Ice buggy

Abstract

A small, inexpensive, lightweight vehicle in the nature of a wheeled buggy is provided for movement over frozen bodies of water such as ponds and lakes, with the vehicle being powered by a gasoline engine which is alternatively used to power an ice auger.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U. S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 780,254, filed on Mar. 8, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to vehicles for movement over frozen bodies of water and to augers for use by ice fishermen for boring holes through the ice.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In the past, holes have been formed in the ice for ice fishing by the use of ice chisels or hand augers, a task which was tiring and tedious, especially with ice sometimes as thick as 1 to 2 feet.[0004]More recently, in response to the fast growing popularity of ice fishing as a winter sport, a wide variety of power augers has become available for use by ice fishermen for drilling holes in the ice to set up fishing equipment such as ice tilts and the like.[0005]Snowmobiles are well known for use as a means for motorized transportation over snow and ice.[0006]It is also known to driv...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]It is a primary object of the invention to provide a small, inexpensive, lightweight, wheeled vehicle in the nature of a buggy for movement over frozen bodies of water such as ponds and lakes, with the vehicle being powered by a gasoline engine which is also used to power an ice auger.

[0010]With the invention hereof, the gasoline engine is separated from the ice auger and detachably connected to the drive shaft of the buggy for powering the vehicle, thus providing the ice fisherman with very desirable mobility on large ponds and lakes.

[0011]It is a further object of the invention to provide an ice buggy which is very affordable since it can be sold without a gasoline engine, in view of the fact that most modern ice fishermen already own a power auger.

[0013]The wheels of the ice buggy are preferably of large diameter, such as 20 inch bicycle wheels, in order to provide ample clearance between the buggy frame and the ice.

Problems solved by technology

In the past, holes have been formed in the ice for ice fishing by the use of ice chisels or hand augers, a task which was tiring and tedious, especially with ice sometimes as thick as 1 to 2 feet.

However, vehicles such as tractors and snowmobiles are expensive and are not readily available to the average ice fisherman.

In addition, the means for connecting augers thereto is complicated and requires special tools and equipment.

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