mounted on the vehicle frame;

a suspension attached to a front-end side of the vehicle frame;

a pair of front wheels arranged in a vehicle-width direction and supported by the suspension;

at least one rear wheel supported by the vehicle frame; and

a drive device that drives either of the pair of front wheels and the at least one rear wheel, wherein the front wheels are omnidirectional wheels whose outer circumferential surface is formed by a plurality of rollers, the front wheels are supported by the suspension such that the front wheels are placed in a toe-in arrangement, and the vehicle frame comprises a front-wheel-side frame to which the suspension is attached, and a rear-wheel-side frame which supports the at least one rear wheel and which is detachably coupled to the front-wheel-side frame, the rear-wheel-side frame comprises a support portion frame which supports the seat at an upper end of the support portion frame and which obliquely extends toward a vehicle-front direction from a lower end side to an upper end side, the electromobility vehicle comprises a rear-wheel-side vehicle body including the rear-wheel-side frame and a rear-wheel-side cover which covers at least part of the rear-wheel-side frame, and a center of gravity of the rear-wheel-side vehicle body is positioned at a vehicle-front side relative to a rotation axis of the at least one rear wheel.

3. The electromobility vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein a seat support portion is formed by the support portion frame and a part of the rear-wheel-side cover, the part covers the support portion frame, and a front surface and a rear surface of the seat support portion obliquely extend toward the vehicle-front side from the lower end side to the upper end side.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 28, 2022
From: WHILL, INC
To: WHILL, INC
Reel/Frame 061579/0788 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 10, 2019
From: HIRATA, YOSHIHIRO; UCHINO, TSUYOSHI; NAKAGAWA, SATOSHI
To: WHILL, INC.
Reel/Frame 050684/0140 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP JP2017-079203 · Apr 12, 2017 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTJP2018015289 · Apr 11, 2018
Related Publication 20200039288A1 · Feb 6, 2020