FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to vehicles, and more particularly to rack powered human powered vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Modern bikes use pedals to rotate wheels using a chain and gear system. The chain and gear system includes pedals attached to an axis with at least one gear. There is a larger gear that is connected to the back wheel of the bike. These two gears are connected using a chain. As the pedals are pushed, the gears rotate transferring the rotational motion of the pedals through the chain to the gear attached to the wheel, and this rotates the wheel propelling the bike forward. A gear and chain system uses a relatively small group of muscles and utilizes short strokes.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a rack driven human powered vehicle that may include at least two wheels, at least one rack and pinion system, and at least one user-controlled element. The at least one rack and pinion system may include at least one freewheel sprocket, at least one driving rack, at least one guiderail, and at least one guide block. The at least one freewheel sprocket may have teeth that allow it to be received by the at least one driving rail. The at least one guide block may then be attached to the at least one driving rail. The at least one guide block also may include at least one mounting post. The at least one mounting post may be configured to be received by top and bottom guide tracks of the at least one guiderail so that it can move freely back and forth through the guiderail. The vehicle may be a bike and/or a wheelchair. If the at least one rack and pinion system is being used with a wheelchair as the vehicle, the at least one rack and pinion system may be positioned so that the user of the wheelchair may still control the wheelchair by moving the wheels by hand. The at least one user-controlled element may be a handlebar and/or a pedal. A handlebar may feature handbrakes. Other embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a rack and pinion system that may include two guide blocks.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure provide wheel forks that may be attached to the at least one guiderail. The wheel forks may hold a pin that may allow the at least two wheels to spin. The pin may be attached to the at least one freewheel sprocket that may be configured to allow the at least two wheels to be propelled forward when pushed in one direction. At least one freewheel sprocket may be attached to each of the at least two wheels. The at least one user-controlled element may return the at least one freewheel sprocket to its starting position without propelling the at least two wheels in a wrong direction. The teeth of the at least one freewheel sprocket may run along a track in the at least one driving rack to propel the vehicle. When a user engages the at least one user-controlled element, the at least one guide block may push through the at least one guiderail. The at least one rack and pinion system may transfer the linear motion of the at least one driving rack into rotational motion in the at least one freewheel sprocket. A pin may run through a center of the at least two wheels, and the pin may be attached to the at least one freewheel sprocket. The at least two wheels may include an axel that may be attached to the at least one freewheel sprocket. The at least one driving rack may be connected to the user-controlled element by the at least one guide block, the at least one user-controlled element may be attached to the at least two wheels and the at least one guide block of the at least one rack and pinion system.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions and claims.

