FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a recreational vehicle and, more particularly, a recreational vehicle that is generally intended for use by a single person at any one time for enjoyment and exhilaration that is to be derived from achieving various manoeuvres or creating a spectacle for onlookers, or both. The recreational vehicle may, of course, also be used for competitive purposes.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

There are many recreational and other self propelled vehicles available that are typically designed for occupancy by a single person. The well known jet ski is a typical example of a waterborne recreational vehicle. On snow, snowmobiles, sleds, toboggans and the like are often used. Various forms of scooters and motorbikes are available for use on land in either off road or on track conditions.

The common denominator of most of these vehicles is that the operator is typically accommodated in a seated or standing position facing generally squarely forwards in the direction of travel of the vehicle with both hands engaging some form of steering handle bar located forwardly of the centre of the vehicle. Prior US patents 3,989,002; 4,744,325; 3,882,815; 3,150,632; 4,162,088; 4,307,788 and 7,434,644 describe examples of such vehicles.

Another group of vehicles that seek to provide enjoyment and exhilaration is a group wherein a surfboard type of hull is provided with a means of self- propulsion. US patents 4,274,357; 6,192,817 and 6,568,340 are examples of such vehicles. In using such surf boards the operator controls the board through a control link that extends forwards to the front region of the board, the link also serving as a reign for the operator to hold and pull on.

Whilst vehicles that are currently available often do provide a required degree of enjoyment, many of them, such as the well-known jet ski, are extremely costly and therefore not available to a large proportion of the population.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a recreational vehicle that has a different configuration; that can be designed to be made relatively inexpensively, and that can be configured for use on water, snow, or on land, as may be required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a recreational vehicle having an elongate chassis with, in an operative condition, a forward end and a rearward end with a user support zone between the forward and rearward ends and a forward handle for engagement by a user's hand carried at an upper end of a forward generally stiff column associated with the forward end of the chassis, the recreational vehicle being characterised in that a rearward handle for engagement by a user's other hand is carried at an upper end of a rearward generally stiff column associated with the rearward end of the chassis with the two handles being suitable for simultaneous engagement by a user's hands with one arm extending forwards to grip the forward handle and the other arm extending rearwards to grip the rearward handle.

Further features of the invention provide for the arrangement to be such that it is conducive to a user adopting a posture in which the user's body is turned at least somewhat sideways with one foot forwards on the support zone and the other foot rearwards on the support zone; for the support zone to form a floor for supporting a single user in a standing and generally somewhat crouched position with flexed knees; for the vehicle to be a self-propelled vehicle with a throttle control associated with one of the forward handle and rearward handle; for the recreational vehicle to have a steering mechanism operable by manipulation of one of the forward and the rearward handle; for the columns to be adjustable in inclination and also preferably of adjustable length, especially telescopically adjustable; and for any engine or motor for propelling the vehicle to be located in an engine compartment that may, according to design requirements, be located at the forward end, the rearward end, or in between the two ends in which instance a part of the support zone is located forwardly of the engine compartment and a part is located rearwards thereof.

In a first form of the invention in which the recreational vehicle is to be used on water, the elongate chassis is appropriately formed as a ski or hull and is preferably buoyant and unsinkable. In this instance the recreational vehicle is self-propelled, preferably using a power source that generates a water jet that can be used for steering and propelling the vehicle.

In a second form of the invention the recreational vehicle is configured for use on snow in which instance its chassis has a ski arrangement, typically a steering ski arrangement, at one of the forward and rearward end region thereof and a driving track or wheel assembly at the opposite end region. The ski arrangement or the driving track or wheel assembly, or both, could comprise a single ski or driving track or wheel or a double ski or driving track or wheel composed of two laterally spaced skis or driving tracks or wheels.

In a third form of the invention the recreational vehicle is configured for use on land, typically paved or prepared areas, and the chassis is supported on forward and rearward wheel assemblies that may be single or may be composed of two laterally spaced wheels, in each case. In such an instance brakes for the wheels are also provided and the brakes may be operable by means of a hand operated brake lever or foot operated pedal.

It is to be understood that the purpose of the generally stiff columns is to provide forward and rearward handles at a suitable elevation relative to the chassis with a user typically standing generally sideways in a somewhat crouched position with flexed knees. Depending on the form and structure of the recreational vehicle the columns may assume the form of control arms that may swivel about a joint that is typically at or near the level of the chassis in order to achieve a control effect. Such an arrangement is considered to be particularly suitable in the instance of steering the recreational vehicle with the handle and control arm being swivelled in the general direction in which it is designed to steer the recreational vehicle.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood different embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings: -

Figure 1 is a perspective schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention in use, the embodiment being illustrated more particularly in Figures 2 to 4;

Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the first form of the invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation thereof; Figure 4 is a schematic front elevation thereof illustrating one form of steering manipulation;

Figure 5 is a detailed illustration of one form of throttle control used in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 2 to 4;

Figure 6 is a schematic side elevation of a rear engined version of the first form of the invention;

Figure 7 is a schematic plan view of a mid-engined version of the first form of the invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic side elevation thereof;

Figure 9 is a schematic side elevation of an embodiment of the second form of the invention;

Figure 10 is a schematic side elevation of another embodiment of the second form of the invention;

Figure 11 is a schematic front elevation showing one arrangement of ski and driving track or wheels;

Figure 12 is a schematic front elevation showing another arrangement of ski and driving track or wheels;

Figure 13 is a schematic side elevation of one embodiment of the third form of the invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic side elevation of a second embodiment of the third form of the invention; and, Figure 15 is a schematic illustration of a third embodiment of the third form of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In an embodiment of the first form of the invention that is illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, a chassis (1) of a waterborne recreational vehicle according to the invention is formed as an elongate, buoyant and unsinkable hull having a forward end (2) and a rearward end (3) with a user support zone (4) in the form of a floor between the forward and rearward end. In this instance, an engine compartment (5) is provided in the region of the forward end of the vehicle and a steerable water jet arrangement (6) is provided at the rearward end for propelling and steering the vehicle, in use.

A forward handle (7) carried on the upper end of a first column (8) is associated with the forward end for engagement by a user's one hand and a rearward handle (9) carried at the upper end of a second column (10) is associated with the rearward end. The two handles are arranged for simultaneous engagement by a user's two hands with the user standing on the support zone and adopting a posture in which the user's body is turned at least somewhat sideways and with one arm extending forwards to grip the forward handle and the other arm extending rearwards to grip the rearward handle. Typically, a user would be in a somewhat crouched position with flexed knees.

In order to accommodate different shapes and sizes of user, the two columns are preferably adjustable in length, such as by being telescopically adjustable, and are also preferably adjustable in their angular positions so that a comfortable standing position can be adopted by the user whilst holding both handles. In this embodiment of the invention a throttle control is associated with the rearward handle and, as illustrated in Figure 5, the throttle control preferably assumes the form of a trigger control lever (30) that is rotatable in unison with a rotatable handgrip (31) so that the trigger lever can be comfortably operated from various angular positions by rotating the handgrip appropriately.

The forward handle, on the other hand, may be moved laterally about a joint (8a), as shown clearly in Figure 4, in order to effect steering of the recreational vehicle by changing the direction in which the water jet arrangement (6) is directed through the assistance of any suitable transmission mechanism such as a control cable.

As will be clear from the above, the recreational vehicle is made to accommodate a single person in a somewhat crouched standing position with the feet on the support zone and two hands on the two handles and the user standing sideways with one foot forwards and the other rearwards on the support zone.

It is envisaged that an engine having a displacement of about 400 cc should provide the recreational vehicle with exciting performance and manoeuvrability to the extent that it is envisaged that the vehicle could be configured to be driven upstream in rapidly flowing turbulent water.

As a general rule, it is envisaged that the chassis will have a length of between 1.2 and 2.5 meters and a width of from 300 to 600 millimeters. As a general rule, a longer and narrower hull (chassis) would be used for higher speeds whilst a shorter, wider one would be used for enhanced manoeuvrability.

As indicated above, and as illustrated in Figure 6, the engine compartment (11) could be located, in the alternative, at the rearward region of the hull. As a further alternative, and as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the engine compartment (12) could be located approximately in the middle of the length of the hull in which instance the support zone would be in two parts with one part of the support zone being located forwardly of the engine compartment and the other part being located rearwards thereof. The two feet of a user would be located one on each side of the engine compartment as indicated by numerals (13) and (14) in Figure 7 on the forward and rearward parts of the support zone respectively.

Referring now to Figure 9, an embodiment of the second form of the invention that is configured for use on snow has a chassis (15) with a ski arrangement, in this instance a steering ski arrangement (16), at the forward end region thereof and a driving track (17) at the rearward end region. In this instance the driving track and engine compartment (18) are both located at the rearward end of the chassis.

In the alternative, and as illustrated in Figure 10, the engine compartment (19) and a driving wheel (20) could be located at the forward end of the chassis (21) and a steering ski (22) could be located at the rearward end.

In either of the above instances, the ski arrangement and the driving track or wheel assembly, or both, could comprise a single ski and aligned driving track or wheel, as illustrated in Figure 11 , or a double ski or double driving track or wheel consisting of two laterally spaced skis or driving tracks or wheels, as illustrated in Figure 12.

Turning now to Figure 13 of the drawings, an embodiment of the third form of the invention that is configured for use on land, typically paved or prepared surface areas, is illustrated schematically. In this instance, the chassis (24) is supported on a forward wheel (25) and a rearward wheel (26) that may be single or may, in each case, be composed of two laterally spaced wheels along the lines indicated with reference to Figures 11 and 12. In the instance of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 13, the engine compartment (27) is illustrated as being at the rear of the chassis.

In this third form of the invention, the recreational vehicle is provided with brakes that can be either hand operated, typically by means of a brake lever associated with one of the handles or, alternatively, the brakes could be operable by means of a foot-pedal. It is, of course, also within the scope of the invention that the brakes could be biased to an engaged condition and need to be released by constantly holding an operating lever or holding a foot-pedal down. With this arrangement the brakes automatically become applied should a user fall off the vehicle or otherwise lose control of it, for example, thereby avoiding any damage that may be caused from the vehicle continuing to move in an uncontrolled manner.

In the instance of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 14, the engine compartment (28) is illustrated as being at the forward end of the chassis.

Of course, as indicated by numeral (29) in Figure 15, an embodiment of the third form of the invention in which the engine compartment is located between the end regions is also possible.

It will be understood that numerous variations may be made to the embodiment of the invention described above without departing from the scope hereof.