Patent ID: 11858573
Assignee: CONCEPTUAL INNOVATIONS, L.L.C.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 5:
6. A steerable drive wheel assembly comprising:
an outer housing defining a sheltered interior space, said outer housing including a top having opposing left and right edges, a right stabilizer arm extending downwardly from said right edge of said top, a left stabilizer arm extending downwardly from said left edge of said top,
an intermediate suspension module disposed at least partially within said sheltered interior space of said outer housing,
a drive module disposed below said intermediate suspension module, said drive module including a first drive subassembly having a first wheel and a second drive assembly having a second wheel, said first and second wheels supported in side-by-side orientation for independent rotation about a common horizontal axis, said first drive subassembly including a first drive motor operatively connected to said first wheel through a first transmission, said second drive subassembly including a second drive motor operatively connected to said second wheel through a second transmission,
a rotary bearing operatively disposed between said drive module and said intermediate suspension module for enabling rotational movement of said drive module relative to said intermediate suspsension module about a generally vertical steering axis,
a first angular velocity sensor operatively associated with said first drive motor, a second angular velocity sensor operatively associated with said second drive motor,
an angular position sensor operatively disposed between said drive module and the intermediate suspension module,
wherein said first and second wheels are equally laterally offset said vertical steering axis, further including at least one biasing member operatively disposed between said outer housing and said intermediate suspension module, at least one left linear guide bearing assembly operatively disposed between said outer housing and said intermediate suspension module, and at least one right linear guide bearing assembly operatively disposed between said outer housing and said intermediate suspension module.