Vehicle having driving and steering wheels carried by legs articulated to the vehicle structure, with each leg incorporating a system for driving and orienting the respective wheel

Abstract

A vehicle has steering and drive wheels supported by legs articulated to the structure of the vehicle. Each leg is rotatably mounted on a main support around a transverse axis. The main support is rotatably mounted about the transverse axis on a base structure, which is connected to the structure of the vehicle. An actuator device is operatively interposed between the main support and the base support to adjust the position of the main support around the transverse axis, and consequently the height of the vehicle from the ground. A hub-bearing support carrying the wheel hub is rotatably mounted around a wheel steering axis on an auxiliary camber adjustment support. The latter is carried around a camber adjustment axis on a further auxiliary caster adjustment support. The latter is carried by the leg around a caster adjustment axis. The steering of the wheel and the camber adjustment are controlled by respective actuator devices. The caster adjustment is automatically controlled as the position of the leg changes around the transverse axis.