Powered personal mobility vehicle with rotating wheels

1. A personal mobility vehicle, comprising:

a frame;

at least one front wheel that is steerable about an inclined steering axis;

at least two rear wheels supported by the frame, each of the at least two rear wheels being a swivel caster wheel configured to rotate about a swivel axis;

a front fork rotatably supported by the frame, the front fork rotatably supporting the at least one front wheel;

a handlebar coupled to the front fork and configured to provide steering of the at least one front wheel;

a seat supported by the frame and configured to support a user;

a battery supported by the frame, the battery being operably coupled to a controller; and

an electric motor operably coupled to the battery and configured to receive electric power from the battery, the electric motor being operably coupled to the at least one front wheel to provide rotational force to the at least one front wheel;

wherein the controller is accessible to a user and configured to allow a user to control the transfer of rotational force to the at least one front wheel;

wherein the at least one front wheel includes a sprocket and the electric motor transfers power to the front wheel through an endless drive loop.

2. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the seat is mounted to the frame and positioned lower than the handlebar and in front of the battery.

3. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the battery is supported by the frame at a location behind the seat and at least a portion of the battery extends behind the at least two rear wheels.

4. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two rear wheels is configured to freely rotate 360 degrees about its swivel axis.

5. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises an acceleration pedal or a hand throttle.

6. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the front fork comprises a pair of vertical supports and the electric motor is positioned between the pair of vertical supports.

7. A personal mobility vehicle comprising:

a frame having a front portion and a rear portion;

a steering portion supported by the front portion of the frame, the steering portion comprising a fork configured to rotatably support a front wheel, wherein the fork comprises two vertical supports and a motor is supported by the fork between the two vertical supports, each vertical support including an upper end, the steering portion including a handlebar defined by the upper ends of the two vertical supports; the front wheel being operably coupled to the steering portion, the front wheel being rotatable relative to the frame;

at least two rear wheels supported by the rear portion of the frame,

a seat supported by the frame and configured to at least partially support a user;

a brake mechanism configured to stop or slow the motion of the vehicle by engaging the front wheel, the brake mechanism comprising a brake actuator that is accessible to a user;

a foot support supported by the frame and fixed relative to the frame, the foot support being accessible to a foot of a user;

a power source supported by the frame and configured to provide rotational power to the front wheel to move the vehicle on a riding surface;

wherein each of the at least two rear wheels is a swivel caster wheel configured to rotate relative to the frame; each of the at least two rear wheels having a swivel axis and each being configured to rotate about its swivel axis.

8. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the seat is mounted to the frame and positioned in front of the power source.

9. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the motor is operably coupled to the front wheel and configured to transfer rotational power to the front wheel, the motor being configured to receive power from the power source.

10. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 9 , further comprising a controller configured to control the transfer of rotational power to the front wheel.

11. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the brake mechanism is configured to stop or decrease the power transferred to the front wheel when the brake actuator is actuated by a user.

12. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the motor and brake mechanism are supported by the steering portion, and wherein the steering portion, front wheel, braking mechanism and motor are all rotatable about a steering axis.

13. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the fork comprises two horizontal support members and the motor is supported by one of the horizontal support members between the two vertical supports.

14. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the swivel axis of the at least two rear wheels is inclined relative to the riding surface.

15. The personal mobility vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the power source is supported by the rear portion of the frame at a location behind the at least two rear wheels and behind the seat.

16. A personal mobility vehicle, comprising:

a frame;

at least one front wheel that is steerable about an inclined steering axis;

at least two rear wheels supported by the frame, each of the at least two rear wheels being a swivel caster wheel configured to rotate about a swivel axis;

a front fork rotatably supported by the frame, the front fork rotatably supporting the at least one front wheel;

a handlebar coupled to the front fork and configured to provide steering of the at least one front wheel;

a seat supported by the frame and configured to support a user;

a battery supported by the frame, the battery being operably coupled to a controller; and

an electric motor operably coupled to the battery and configured to receive electric power from the battery, the electric motor being operably coupled to the at least one front wheel to provide rotational force to the at least one front wheel;

wherein the controller is accessible to a user and configured to allow a user to control the transfer of rotational force to the at least one front wheel;

wherein each of the at least two rear wheels includes a biasing mechanism configured to limit the degree of rotation of each rear wheel, and to bias each rear wheel toward a neutral steering position.

17. A personal mobility vehicle, comprising:

a frame;

at least one front wheel that is steerable about an inclined steering axis;

at least two rear wheels supported by the frame, each of the at least two rear wheels being a swivel caster wheel configured to rotate about a swivel axis;

a front fork rotatably supported by the frame, the front fork rotatably supporting the at least one front wheel;

a handlebar coupled to the front fork and configured to provide steering of the at least one front wheel;

a seat supported by the frame and configured to support a user;

a battery supported by the frame, the battery being operably coupled to a controller; and

an electric motor operably coupled to the battery and configured to receive electric power from the battery, the electric motor being operably coupled to the at least one front wheel to provide rotational force to the at least one front wheel;

a braking mechanism configured to apply braking force to at least one wheel of the personal mobility vehicle while simultaneously reducing power from the motor to the at least one front wheel;

wherein the controller is accessible to a user and configured to allow a user to control the transfer of rotational force to the at least one front wheel.