§
PatentCue
Patent Intelligence
Join Waitlist Sign In
← Back to Patent Explorer
US5154437A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Vehicle steering system with independent steering for each wheel

Assignee: Aisin AW Co Ltd
•
Filing: 1989-06-21
•
Granted: 1992-10-13
•
Expires: 2009-06-21
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract In a steering mechanism wherein the turning angle of a steering wheel is transmitted to a wheel via a link mechanism employing a tire rod (3) and a knuckle arm (4), the link mechanism and the wheel (1) are coupled by a multiplying gear (2). Individual drive mechanisms are mounted independently on each wheel, and each wheel is driven independently to enable front-wheel independent drive, rear-wheel independent drive and four-wheel independent drive. Drive of an inner rear wheel is changed over at a steering angle in the vicinity of 90° to effect control of steering. A steering angle multiplied twofold or more can be obtained in simple fashion via the multiplying gear (2) even for a steering angle of about 45° using the conventional link mechanism. In the drive of each wheel, drive of the inner rear wheel is halted in the vicinity of the 90° steering angle, so that locking of the inner front wheel can be avoided. Further, only the inner rear wheel is driven in the reverse direction when a large steering angle is obtained. This makes smooth vehicle travel possible even at large steering angles.

Inventors

  • 👤 Hidemitsu Inagaki
  • 👤 Satoru Tanaka
  • 👤 Satoru Wakuta

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-28 13:03
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60K; B60K17/00; B60K17/34; B60K17/356; B62; B62D; B62D3/00; B62D3/02; B62D7/00; B62D7/06; B62D7/14; B62D7/15; B62D7/1509

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim 130 words
A steering system for a vehicle comprising: a steering wheel, a plurality of steerable, ground-engaging wheels, two gear sets including a large gear and a small gear meshed together, each of said small gears being connected to a ground-engaging wheel and being interposed between the connected wheel and the meshed large gear, one of said large gears being connected to the steering wheel, a tie rod, and a link mechanism having two knuckle arms, each of said knuckle arms having a first end fixed to the center of a large gear and a second end rotatably connected to one end of the tie rod, said large gears having centers aligned with the second ends of the respective knuckle arms along lines which cross at the front side of the vehicle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 130 words
A steering system for a vehicle comprising: a steering wheel, a plurality of steerable, ground-engaging wheels, two gear sets including a large gear and a small gear meshed together, each of said small gears being connected to a ground-engaging wheel and being interposed between the connected wheel and the meshed large gear, one of said large gears being connected to the steering wheel, a tie rod, and a link mechanism having two knuckle arms, each of said knuckle arms having a first end fixed to the center of a large gear and a second end rotatably connected to one end of the tie rod, said large gears having centers aligned with the second ends of the respective knuckle arms along lines which cross at the front side of the vehicle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 33 words
The steering system of claim 1 wherein said steerable ground-engaging wheels include a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, said link mechanism being operatively connected to said front wheels.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 42 words
The steering system of claim 2 further comprising: a steering angle sensor for detecting steering angle and generating a first electrical signal representative of said detected steering angle, and wherein said rear wheels are each independently driven responsive to said electrical signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 42 words
The steering system of claim 3 further comprising an accelerator sensor for generating a second electrical signal representative of the amount of accelerator pedal depression and wherein said rear wheels are each independently driven responsive to said first and second electrical signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 23 words
The steering system of claim 1 further comprising: two wheel motors, each of said wheel motors independently driving one of said rear wheels.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 39 words
The steering system of claim 1 further comprising a steering shaft on which said steering wheel is mounted and a worm gear on one end of said steering shaft, said worm gear being meshed with said one large gear.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US621158A Cited
US1170270A Cited
US1255775A Cited
US3087564A Cited
CH438973A Cited
US3972379A Cited
US4446941A Cited
JPS58141968A Cited
JPS59190056A Cited
US4778024A Cited
US4823899A Cited
US4836319A Cited
JPS6357376A Cited
JPS63275484A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1995-10-13 1996-04-13 1996-10-13 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1999-10-13 2000-04-13 2000-10-13 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2003-10-13 2004-04-13 2004-10-13 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag