Vehicle drive unit and remotely controllable vehicle therewith
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle drive unit comprising:
- a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels;
an electric motor operatively coupled to the pair of wheels by a gear drive assembly;
a housing enclosing the gear drive and motor to which the pair of wheels is operatively mounted; and
,a pivot structure configured to pivotally mount the drive unit to a land vehicle, the pivot structure comprising eithera pivot shaft receiving member located on the housing between the pair of wheels, the pivot shaft receiving member having an aperture configured to receive a drive shaft therein, the aperture configured to allow pivoting movement of the drive unit about a pivot axis passing through the pivot structure, ora stub shaft located on the housing beneath the gear drive assembly, the stub shaft extending from the drive unit to be received within a corresponding aperture on a body of the vehicle, the stub shaft configured to allow pivoting movement of the drive unit about the pivot axis.
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Abstract
A vehicle drive unit and land vehicle comprising the drive unit are disclosed. Each drive unit comprises a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels. The land vehicle comprises a pair of drive units on opposite sides thereof. The drive units comprise an electric motor for powering the pair of wheels and a gear drive assembly comprising structure for disengaging the electric motor from the ground wheels. The drive units may be remotely controllable, may be water-tight and may be floatable. The vehicle comprising the drive unit may be amphibious.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A vehicle drive unit comprising:
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a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels; an electric motor operatively coupled to the pair of wheels by a gear drive assembly; a housing enclosing the gear drive and motor to which the pair of wheels is operatively mounted; and
,a pivot structure configured to pivotally mount the drive unit to a land vehicle, the pivot structure comprising either a pivot shaft receiving member located on the housing between the pair of wheels, the pivot shaft receiving member having an aperture configured to receive a drive shaft therein, the aperture configured to allow pivoting movement of the drive unit about a pivot axis passing through the pivot structure, or a stub shaft located on the housing beneath the gear drive assembly, the stub shaft extending from the drive unit to be received within a corresponding aperture on a body of the vehicle, the stub shaft configured to allow pivoting movement of the drive unit about the pivot axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A land vehicle comprising:
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a vehicle body; a pair of drive units pivotally attached on opposite sides of the vehicle body, each drive unit comprising a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels, an electric motor operatively coupled to the pair of wheels by a gear drive assembly, a housing enclosing the gear drive and motor to which the pair of wheels is operatively mounted, and a pivot structure configured to pivotally mount the drive unit to the vehicle located on the housing between the pair of wheels, the pivot structure comprising a pivot shaft receiving member having an aperture configured to receive a drive shaft therein, the aperture configured to allow pivoting movement of the drive unit about a pivot axis passing through a center of the pivot structure; an electrical power supply; and
,remote control structure for the vehicle configured to permit differential operation of the drive units. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification