Peripatetic vehicles
AssigneeNational Research Development Corporation
InventorEric Booth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A peripatetic vehicle, the suspension of which includes a bogie carrying two main wheels, one to either side of the vehicle, and caster wheels. The stability of the suspension is completed by further casters, supported from the body of the vehicle. The use of the bogie improves the ride of the vehicle over rough ground, and the use of only two main wheels, the rest being casters, gives high maneuverability. The main wheels may be driven, e.g. by separate motors, and the vehicle steered by driving these wheels differentially. Stable steering is improved by locating the transverse axis of the main wheels closely beneath the center of mass of the loaded vehicle.
Claims11
A peripatetic vehicle comprising:
- a vehicle body structure;
- a suspension including a bogie system;
- means for pivotally connecting said bogie system and said vehicle body structure one to the other for relative movement about a transverse axis;
- means mounted on said bogie system defining a fixed transverse axle;
- two main wheel units mounted on said axle means and disposed at least substantially transversely opposite to each other with one unit adjacent each side of the vehicle;
- at least one other wheel unit carried by said bogie system, said one other wheel unit being a caster, and
- at least one further wheel unit carried by said vehicle body structure, said at least one further wheel unit being a caster.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.