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:
Dec. 17, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 04, 2001
Nathan Eugene Masters, Raceland, LA (US);
Andrew C. Masters, Raceland, LA (US);
Connie Ruby Masters, Raceland, LA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling the steering of a trailing section of a multi-sectioned vehicle is described. The trailing section follows the path of the first section. Data is acquired by a controller from sensors on the various sections. The controller then processes this data, generating a configuration needed for the controller-steered wheels to follow a path approximately equivalent to the path taken by the first steered section. Power is then applied by some means to steer these controller-steered wheels, forcing them into the desired configuration. The complexity of the control system can be varied with different algorithms providing alternative steering patterns as desired. This system can be extended with more trailing sections without necessitating more than minor changes to the control algorithms.