Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Oh, patents! Bugaboo® swivel wheels (2)

Monday, May 26, 2025

Oh, patents! Bugaboo® swivel wheels (2)

Bugaboo® strollers are equipped with patented swivel wheels. Consider, for example, the US utility patent US7497449, titled Child buggy with wheel with suspension, wheel with suspension and swivel wheel with suspension, granted to Stéphane Logger, on March 3rd, 2009.

The patent abstract is included below, together with the patent Figure 1, indexed in the abstract.

The invention relates to a swivel wheel (10) with suspension (14), comprising a wheel frame (11), a wheel element (12) able to turn about a horizontal wheel axle (13), a suspension (14) and an arm (15). At one end the arm (15) is attached to the wheel frame (11) such that it can pivot about a horizontal arm axis (17) and at the other end it supports the wheel axle (13) Some distance away from the arm axis (17). The Suspension (14) engages on the arm (15) at an arm engagement point (18) and on the wheel frame (11) at a frame engagement point (19). The arm engagement point (18) and the frame engagement point (19) define a straight Suspension axis (20) running through these points. The wheel furthermore has an adjustment mechanism (30) that is equipped for setting the distance (D) from the suspension axis (20) to the arm axis (17) by moving the arm engagement point (18) and/or the frame engagement point (19) along an adjustment track (31). [Abstract US7497449]

Interestingly, the scope of the invention is such that the patent recites a swivel wheel where the swivel wheel frame (11) could be part of the stroller frame or part of the wheel. Thus, when the swivel wheels are not built in as part of the stroller frame, the swivel wheels might be replaced when worn. As a result, several different swivel wheel models are available as accessories for the corresponding Bugaboo® stroller models.

Below, images of accessory Bugaboo® rear swivel wheels for the Butterfly®, Dragonfly® and Bee® 6 stroller models.