Wheel assembly having a mechanism to adjust the distance between the wheels

A vehicle having a pair of front wheels, the vehicle comprising:

• a chassis frame,
• a pair of spindle shafts coupled to the chassis frame for pivoting movement about a substantially vertical axis, each front wheel being coupled to the respective spindle shaft for rotation about a substantially horizontal wheel axis, and
• a steering mechanism including a horizontal drive shaft extending between the spindle shafts and an actuator for rotating the drive shaft about a horizontal pivot axis, the drive shaft being coupled to each spindle shaft, rotation of the drive shaft about the horizontal pivot axis pivots the spindle shafts about their respective vertical pivot axes to turn the front wheels in unison, the steering mechanism including a gear box coupling the drive shaft to the respective spindle shaft and each gear box transmits rotary movement of the respective drive shaft about the horizontal pivot axis to pivoting movement of the respective spindle shaft about the respective vertical axis to turn the front wheels in unison, and the gear boxes are positioned above the front wheels and the drive shaft extends between the gear boxes.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle having a centerline, the wheel assembly comprising first and second wheels,

• a wheel spacer coupled to the first and second wheels, the wheel spacer including an actuator configured to move at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle, and
• a steering mechanism including a mechanical linkage and an actuator configured to move the mechanical linkage, the mechanical linkage being coupled to the first and second wheels, movement of the wheel-spacer to move the at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle moves the mechanical linkage, and movement of the mechanical linkage by the actuator moves the first and second wheels, the mechanical linkage including first and second telescoping drive shafts rotatably driven by the actuator.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle having a centerline, the wheel assembly comprising first and second wheels,

• a wheel spacer coupled to the first and second wheels, the wheel spacer including an actuator configured to move at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle, and
• a steering mechanism including a mechanical linkage and an actuator configured to move the mechanical linkage, the mechanical linkage being coupled to the first and second wheels, movement of the wheel-spacer to move the at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle moves the mechanical linkage, and movement of the mechanical linkage by the actuator moves the first and second wheels, the actuator of the steering mechanism rotates the mechanical linkage about a horizontal pivot axis to pivot the first and second wheels about respective first and second substantially vertical pivot axes.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle having a centerline, the wheel assembly comprising first and second wheels,

• a wheel spacer coupled to the first and second wheels, the wheel spacer including an actuator configured to move at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle, and
• a steering mechanism including a mechanical linkage and an actuator configured to move the mechanical linkage, the mechanical linkage being coupled to the first and second wheels, movement of the wheel-spacer to move the at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle moves the mechanical linkage, and movement of the mechanical linkage by the actuator moves the first and second wheels, the steering mechanism including first and second gear boxes coupled to the mechanical linkage and the first and second wheels, respectively, and the first and second gear boxes being positioned to lie above the first and second wheels.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle having a centerline, the wheel assembly comprising:

• first and second wheels,
• a wheel spacer coupled to the first and second wheels, the wheel spacer including an actuator configured to move at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle, and
• a steering mechanism including a mechanical linkage and an actuator configured to move the mechanical linkage, the mechanical linkage being coupled to the first and second wheels, movement of the wheel-spacer to move the at least one of the first and second wheels axially relative to the centerline of the vehicle moves the mechanical linkage, and movement of the mechanical linkage by the actuator moves the first and second wheels, the mechanical linkage including first and second telescoping drive shafts, each of the first and second telescoping drive shafts being positional between one of the first and second wheels and the actuator.