The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 05, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 06, 1995
David A Renfroe, Fayetteville, AR (US);
University of Arkansas, N.A., Little Rock, AR (US);
Abstract
A steering system in an all-terrain four-wheeled vehicle with independent suspension wherein necessary forces for wheels to respond to steering control is supplied by fluid pressure or electrical actuators mounted parallel to the suspension arm between vehicle frame and wheel control arm, steering control by the driver being by manipulation of right and/or left steering levers eliminating the need of steering wheel and steering column in front of the driver. The steering actuators are independent and there is no tracking rod or other linkage for coordinating their turning angles; rather, close coordination of the wheel turning angles for achieving the Ackerman angle relation or other non-linear turning angle relation between the wheels is by a now-linear linkage between left and right steering levers or elsewhere or by a computer control for electric actuators. Optionally, a computer control in an electrical system has inputs for acceleration and velocity for detecting hazards associated with steering and inputs to provide artificial feel signals to the hand levers.