Pneumatic pogo stick

Abstract

A pneumatic pogo stick is comprised of an elongate cylindrical housing which forms a cylinder. The housing is formed from a clear polycarbonate plastic. A top cap is attached to one end of the housing to form the top of an air chamber. A plastic piston, slidable within the cylinder, forms the bottom of the air chamber. An elongate shaft is coupled to the bottom of the piston and is moveable therewith, extending from the distal end of said housing as the piston moves within the cylinder. A bottom bracket assembly is attached to the bottom of the housing and a bushing for maintaining the lateral position of the shaft relative to the housing is attached to the bottom bracket assembly. The bushing prevents the shaft from rotating relative to the housing. User foot supports are also attached to the bottom bracket for supporting the feet of the user and handle bars are attached to the top cap for grasping with the hands of a user.

1 . A pneumatic pogo stick, comprising: 
 an elongate cylindrical housing having a proximal end and a distal end forming a cylinder, said elongate cylindrical housing formed from plastic;    a top cap attached proximate the proximal end of the housing;    a piston slidable within the cylinder and forming a substantially air tight chamber between the piston, cylinder and top cap;    an elongate shaft coupled to said piston and moveable therewith extending from said distal end of said housing;    a bottom bracket assembly attached proximate the bottom of the housing;    a guide for maintaining the lateral position of the shaft relative to the housing as the shaft moves with the piston;    at least one user foot support coupled to the bottom bracket assembly; and    at least one hand grip member coupled to said top cap.    
   
   
       2 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said housing is formed from an at least partially transparent plastic material to allow viewing of the piston therein.  
   
   
       3 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said top cap is comprised of an insertion portion and a clamping portion, said insertion portion configured for inserting into the housing and attaching thereto and said clamping portion configured for receiving and clamping a handle member thereto.  
   
   
       4 . The pogo stick of  claim 3 , wherein said insertion portion includes a plurality of radially spaced bores for receiving a plurality of threaded fasteners for attaching the top cap to the housing.  
   
   
       5 . The pogo stick of  claim 3 , wherein said top cap includes at least one port for receiving a valve mechanism therein to allow pre-pressurization of the chamber.  
   
   
       6 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , further including a plate portion attached to said elongate shaft and said piston is attached to said plate portion.  
   
   
       7 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said piston is formed from plastic.  
   
   
       8 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said elongate shaft has a non-circular cross-section, and said guide comprises a bushing having a similarly shaped non-circular bore for receiving the elongate shaft therein and substantially preventing rotation of the elongate shaft relative to the bushing.  
   
   
       9 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said bottom bracket assembly and said at least one foot support are integrally formed.  
   
   
       10 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein said bottom bracket includes a plurality of radially spaced bores for receiving a plurality of threaded fasteners for attaching the bottom bracket proximate to the distal end of the housing.  
   
   
       11 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , further including an air filter positioned between the bottom bracket and the piston.  
   
   
       12 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , further including a resilient pad for absorbing the shock of the piston against the bottom bracket.  
   
   
       13 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein a diameter of said housing is approximately two inches to four inches in diameter.  
   
   
       14 . The pogo stick of  claim 1 , wherein the compression ratio of the volume of air in the chamber before it is compressed divided by the volume of air in the chamber at maximum compression is approximately 2.5:1 to 4.5:1.  
   
   
       15 . A pneumatic pogo stick, comprising: 
 an elongate cylindrical housing having a proximal end and a distal end forming a cylinder, said elongate cylindrical housing formed from an at least partially transparent plastic;    a top cap attached proximate the proximal end of the housing, the top cap having an attachment portion for attaching to the housing;    handle bars attached to the top cap for grasping by a user;    a piston assembly slidable within the cylinder and forming a substantially air tight chamber between the piston, cylinder and top cap;    an elongate shaft having a non-circular cross-section coupled to said piston and moveable therewith extending from said distal end of said housing;    a bottom bracket assembly attached proximate the bottom of the housing;    a bushing attached to the bottom bracket, said bushing defining an aperture of a non-circular shape similar to that of the elongate shaft for maintaining the lateral and rotational position of the shaft relative to the housing as the shaft moves with the piston;    a pair of user foot supports coupled to the bottom bracket assembly; and    a pair of handle bars attached to the top cap for grasping by a user.    
   
   
       16 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein said top cap is comprised of an insertion portion and a clamping portion, said insertion portion configured for inserting into the housing and attaching thereto and said clamping portion configured for receiving and clamping said pair of handle bars.  
   
   
       17 . The pogo stick of  claim 16 , wherein said insertion portion includes a plurality of radially spaced bores for receiving a plurality of threaded fasteners for attaching the top cap to the housing.  
   
   
       18 . The pogo stick of  claim 16 , wherein said top cap includes at least one port for receiving a valve mechanism therein to allow pre-pressurization of the chamber.  
   
   
       19 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , further including a plate portion attached to said elongate shaft, said piston attached to said plate portion.  
   
   
       20 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein said piston is formed from plastic.  
   
   
       21 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein said bottom bracket assembly and said at least one foot support are integrally formed.  
   
   
       22 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein said bottom bracket includes a plurality of radially spaced bores for receiving a plurality of threaded fasteners for attaching the bottom bracket proximate to the distal end of the housing.  
   
   
       23 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , further including an air filter positioned between the bottom bracket and the piston.  
   
   
       24 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , further including a resilient pad for absorbing the shock of the piston against the bottom bracket.  
   
   
       25 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein a diameter of said housing is approximately two to four inches in diameter.  
   
   
       26 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , wherein the compression ratio of the volume of air in the chamber before it is compressed divided by the volume of air in the chamber at maximum compression is approximately 2.5:1 to 4.5:1.  
   
   
       27 . The pogo stick of  claim 15 , further comprising a U-cup seal associated with said piston for forming a seal between said piston and said cylinder.