WO2008152365A2

WO2008152365A2 - Transport apparatus comprising front and rear foot supports that can twist relative to each other

Info

Publication number: WO2008152365A2
Application number: PCT/GB2008/001948
Authority: WO
Inventors: Craig Roy Taylor
Original assignee: HMT HOLDINGS Ltd
Current assignee: HMT HOLDINGS Ltd
Priority date: 2007-06-13
Filing date: 2008-06-09
Publication date: 2008-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-13
Also published as: WO2008152365A3; GB0711360D0

Abstract

A transport apparatus (10) comprises a front supporting member (12) for supporting a foot of a user, and a front roller member (20) rotatably mounted forwards of the front supporting member. The wheeled apparatus also comprises a rear supporting member (14) for supporting the other foot of the user, and a rear roller member (22) rotatably mounted rearwards of the rear supporting member. A resilient member (26) extends between the front and rear supporting members. The resilient member can be twisted to allow the front and rear supporting members to twist relative to one another.

Description

Transport Apparatus

This invention relates to transport apparatus. More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention relates to transport apparatus which can be used on rough terrain. Embodiments of the invention may relate to wheeled apparatus.

Surfing and snowboarding have become popular pastimes. Attempts have been made to manufacture boards that recreate on land the experience of surfing, and of snowboarding during the times of the year when there is no snow. Such attempts have met with varying degrees of success.

According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a transport apparatus comprising a front supporting member for supporting a foot of a user, a front roller member mounted forwards of the front supporting member, a rear supporting member for supporting the other foot of the user, a rear roller member mounted rearwards of the rear supporting member, and a resilient member extending between the front and rear supporting members, wherein the resilient member can be twisted to allow the front and rear supporting members to twist relative to one another.

The transport apparatus may comprise a wheeled apparatus. The front roller member may comprise a front wheel. The rear roller member may comprise a rear wheel.

The front supporting member may comprise a front platform. The rear supporting member may comprise a rear platform. The front roller member may be mounted in front of the front supporting member. The rear roller member may be mounted behind the rear supporting member.

Desirably, the front and rear supporting members can be twisted relative to one another between first and second twisted positions and a non-twisted position between the first and second twisted positions. The first twisted position may be attained by twisting the front and rear supporting members relative to one another in a first direction, and the second twisted position may be attained by twisting the front and rear supporting members relative to each other in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

The resilient member may comprise an axis extending between the front and rear supporting members. The twisting of the resilient member may be about the aforesaid axis.

The resilient member may be elongate and the axis may be a longitudinal axis. The resilient member may comprise a torsion bar extending longitudinally between the front and rear supporting members.

A connecting assembly may be provided to connect with the front and rear supporting members to each other. The connecting assembly may incorporate the resilient member.

The connecting assembly may comprise a housing to house the resilient member. The housing may comprise a tube, which may be cylindrical. The housing may be elongate and may extend between the front and rear supporting members.

The housing may define opposed slots at each opposite end thereof. A respective pin may extend through each opposite end region of the resilient member. The opposite ends of each pin may be received in the respective opposed slots to inhibited twisting movement of the resilient member.

The front roller member may have a diameter which is greater than the height of the front supporting member above the ground. The rear roller member may have a diameter which is greater than the height of the rear supporting member above the ground. The front and rear supporting members may be generally the same height as the axles of the front and rear roller members.

The front and rear supporting members may be substantially coplanar with each other when they are in the non-twisted position.

The transport apparatus may comprise a front support assembly incorporating the front supporting member. The front support assembly may comprise a front frame assembly, which may be formed of a plurality of tubes. The tubes may be welded or braised to one another.

The rear support assembly may comprise a rear support assembly incorporating the rear supporting member. The rear support assembly may comprise a rear frame assembly, which may be formed of a plurality of tubes. The tubes may be welded or braised to one another.

The front roller member may be provided on the front support assembly. A front roller member carrying arrangement may extend from the front frame assembly. The front roller member carrying arrangement may comprise a front castor, or a pair of front forks.

The front castor may comprise a front castor bridge and a pair of front roller member engaging members extending downwardly from the front castor bridge. The roller member engaging members may be substantially planar.

Where the front roller member carrying arrangement comprises a pair of front forks, the front forks may comprise a pair of fork members arranged side-by-side, the fork members having proximal and distal ends. The front forks may comprise a fork crown to connect the fork members to each other at their proximal ends.

The forks may comprise a raked region towards the distal ends of the fork members. The fork members may be raked at the raked region. The distal ends of the fork members may define aligned apertures to receive an axially extending member of the front roller member. The axially extending member may comprise an axle.

The front frame assembly may comprise a front support means for supporting the front roller member carrying arrangement. The front support means may extend upwardly from the front supporting member to the front roller member carrying arrangement.

The front support means may be provided at a forward region of the front support assembly. The front roller member carrying arrangement may extend rearward from said front support means. The front roller member carrying arrangement may extend rearward from the front support means at an angle of between 20° and 30° to the vertical. The angle may be substantially 30° to the vertical.

The rear roller member may be provided on the rear support assembly. The rear roller member carrying arrangement may extend from the rear frame assembly. The rear roller member carrying arrangement may comprise a rear castor or a pair of rear forks.

The rear castor may comprise a rear castor bridge and a pair of rear roller member engaging members extending downwardly from the rear castor bridge. The roller member engaging members may be substantially planar.

Where the rear roller member carrying arrangement comprises a pair of rear forks, the rear forks may comprise a pair of fork members arranged side-by-side. The rear forks may comprise a fork crown to connect the fork members to each other at their upper ends.

The forks may comprise a raked region towards the opposite free end of the fork members. The fork members may be raked at the raked region. The aforesaid free end of the fork members may define aligned apertures to receive an axially extending member of the rear roller member. The axially extending member may comprise an axle.

The rear frame assembly may comprise a rear support means for supporting the rear roller member carrying arrangement. The rear support means may extend upwardly from the rear supporting member to the rear roller member carrying arrangement.

The rear support means may be provided at a rearward region of the rear support assembly. The rear roller member carrying arrangement may extend in a rearward direction from said rear support means.

The rear roller member carrying arrangement may extend rearward from the rear support means at an angle of between 20° and 30° to the vertical. The angle may be substantially 30° to the vertical.

The front roller member may comprise a front hub and a front tyre mounted thereon. The front tyre may be a pneumatic tyre, and may include an inner tube.

The rear roller member may comprise a rear hub and a rear tyre mounted thereon. The rear tyre may be a pneumatic tyre, and may include an inner tube.

The front tyre may have a minimum outer diameter of substantially 100mm. The rear tyre may have a minimum outer diameter of substantially 100mm.

The front supporting member may be arranged at substantially the same height as the front hub of the front roller member. The rear supporting member may be arranged at substantially the same height as the rear hub of the rear roller member. The front roller member carrying arrangement may be pivotally mounted on the front support assembly. The front roller member carrying arrangement may be pivotally movable to allow the front roller member carrying arrangement to turn relative to the front support assembly.

Front centring means may be provided to urge the front roller member to a central position. The front centring means may comprise a front resilient urging member, such as a front spring. The front spring may be a torsion spring.

The rear roller member carrying arrangement may be pivotally mounted on the rear support assembly. The rear roller member carrying arrangement may be pivotally movable allow the rear roller member carrying arrangement to turn relative to the rear support assembly.

Rear centring means may be provided to urge the rear roller member to a central position. The rear centring means may comprise a rear resilient urging member, such as a rear spring. The rear spring may be a torsion spring.

Front and rear securing assemblies may be provided on each of the front and rear supporting members respectively. The front and rear securing assemblies may be in the form of strap assemblies, and may be provided to secure the feet of the user to the respective front and rear supporting members.

Each of the front and rear securing assemblies may comprise first and second strap members arranged to overlap each other. The first and second strap members may be curved to accommodate the shape of the feet of a user.

Each of the first and second strap members may be resilient to urge it towards the other of the first and second strap members.

Each first strap member may comprise a pair of strap elements defining a gap there between to receive in said gap the respective second strap member. The first and second strap members may be slidable relative to each other to accommodate feet of different sizes.

The first and second strap members may be formed of suitable webbing material, such as hemp.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a transport apparatus;

Figure 2 is a view along the lines A-A in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a side view of the transport apparatus shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a front frame assembly for use in the transport apparatus shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 shows a rear frame assembly the use in the transport apparatus shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 shows a resilient member incorporated in a connecting assembly for connecting the front and rear support assemblies to each other;

Figure 7 is a front view of a pair of forks used in the transport apparatus in place of the castors;

Figure 8 is a side view of the pair of forks shown in Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is a side view of a further embodiment of a transport apparatus. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a transport apparatus 10, which is suitable for use on rough terrain. The embodiment of the transport apparatus 10 described herein, particularly those features in the form of frames, is mainly made from a suitable rigid material, for example a metallic material, such as aluminium. Examples of suitable grades of aluminium are aerospace grade (7000 series), or 5800 series. Other suitable materials include carbon fibre, and steel.

The transport apparatus 10 comprises a front supporting member in the form of a front platform 12 and a rear supporting member in the form of a rear platform 14 incorporated respectively in front and rear support assemblies 16, 18. The structure of the front and rear support assemblies 16, 18 is described below.

A front roller member in the form of a front wheel 20 is rotatably mounted to the front support assembly 16 by a front roller member carrying arrangement, in the form of a front castor 21. A rear roller member in the form of a rear wheel 22 is rotatably mounted to the rear support assembly 18 by a rear roller member carrying arrangement, in the form of a rear castor 23.

The front and rear wheels 20, 22 are pneumatic, comprising respective front and rear hubs 2OA, 22A, front and rear tyres 2OB, 22B, and front and rear inner tubes 2OC, 22C within the front and rear tyres 2OB, 22B respectively.

The front and rear tyres have a minimum outer diameter of substantially 100mm each.

As can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, the diameters of the front and rear wheels 20, 22 are greater than the height of the front and rear platforms 12, 14 above the ground G. As a result, the front wheel 20 is arranged forward of the front platform 12, and the rear wheel 22 is arranged rearward of the rear platform 14. A connecting assembly 24 connects the front and rear platform assemblies 16, 18 to each other. The connecting assembly 24 incorporates a resilient member in the form of a torsion bar 26.

The torsion bar 26 has a main longitudinal axis, and can be twisted about its axis to allow twisting of the front and rear platforms 12, 14 relative to each other.

Referring specifically to Figure 2, it can be seen that the diameters of the front and rear wheels 20, 22 is also greater than the height of the torsion bar 26 above the ground G.

The front roller member carrying arrangement 21 comprises a front column 27, held within a front roller member carrying hub 28 by bearings 32. The front roller member carrying arrangement 21 further includes a generally planar front connecting portion, in the form of a front castor bridge 33.

Two generally planar front roller member carrying elements 34 are mounted on the front castor bridge 33 and extend downwardly therefrom to receive the front wheel 20 therebetween.

Similarly, the rear roller member carrying arrangement 23 comprises a rear column 36, which is held within a rear roller member carrying hub 38 by bearings 42. A generally planar rear connecting portion, in the form of a rear castor bridge 43 connects the rear column 36 to two generally planar rear roller member carrying elements 44, which extend downwardly from the rear castor bridge 43.

A front torsion spring 46 is connected between the front roller member carrying hub 28 and the front roller member carrying arrangement 21 to urge the front wheel 20 to a central position shown in Figures 1 to 3. A rear torsion spring 48 is connected between the rear roller member carrying hub 38 and the front roller member carrying arrangement 23. The rear torsion spring 48 urges the rear wheel 22 to its central position, as shown Figures 1 to 3.

Referring to Figure 4, there is shown the front support assembly 16 in more detail. The front support assembly 16 comprises a front frame assembly 50 formed of a plurality of tubes. In particular, the front frame assembly 50 comprises a pair of opposed the side tubes 52A and a pair of connecting tubes 52B extend from the side tubes 52A to a front connecting hub 54, the purpose of which is explained below.

A cross tube 56 extends between the opposed side tubes 52A to impart rigidity to the front frame assembly 50.

The front platform 12 extends across the side tubes 52A, the connecting tubes 52B and the cross tube 56.

The front platform 12 is attached thereto by suitable attaching means, such as welding. It will, however, be appreciated by the skilled person that other suitable methods of attaching the front platform 12 to the tubes could be employed.

A front support means 58 extends upwardly from the side tubes 52A. The front support means 58 comprises a pair of upwardly extending curved front reach tubes 60. As can be seen from Figure 4, each of the front reach tubes 60 extends upwardly from one end of a respective one of the side tubes 52A, and the connecting tubes 52B extend from the opposite ends of the side tubes 52A.

The front reach tubes 60 extend upwardly, and curve forwardly and inwardly towards each other. The front reach tubes 60 are attached to the front roller member carrying hub 28. In Figure 5, the rear support assembly 18 is shown. The rear support assembly 18 comprises a rear frame assembly 62 formed of a plurality of tubes, namely, a pair of opposed the side tubes 64A and a pair of connecting tubes 64B.

The connecting tubes 64B extend from the side tubes 64A to a rear connecting hub 66, the purpose of which is explained below.

The rear support assembly 18 also includes a cross tube 68, which extends between the opposed side tubes 64A. The purpose of the cross tube 68 is to impart rigidity to the rear frame assembly 62.

When the rear platform 14 is mounted on the rear frame assembly 18, it extends across the side tubes 64A, the connecting tubes 64B and the cross tube 68.

The rear platform 14 is attached to the aforesaid tubes by suitable attaching means, such as welding. It will, however, be appreciated by the skilled person that other suitable methods of attaching the rear platform 14 to the tubes could be employed.

A rear support means 70 is provided to support the rear wheel 22. The rear support means 70 extends upwardly from the side tubes 64A, and comprises a pair of upwardly extending curved rear reach tubes 72.

As can be seen from Figure 5, each of the rear reach tubes 72 extends upwardly from one end of a respective one of the side tubes 64A, and the connecting tubes 64B extend from the opposite ends of the side tubes 64A.

The rear reach tubes 60 extend upwardly, and curve rearwards and inwardly towards each other to meet at the rear roller member carrying hub 38, to which the rear reach tubes 60 are attached.

The front and rear support assemblies 16, 18 may be formed of aluminium, such as air force grade aluminium. Figure 6 shows the connecting assembly 24 which extends between the front and rear connecting hubs 54, 66. A front torsion bar end member 74 is received within the front connecting hub 54, and a rear torsion bar end member 76 is received within the rear connecting hub 66.

The connecting assembly 24 comprises the torsion bar 26 housed within a cylindrical tubular housing 78. Each of the front and rear torsion bar end members 74, 76 comprises a receiving portion 80 defining a rectangular slot 82, which can receive therein a respective end region of the torsion bar 26.

Each of the front and rear torsion bar end members 74, 76 also includes a fastening formation 84 which can be received in a respective one of front and rear keying members 86, 88. The front and rear keying members 86, 88 are fixedly mounted within the front and rear connecting hubs 54, 66 respectively, as shown in Figure 2.

The fastening formations 84 are generally rectangular in profile and are configured to be received in a generally rectangular recess 90 in each of the front and rear keying members 86, 88, also shown in Figure 2.

The front and rear connecting hubs 54, 56 define apertures 92, 94 therein to receive a bolt 96, which can be screwed into a threaded aperture 98 in each of the fastening formations 84. This secures the front and rear keying members 86, 88 to the respective connecting hubs 54, 56, thereby connecting the front and rear support assemblies 16, 18 to each other.

The cylindrical tubular housing 78 defines a pair of opposed slots 100, 102 at each opposite end region thereof.

Each opposite end region of the torsion bar 26 defines an aperture 104. A pin 106 is provided at each end of the cylindrical tubular housing 78 and a respective one of the pins 106 extends through each of the slots 100, 102 and the aperture 104. The torsion bar 26 can be twisted about its longitudinal axis X, as shown by the double headed arrow Y. Thus, with the front and rear platform assemblies 16, 18 connected to the torsion bar 26 via the front and rear torsion bar end members 74, 76, the front and rear platform assemblies 74, 76 can be twisted relative to each other.

The pins 106 are received in the opposed slots 100, 102, such that the end regions of the pins 106 extend into the slots 100, 104. As a result, when the torsion bar 26 is twisted by movement of the front and/or rear platform assemblies 16, 18, the pins 106 engage the ends of the slots 100, 102, thereby preventing further twisting of the torsion bar 26.

The torsion bar 26 is formed of an inherently resilient material, such as a suitable steel material, and when the torsion bar 26 is twisted by a turning force applied thereto, the torsion of 26 will return to its original configuration on release of a turning force.

The torsion bar 26 has a planar elongate relatively broad face 108, which is arranged horizontally between the front and rear platform assemblies 16, 18. The torsion bar 26 allows the twisting motion as indicated by the arrow Y, and of the cylindrical tubular housing 78 prevents bending of the torsion bar 26 by bending forces applied to the front and rear platform assemblies 16, 18.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, it can be seen that the platform assemblies 16, 18 are provided with front and rear strap arrangements 110, 112, to secure a user's feet to the transport apparatus 10. Each of the strap arrangements 110, 112 comprises a first strap member 114 which co-operates with a second strap member 116.

The first strap member 114 comprises a pair of curved strap elements 114A, 114B (see Figure 3). The second strap member 116 is a single strap member and is received between the pair of curved strap elements 114A and 114B. The second strap member 116 is also curved.

The curvature of the first and second strap members 114, 116 means that the front and rear strap arrangements 110, 112 provide an arch configuration to receive the foot of the user of the transport apparatus 10.

The first and second strap members 114, 116 are formed of a resilient material, which urges the strap members 114, 116 to the position shown in Figure 6. The strap members 114, 116 are slidable relative to each other to accommodate different sizes of feet.

The user's feet are slid under the first and second strap arrangements 110, 112 and push the strap members 114, 116 outwardly. The resilient urging of the material of the strap members 114, 116 inwardly tightens the strap members 114, 116 against the user's feet to hold the user on the transport apparatus 10.

The embodiments of the invention described herein have the advantage that, because the transport apparatus 10 has only two wheels, a considerable level of balance is required. As a result, the ride provided by the transport apparatus 10 is similar to that experienced with a snowboard or a surfboard. In view of this, it is believed that the embodiments of the invention described herein will be of interest to snowboarders, surfers, kite boarders, mountain boarders and skateboarders.

If desired, the transport apparatus 10 may comprise a handle 142, which in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 3 is mounted on the front support assembly 16. Although not shown in Figure 4, the handle 142 is secured to the front reach tubes 60 by, for example, welding or brazing.

There is thus described a new type of the transport apparatus in which the provision of the torsion bar 26, and the features that the platforms 12, 14 are at a height above the ground which is less than the diameter is of the wheels 20, 22 allows the transport apparatus 10 to be used on rough terrain.

In addition, the ability to twist the front and rear platforms 12, 14 relative to each other can enable the user to generate movement of the transport apparatus 10.

It is an advantage of the embodiment described in this specification, that the transport apparatus 10 is much more manoeuvrable than prior art skateboards.

It is a further advantage of the embodiment described above that the front and rear support assemblies 16, 18 are formed of tubes means that the transport apparatus 10 is much more robust than prior art skateboards.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the front castors 21 could be replaced by front forks 121 , as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The rear castors 23 could be replaced by rear forks 123 (see Figure 9), which are generally the same as the front forks 121.

The front forks 121 comprise a pair of fork members 122, 124, each being in the form of a respective fork tube.

A fork crown 126 extends between the two fork members 122, 124 at their upper ends 128 and 130. The fork crown 126 is connected, for example, by welding or brazing, to the front column 27 to enable the front forks 121 to be secured to the front roller member carrying hub 28.

The lower, free ends 132, 134 of the fork members 122, 124 are attached to wheel engaging members 136, 138 defining aligned apertures 140 to receive an axle of the wheel.

Figure 9 shows a side view of another embodiment of the transport apparatus 10, in which the front and rear castors have been replaced by the front and rear forks 121 , 123. The embodiment of the transport apparatus 10 shown in Figure 9 comprises all of the features of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , and these features are designated in Figure 9 with the same reference numerals as in Figure 1. The embodiment shown in Figure 9 differs from the embodiment shown in Figure 1 only in that it possesses the front and rear forks 121 , 123 to hold the front and rear wheels, instead of the casters 21, 23.

Claims

1. A transport apparatus comprising a front supporting member for supporting a foot of a user, a front roller member rotatably mounted forwards of the front supporting member, a rear supporting member for supporting the other foot of the user, a rear roller member rotatably mounted rearwards of the rear supporting member, and a resilient member extending between the front and rear supporting members, wherein the resilient member can be twisted to allow the front and rear supporting members to twist relative to one another.

2. A transport apparatus according to Claim 1 , wherein the front roller member comprises a front wheel, and the rear roller member comprises a rear wheel.

3. A transport apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the front supporting member comprises a front platform, and the rear supporting member comprises a rear platform

4. A transport apparatus according to Claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the resilient member comprises an axis extending between the front and rear supporting members, and the twisting of the resilient member is about the aforesaid axis.

5. A transport apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein the resilient member is elongate and the axis is a longitudinal axis.

6. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein the resilient member comprises a torsion bar extending longitudinally between the front and rear supporting members.

7. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein a connecting assembly is provided to connect with the front and rear supporting members to each other, and the connecting assembly incorporates the resilient member.

8. A transport apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein the connecting assembly comprises a housing to house the resilient member.

9. A transport apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein the housing comprises an elongate tube extending between the front and rear supporting members.

10. A transport apparatus according to Claim 8 or 9, wherein the housing defines opposed slots at each opposite end thereof, and a respective pin extends through each opposite end region of the resilient member, the ends of each pin being received in the respective opposed slots to inhibited twisting movement of the resilient member.

11. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein the front roller member has a diameter which is greater than the height of the front supporting member above the ground, and the rear roller member has a diameter which is greater than the height of the rear supporting member above the ground.

12. A transport apparatus according to Claim 11 , wherein the front and rear roller members have axles, and the front and rear supporting members are generally the same height as the axles of the front and rear roller members.

13. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein the front and rear supporting members can be twisted relative to one another between first and second twisted positions and a non-twisted position between the first and second twisted positions.

14. A transport apparatus according to Claim 13, wherein the first twisted position can be attained by twisting the front and rear supporting members relative to one another in a first direction, and the second twisted position can be attained by twisting the front and rear supporting members relative to each other in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

15. A transport apparatus according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein the front and rear supporting members are substantially coplanar with each other when they are in the non-twisted position.

16. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, comprising a front support assembly incorporating the front supporting member, and a rear support assembly incorporating the rear supporting member.

17. A transport apparatus according to Claim 16, wherein the front support assembly comprises a front frame assembly, which is formed of a plurality of tubes.

18. A transport apparatus according to Claim 16 or 17, wherein the rear support assembly comprises a rear frame assembly, which is formed of a plurality of tubes.

19. A transport apparatus according to Claim 16, 17 or 18, wherein the front roller member is provided on the front support assembly, and a front roller member carrying arrangement extends from the front support assembly.

20. A transport apparatus according to Claim 19, wherein the front roller member carrying arrangement comprises a front castor, or a pair of front forks.

21. A transport apparatus according to Claim 20, wherein the front castor comprises a front castor bridge and a pair of front roller member engaging elements extending downwardly from the front castor bridge, the roller member engaging elements being substantially planar.

22. A transport apparatus according to Claim 20, wherein the front forks comprise a pair of elongate front fork members arranged side-by-side, the front fork members having proximal and distal ends, and the front forks further comprise a front fork crown to connect the front fork members to each other at their distal ends.

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23. A transport apparatus according to Claim 22, wherein the front forks comprise a raked region towards the distal end of the front fork members, the front fork members being raked at the raked region, and the distal ends of the front fork members define aligned apertures or recesses to receive the axle of the front roller member.

24. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 19 to 23, wherein the front roller member carrying arrangement is pivotally mounted on the front support assembly to allow the front roller member carrying arrangement to turn relative to the front support assembly.

25. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 16 to 24, wherein the front support assembly comprises a front support means for supporting the front roller member carrying arrangement, the front support means extending upwardly from the front supporting member to the front roller member carrying arrangement.

26. A transport apparatus according to Claim 25, wherein the front support means is provided at a forward region of the front support assembly, and the front roller member carrying arrangement extends in a rearward direction from said front support means.

27. A transport apparatus according to Claim 26, wherein the front roller member carrying arrangement extends in the rearward direction from the front support means at an angle of between 20° and 30° to the vertical.

28. A transport apparatus according to Claim 26 or 27, wherein the front roller member carrying arrangement extends in the rearward direction from the front support means at an angle of substantially 30° to the vertical.

29. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 16 to 28, wherein the rear roller member is provided on the rear support assembly, and a rear roller member carrying arrangement extends from the rear frame assembly.

30. A transport apparatus according to Claim 29, wherein the rear roller member carrying arrangement comprises a rear castor or a pair of rear forks.

31. A transport apparatus according to Claim 30, wherein the rear castor comprises a rear castor bridge and a pair of rear roller member engaging elements extending downwardly from the rear castor bridge, the roller member engaging elements being substantially planar.

32. A transport apparatus according to Claim 31 , wherein the rear forks comprise a pair of rear fork members arranged side-by-side, the rear fork members having proximal and distal ends, and the rear forks further comprise a rear fork crown to connect the rear fork members to each other at their distal ends.

33. A transport apparatus according to Claim 32, wherein the rear forks comprise a raked region towards the distal end of the rear fork members, the rear fork members being raked at the raked region and the distal end of the rear fork members define aligned apertures or recesses to receive an axle of the rear roller member.

34. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 33, wherein the rear roller member carrying arrangement is pivotally mounted on the rear support assembly to allow the rear roller member carrying arrangement to turn relative to the rear support assembly.

35. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 16 to 34, wherein the rear frame assembly comprises a rear support means for supporting the rear roller member carrying arrangement, the rear support means extending upwardly from the rear supporting member to the rear roller member carrying arrangement.

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36. A transport apparatus according to Claim 35, wherein the rear support means is provided at a rearward region of the rear support assembly, and the rear roller member carrying arrangement extends in a rearward direction from said rear support means.

37. A transport apparatus according to Claim 36, wherein the rear roller member carrying arrangement extends in the rearward direction from the rear support means at an angle of between 20° and 30° to the vertical.

38. A transport apparatus according to Claim 36 or 37, wherein the rear roller member carrying arrangement extends in the rearward direction from the rear support means at an angle of substantially 30° to the vertical.

39. A transport apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 38, wherein the rear roller member carrying arrangement is pivotally mounted on the rear support assembly to allow the rear roller member carrying arrangement to turn relative to the rear support assembly.

40. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein the front roller member comprises a front hub, and the front supporting member is arranged at substantially the same height as the front hub of the front roller member.

41. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, wherein the rear roller member comprises a rear hub, and the rear supporting member is arranged at substantially the same height as the rear hub of the rear roller member.

42. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim including front centring means to urge the front roller member to a central position.

43. A transport apparatus according to Claim 42, wherein the front centring means comprises a front resilient urging member.

44. A transport apparatus according to Claim 43, wherein the front resilient urging means comprises a torsion spring.

45. A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, comprising rear centring means to urge the rear roller member to a central position.

46. A transport apparatus according to Claim 45, wherein the rear centring means comprises a rear resilient urging member.

47. A transport apparatus according to Claim 46, wherein the rear resilient urging member comprises a torsion spring.

48. '^• A transport apparatus according to any preceding Claim, including front and rear securing assemblies on each of the front and rear supporting members respectively to secure the feet of the user to the respective front and rear supporting members.

49. A transport apparatus according to Claim 48, wherein the front and rear securing assemblies are in the form of strap assemblies,

50. A transport apparatus according to Claim 48 or 49, wherein each of the front and rear securing assemblies comprises first and second strap members arranged to overlap each other, the first and second strap members being curved to accommodate the shape of the feet of a user.

51. A transport apparatus according to Claim 50, wherein each of the first and second strap members is resilient to urge it towards the other of the first and second strap members.

52. A transport apparatus according to Claim 50 or 51 , wherein each first strap member comprises a pair of strap elements defining a gap there between to receive in said gap the respective second strap member, the first and second strap members being slidable relative to each other to accommodate feet of different sizes.

53. A transport apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.