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US 2026/0109422 A1Published application
Steering mechanism and electric mobility vehicle
AssigneeWHILL, Inc.
InventorsShuyu Hsu, Junpei Naito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A steering mechanism that steers a pair of front wheels of an electric mobility vehicle, wherein the steering mechanism is capable of steering an inner wheel and an outer wheel such that a steering angle difference between an inner wheel steering angle and an outer wheel steering angle when the inner wheel steering angle is a second angle which is within a range of 90° or greater is at least five times the steering angle difference when the inner wheel steering angle is a first angle which is within a range of 40° to 45°, wherein the inner wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the inner wheel and the outer wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the outer wheel.
Claims10
A steering mechanism that steers a pair of front wheels of an electric mobility vehicle, wherein
- the steering mechanism is capable of steering an inner wheel and an outer wheel such that a steering angle difference between an inner wheel steering angle and an outer wheel steering angle when the inner wheel steering angle is a second angle which is within a range of 90° or greater is at least five times the steering angle difference when the inner wheel steering angle is a first angle which is within a range of 40° to 45°, wherein the inner wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the inner wheel and the outer wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the outer wheel.
A steering mechanism that steers a pair of front wheels of an electric mobility vehicle, wherein
- the steering mechanism is capable of changing a steering angle of an inner wheel of the pair of front wheels to 90° or greater, and the steering mechanism comprises:
- an inner wheel side rod which presses, when changing the steering angle, a leading end side of a knuckle arm of a knuckle supporting the inner wheel in response to rotation of a center shaft around a first axis;
- and
- an outer wheel side rod which pulls, when changing the steering angle, a leading end side of a knuckle arm of a knuckle supporting an outer wheel of the pair of front wheels in response to the rotation of the center shaft around the first axis,
- wherein the inner wheel side rod is arranged in an inclined manner when the pair of front wheels are located at a straight-traveling steering angle for straight traveling of the electric mobility vehicle,
- wherein a first coupling portion or an end of the inner wheel side rod and a second coupling portion or an end of the outer wheel side rod are overlapped in an up-down direction, wherein the first coupling portion couples the end of the inner wheel side rod and the center shaft and the second coupling portion couples the end of the outer wheel side rod and the center shaft,
- the steering mechanism is capable of reducing an inclination angle of the inner wheel side rod to a horizontal plane at the time of a first angle relative to the inclination angle at the time of a second angle such that a steering angle difference between an inner wheel steering angle and an outer wheel steering angle when the inner wheel steering angle is the second angle which is within a range of 90° or greater becomes larger than the steering angle difference when the inner wheel steering angle is the first angle which is within a range of 40° to 45°, wherein the inner wheel steering angle is the steering angle of the inner wheel and the outer wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the outer wheel.
4 more elements
A steering mechanism that steers a right front wheel and a left front wheel of an electric mobility vehicle, the steering mechanism comprising:
- a center shaft that is rotatable about a first axis extending at least in an up-down direction;
- a pitman arm fixed to the center shaft;
- a right knuckle that is rotatable about a right second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the right front wheel;
- a right knuckle arm provided in the right knuckle;
- a left knuckle that is rotatable about a left second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the left front wheel;
- a left knuckle arm provided in the left knuckle;
- a right rod having one end coupled to the right knuckle arm and an opposite end coupled to the pitman arm;
- and
- a left rod having one end coupled to the left knuckle arm and an opposite end coupled to the pitman arm, wherein
- each of the rods are arranged to be inclined relative to a horizontal plane such that a height position of the one end and a height position of the opposite end is different, and
- the steering mechanism is capable of reducing an inclination angle of the rod of an inner wheel side to a horizontal plane at the time of a second angle relative to the inclination angle at the time of a first angle such that a steering angle difference between an inner wheel steering angle and an outer wheel steering angle when the inner wheel steering angle is the second angle which is within a range of 90° or greater becomes larger than the steering angle difference when the inner wheel steering angle is the first angle which is within a range of 40° to 45°, wherein the inner wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the inner wheel and the outer wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the outer wheel.
8 more elements
A steering mechanism that steers a right front wheel and a left front wheel of an electric mobility vehicle, the steering mechanism comprising:
- a center shaft that is rotatable about a first axis extending at least in an up-down direction;
- a right side base and a left side base each of whose proximal end is attached to a vehicle body frame of the electric mobility vehicle;
- a right knuckle that is attached to a leading end of the right side base to be rotatable about a right second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the right front wheel;
- a left knuckle that is attached to a leading end of the left side base to be rotatable about a left second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the left front wheel;
- a right rod connecting the right knuckle arm and the center shaft;
- a left rod connecting the left knuckle arm and the center shaft;
- and
- a right spring supporting the vehicle body frame on the right side base;
- and
- a left spring supporting the vehicle body frame on the left side base, wherein
- each of the rods are arranged to be inclined relative to a horizontal plane such that a height position of the one end and a height position of the opposite end is different, and
- the steering mechanism is capable of reducing an inclination angle of the rod of an inner wheel side to a horizontal plane at the time of a second angle relative to the inclination angle at the time of a first angle such that a steering angle difference between an inner wheel steering angle and an outer wheel steering angle when the inner wheel steering angle is the second angle which is within a range of 90° or greater becomes larger than the steering angle difference when the inner wheel steering angle is the first angle which is within a range of 40° to 45°, wherein the inner wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the inner wheel and the outer wheel steering angle is a steering angle of the outer wheel.
9 more elements
A steering mechanism that steers a right front wheel and a left front wheel of an electric mobility vehicle, the steering mechanism comprising:
- a center shaft that is rotatable about a first axis extending at least in an up-down direction and that is rotated by operation of a handle;
- a pitman arm fixed to the center shaft;
- a right knuckle that is rotatable about a right second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the right front wheel;
- a right knuckle arm provided in the right knuckle;
- a left knuckle that is rotatable about a left second axis extending at least in the up-down direction and that supports the left front wheel;
- a left knuckle arm provided in the left knuckle;
- a right rod having one end coupled to the right knuckle arm and an opposite end coupled to the pitman arm;
- and
- a left rod having one end coupled to the left knuckle arm and an opposite end coupled to the pitman arm, wherein
- each of the rods is arranged in an inclined manner such that a difference in height position between the opposite end and the one end is more than or equal to 15 mm when the right front wheel and the left front wheel are located at a straight-traveling steering angle for straight traveling of the electric mobility vehicle, and when the inner wheel steering angle is 90° or greater, the difference in height position becomes smaller than the difference in height position at the straight-traveling steering angle by at least 4 mm.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.