Rotatable in place powered vehicle for steering around abutments
First Claim
1. A powered wheeled vehicle comprising in combination:
- a vehicle body supported on wheels,wheel traction drive means for rotating at least some of the wheels for moving the vehicle in a forward direction, andsteering means for orienting a set of steering wheels designated from said wheels for steering in two mutually exclusive modes of steering operation, namely a first steering mode for rotary in-situ motion of the vehicle body at an in-situ rotation site with the set of steering wheels without vehicle motion away from said in-situ rotation site, and a second steering mode for steering the vehicle by movement of a subset of less than all of the steering wheels in said set with the traction drive means engaged for forward motion, whereby the vehicle can be driven in the second steering mode into engagement with an abutment, whereat the first steering mode is employed for rotating the body in-situ to direct the vehicle for moving away from the abutment thereby for reengaging the second steering mode for moving the vehicle away from abutment.
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Abstract
A rotatable-in-place, powered riding vehicle typically may be used as a lawnmower, garden tractor, wheelchair, or warehouse utility truck. Its simplified construction and operator controls facilitate steering maneuverability. Thus the vehicle can be used in tight working places such as narrow aisles, for turning around at the end of rows, and steering around abutments disposed in the travel path, all in forward drive without requiring a reverse gear transmission. This provides more safety and simpler turning than in vehicles requiring a reverse transmission. Also, the vehicle is simplified, quite inexpensive and requires little maintenance and repair. Thus, the set of wheels pivotably mounted and simple control mechanisms provide optimum pivoting in both forward motion and the rotation-in-place steering functions. Two mutually exclusive modes of operation provide for rotation of the vehicle body about a pivot axis without movement away from the pivot site, and a forward travel mode with conventional steering control active. The only necessary manual vehicle control in addition to a steering wheel and accelerator constitutes a mode selection switch or lever. Thus, when the vehicle reaches an abutment, it is changed from forward to rotary mode in which the steering wheel controls the direction of rotation and the speed of rotation to reorient the vehicle for forward travel mode in a different direction. A preferred hydraulically operated four wheel drive embodiment has traction motors on four wheels. Also the body height above the wheels is adjustable.
38 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A powered wheeled vehicle comprising in combination:
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a vehicle body supported on wheels, wheel traction drive means for rotating at least some of the wheels for moving the vehicle in a forward direction, and steering means for orienting a set of steering wheels designated from said wheels for steering in two mutually exclusive modes of steering operation, namely a first steering mode for rotary in-situ motion of the vehicle body at an in-situ rotation site with the set of steering wheels without vehicle motion away from said in-situ rotation site, and a second steering mode for steering the vehicle by movement of a subset of less than all of the steering wheels in said set with the traction drive means engaged for forward motion, whereby the vehicle can be driven in the second steering mode into engagement with an abutment, whereat the first steering mode is employed for rotating the body in-situ to direct the vehicle for moving away from the abutment thereby for reengaging the second steering mode for moving the vehicle away from abutment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A rotatable in place powered riding vehicle comprising in combination:
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a vehicle body with a set of steering wheels pivotably mounted thereon for steering of the vehicle; driving control means comprising body rotation means, locomotion means and means for steering the path of travel of the vehicle body during locomotion; said locomotion means comprising powered traction means for turning at least one wheel to move the vehicle body along a forward direction of travel; said body rotation means comprising means for pivoting all the wheels of said set of steering wheels for wheel rotation into a tangential orientation about a circle defining a body pivot axis and means for operating the locomotion means to turn the wheels of said set of steering wheels for rotation of the vehicle body with the vehicle body resident in-situ at a pivot axis site; and said steering means further comprising means for pivotably rotating a subset of less than all the wheels in said set of steering wheels to steer the direction of forward travel of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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- 20. A wheeled powered lawn mowing vehicle, comprising in combination, a set of steering wheels a vehicle housing with a circular periphery defining an axis of rotation, steering means for placing all of said set of steering wheels into a mode of operation for rotating said vehicle in-situ concentrically about the axis of said circular periphery, whereby when the circular housing periphery of the vehicle is driven into an abutment, the vehicle can rotate in-situ around said axis to direct the vehicle away from the abutment.
Specification