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:
Apr. 06, 2010
Filed:
Jan. 17, 2006
Clifford H. Oehme, Avon, IN (US);
Clifford H. Oehme, Avon, IN (US);
GM Global Technology Operations, Inc., Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for brake steering a tracked vehicle such as, for example, a military tank. More precisely, the present invention provides independent control of a left brake and a right brake to create a track speed differential and thereby turn the vehicle. The apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a controller, a plurality of circuit selector actuators operatively connected to the controller, and a plurality of brake apply actuators operatively connected to the controller. A plurality of valves are disposed in fluid communication with the plurality of circuit selector actuators. The left brake is in fluid communication with one of the plurality of brake apply actuators, and the right brake is in fluid communication with another of the plurality of brake apply actuators. The controller is configured to control the plurality of brake apply actuators to independently apply the left brake and the right brake such that the tracked vehicle can be turned in a desired manner.