US 11,530,009 B2Granted

Vehicle selectively convertible to a dually configuration

AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

InventorsCorey Zwegers, Robert C. MacArthur, Claudia A. Ma, Shigenori Shibata, Adam R. VanAntwerp

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Abstract

A vehicle can have: (1) a first pair of rear wheels with a first pair of tires configured to be able to bear a weight of the vehicle and (2) a second pair of rear wheels with a second pair of tires installed on the second pair of rear wheels and configured to be selectively inflatable. The first pair of wheels can be disposed on a first pair of axles. The second pair of wheels can be disposed on the first pair of axles or on a second axle. In an inflated state, the second pair of tires can be configured to be able to bear the weight of the vehicle. In a deflated state, the second pair of tires can lack being configured to bear the weight of the vehicle. An individual or a controller can cause the vehicle to have a conventional configuration or a dually configuration.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A vehicle, comprising:

a first pair of rear wheels having a first pair of tires configured to be able to bear a weight of the vehicle;
a second pair of rear wheels having a second pair of tires installed on the second pair of rear wheels, the second pair of tires configured to be selectively inflatable, wherein:
in an inflated state, the second pair of tires is configured to be able to bear the weight of the vehicle, and
in a deflated state, the second pair of tires lacks being configured to bear the weight of the vehicle;
and
an air pump disposed on the vehicle and configured to cause the second pair of tires to be in the inflated state;
a controller configured to control, in response to a receipt of a signal, an operation of the air pump;
and
a sensor configured to:
detect a condition, the condition being a measure of a stability of the vehicle being outside a threshold range of measurements, the measure of the stability being determined from at least one of a measure of a sideslip or a measure of a yaw rate;
and
cause, in response to a detection of the condition, the signal to be conveyed to the controller.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.