U.S. patent application number 10/493670 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-17 for retractable road wheel and steering arrangement for an amphibious vehicle.
Invention is credited to Royle, David Albert Cyril.
Application Number | 20050034646 10/493670 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9924551 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050034646 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Royle, David Albert Cyril |
February 17, 2005 |
Retractable road wheel and steering arrangement for an amphibious
vehicle
Abstract
The arrangement has at least one retractable steered wheel, and
comprises: at least one wheel rotatbly mounted on a steerable leg
member; said leg member being pivotably mounted on pivot means
which is pivotable around a substantially horizontal axis relative
to a hull of said amphibious vehicle, said axis also being
transverse to a longitudinal direction of travel of said hull; a
steering arm member operably connected to said steerable leg
member; and means to raise said wheel by pivoting said wheel about
said horizontal axis; wherein an end of said steering arm member
remote from said steerable leg member is closely adjacent said
horizontal axis and operably connected to steering arm moving
means.
Inventors: |
Royle, David Albert Cyril;
(Co Durham, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert L Stearns
Howard & Howard Attorneys
Suite 101
39400 Woodward Avenue
Bloomfield Hills
MI
48304
US
|
Family ID: |
9924551 |
Appl. No.: |
10/493670 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
October 9, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB02/04588 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
114/144R |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60F 2301/04 20130101;
B60F 3/0007 20130101; B63C 13/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
114/144.00R |
International
Class: |
B63H 025/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 26, 2001 |
GB |
0125689.0 |
Claims
1. A steering and wheel mounting arrangement for an amphibious
vehicle having at least one retractable steered wheel, said
steering and wheel mounting arrangement comprising: said at least
one wheel rotatably mounted on a steerable leg member; said leg
member being pivotably mounted on pivot means which is pivotable
around a substantially horizontal axis relative to a hull of said
amphibious vehicle; a steering arm member operably connected to
said steerable leg member; and means to raise said wheel by
pivoting said wheel about said horizontal axis; wherein an end of
said steering arm member remote from said steerable leg member is
closely adjacent said horizontal axis and operably connected to
steering arm moving means.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the steering arm
moving means comprises a cable or rod linkage.
3. An arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the cable is a
flexible Bowden-type cable.
4. An arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the rod linkage is
connected to the steering arm by a ball joint or universal
joint.
5. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein there is a single
steerable wheel.
6. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said axis is
transverse or generally parallel to a longitudinal direction of
travel of said hull.
7. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the steering
mechanism continues to be able to turn the steering arm member and
wheel when the wheel is in retracted position.
8. An arrangement according to claim 7 wherein the steering
arrangement is also connected to water guidance means which are
operable when the wheel is in the retracted position.
9. An arrangement according to claim 8 wherein the water guidance
means is a rudder or hydrojet.
10. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said pivot means
includes a bracket on which said steerable leg member is
mounted.
11. An amphibious vehicle having a steering and wheel mounting
arrangement for at least one retractable wheel, comprising: said at
least one wheel rotatable mounted on a steerable leg member; said
leg member being pivotably mounted on pivot means which is
pivotable around a substantially horizontal axis relative to a hull
of said amphibious vehicle; a steering arm member operably
connected to said steerable leg member; and structure operative to
raise said wheel by pivoting said wheel about said horizontal axis;
wherein an end of said steering arm member remote from said
steerable leg member is closely adjacent said horizontal axis and
operably connected to said structure.
12. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 11 wherein shock
absorbing properties are effected by a low-pressure tire or
additional suspension means.
13. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the
structure means comprises a cable or rod linkage.
14. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 2 wherein the cable is
a flexible Bowden-type cable.
15. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 2 wherein the rod
linkage is connected to the steering arm by a ball joint or
universal joint.
16. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 wherein there is a
single steerable wheel.
17. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 wherein said axis is
transverse or generally parallel to a longitudinal direction of
travel of said hull.
18. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 wherein the steering
mechanism continues to be able to turn the steering arm member and
wheel when the wheel is in a retracted position.
19. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 18 wherein the
steering arrangement is also connected to water guidance means
which are operable when the wheel is in the retracted position.
20. An amphibious vehicle according to claim 19 wherein the water
guidance means is a rudder or hydrojet.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a retractable wheel
mounting and steering arrangement for an amphibious vehicle.
[0002] For amphibious vehicles wherein the road wheels are
retractable so as to improve the hydrodynamics of the vehicle when
in water, it would be advantageous if the front steering wheel or
wheels could be retracted without the need to disconnect or
significantly misalign a steering mechanism. Furthermore, it would
also be advantageous in cost terms if such steering mechanisms were
simple and did not rely on complex systems of interconnected levers
and joints.
[0003] According to a first aspect of the present invention there
is provided a steering and wheel mounting arrangement for an
amphibious vehicle having at least one retractable steered wheel,
said steering and wheel mounting arrangement comprising: said at
least one wheel rotatably mounted on a steerable leg member; said
leg member being pivotably mounted on pivot means which is
pivotable around a substantially horizontal axis relative to a hull
of said amphibious vehicle; a steering arm member operably
connected to said steerable leg member; means to raise said wheel
by pivoting about said axis; wherein an end of said steering arm
member remote from said steerable leg member is closely adjacent
said horizontal axis and operably connected to steering arm moving
means.
[0004] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an amphibious vehicle having the wheel mounting and
steering arrangement of the first aspect of the present
invention.
[0005] The pivot means may include a bracket member on which the
steerable leg member is mounted.
[0006] Said axis may be transverse or generally parallel to a
longitudinal direction of travel of said hull. Thus, the wheel may
be raised by the mounting and steering arrangement being tipped
backwards about the axis. However, the wheel mounting and steering
arrangement may, for example, be raised by being rotated about the
axis which also extends in a longitudinal direction with respect to
the hull.
[0007] One embodiment of an amphibious vehicle of the present
invention may comprise a relatively small vehicle capable of
accommodating only a few people. The vehicle may not possess
suspension in terms of separate springs and shock absorbers for
example but may depend upon relatively large, low-pressure tyres
for springing and shock absorbing properties. Furthermore, the
vehicle may have only a single steerable wheel.
[0008] However, the provision of separate conventional suspension
members and/or two steerable front wheels is not precluded by the
arrangement of the present invention. Suspension members may be
interposed between the wheel mounting and steering arrangement
described and the vehicle hull.
[0009] The end of the steering arm remote from the wheel mounting
leg is positioned such that it is closely adjacent the horizontal
axis about which the bracket on which the steerable leg member is
mounted rotates. Rotation of the bracket and leg raises the wheel
out of the water for example. However, because the end of the
steering arm is adjacent the rotation axis, the degree of physical
translation is very small and can be accommodated by the steering
arm moving means. The steering arm moving means may comprise a
cable or linkage operably connected to a tiller or steering wheel
for example. The steering arm moving means is capable of
accommodating the degree of movement inherent on raising the wheel
or wheels. However, the geometry of the steering arrangement
according to the present invention is such that even with the wheel
in its raised position, the steering arm is able to be moved
through its full arc of movement by the steering arm moving means.
Thus, if the road wheel steering linkage is also connected to water
guidance means such as a rudder or hydrojet for example,
directional control of the vehicle can still be effected by the
normal steering arrangement without disconnection of the steering
arm moving means from the road wheel or by the need for alternative
or duplicated steering linkages to the water guidance means.
[0010] In order that the present invention may be more fully
understood an example will now be described by way of illustration
only with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a side elevation of the principal components of
a wheel mounting and steering arrangement according to the present
invention in raised and in road-going positions; and
[0012] FIG. 2 which shows a perspective view of the arrangement of
FIG. 1 in the road-going position.
[0013] Referring now to the drawings and where the same features
are denoted by common reference numerals. A wheel mounting and
steering arrangement in an amphibious vehicle hull is denoted
generally at 10, the hull being denoted only by its lower surface
such as a chine 12. In this embodiment there is a single steerable
and retractable front wheel 14 rotatably mounted between the forks
16 of a steerable leg member 18. The leg member 18 has a pivot
shaft 20 which is pivotably mounted in a tubular headstock 22 to
which is strongly mounted a pair of diverging triangular support
brackets 24. Each support bracket 24 has a mounting point at its
apex to which a tie tube 26 is joined, the tube 26 not only bracing
the support brackets 24 but importantly provides a main pivot axis
30 about which the wheel and support assembly is retracted. A
steering arm 28 is fixed to the steering leg shaft 20 so that
movement thereof causes turning of the wheel 14 when in the
road-going position and in the retracted position. The support
brackets 24 are pivotable about the horizontal axis 30 (the term
"horizontal" being defined with reference to the hull 12), the axis
30 also being transverse to a direction of travel of the hull 12
denoted by arrow 32. The brackets 24 and headstock arrangement are
pivotably mounted upon a support shaft 34 (shown in dashed lines)
which is fixed to strong supports (not shown) on the hull 12 and
passing through the tie tube 26. The end 36 of the steering arm 28
is adjacent the axis 30/tube 26 and has a joint such as a ball
joint 40 fixed thereto and which is itself connected to a steering
rod 42 (or cable such as a flexible Bowden-type cable sliding in an
outer sheath). The rod 42 has a rotatable joint 46 to accommodate
rotation of the rod 42 during retraction of the wheel, the joint 46
being able to accommodate axial thrust. The steering rod 42 is
connected at its end remote from the ball joint 40 to a lever or
bellcrank (not shown) which is itself operably connected to a
primary steering member such as a tiller or steering wheel (not
shown) which is directly controlled by the driver. The wheel
steering mechanism is also connected by a linkage (not shown) to
water guidance means such as a rudder or hydrojet (not shown) which
are also moved by the primary steering member. A further bracket 50
is fixed to the headstock 22 and to which is connected means 52 to
enable the whole wheel mounting and steering arrangement 10 to be
tipped backwards about the axis 30 in order to retract the wheel
14. The retracted position is shown in FIG. 1 in dashed lines. The
means 52 may comprise any suitable means and may include a
hydraulic cylinder and ram or a mechanical strut arrangement, for
example.
[0014] From FIGS. 1 and 2 it may be seen that the end 36 of the
steering arm 28 is adjacent the main pivot axis 30 thus, when the
arrangement 10 is retracted, the actual displacement of the
steering arm end 36 and joint 40 is relatively very small,
rotational displacement being accommodated by the thrust bearing
46. Furthermore, since the steering rod 42 (or cable) is mounted to
move with the support frames 24 there is little relative
translational displacement of the end of the steering arm moving
means 42 and steering arm 28. The arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and
2 show that it is possible to have strong and simple steering
arrangement comprising rods or linkages or cables attached to a
retractable wheel. The close proximity of the steering arm and ball
joint 40 to the main pivot axis 30 results in small angular changes
which are accommodated by the steering rods or cable 42 through its
arc of movement during retraction of the wheel. An important
feature of the present invention is that the steering mechanism
continues to be able to steer the wheel even in the retracted
position thus, upon the amphibious vehicle becoming water-borne and
the wheel being retracted, the primary steering member operated by
the driver, e.g. a steering wheel or tiller, is still connected to
and operates the water guidance means such as a rudder or hydrojet,
without the need to disconnect the road-going wheel or road
steering. Thus, the arrangement of the present invention is simple
and convenient in use.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows the wheel in its road-going position in solid
lines and in the retracted position in dashed lines.
[0016] Although the example describes a single steerable wheel 14,
there may be two steerable front wheels. A suitable arrangement may
comprises two sets of the assemblies 10 described above with
steering arms 28 linked together by a tie rod but essentially
operated in the same way as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and
2 by a single steering arm moving means 42.
[0017] In the example springing and shock absorbing is effected in
the road-going mode by bulbous low-pressure "floatation" tyres,
however, conventional suspension members such as springs and shock
absorbers may be employed if desired. For example, conventional
suspension members may be interposed between the leg member 18 and
the tubular headstock 22. In which case a square section (or other
than round) sliding pillar may be incorporated in such a way that
the steering arm 28 remains in the same close proximity to the
support brackets 24 and the main pivot axis 30, the headstock 22
and steering being unaffected by the suspension.
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