Patent ID: 7823673
Filing Date: 2010-11-02
Classification: B60B,B60G,B60W,B62D

Abstract:
1. A variable wheel positioning vehicle comprising: a vehicle body with a center of gravity; a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted with respect to the vehicle body; a suspension device operatively arranged between the wheels and the vehicle body; a steering mechanism operatively coupled to the suspension device to change a direction of at least one of the wheels with respect to the vehicle body; a drive device operatively coupled to drive at least one of the wheels; a wheel position changing mechanism operatively coupled to the suspension device to move the suspension device and all of the wheels along a movement path with respect to the vehicle body and to hold the suspension device and all of the wheels at any position along the movement path, with all of the wheels being horizontally moved with respect to the vehicle body around a center point located near the center of gravity of the vehicle body by the wheel position changing mechanism, the movement path having an axis at the center point; and a wheel position control device operatively coupled to the wheel position changing mechanism to issue a movement command to the wheel position changing mechanism that changes a wheel positioning distance between a center rotation axis of one of the wheels and the center of gravity of the vehicle body as measured in a direction parallel to an acceleration direction of the center of gravity of the vehicle body based on a traveling condition of the vehicle, the wheel position control device being configured to select at least one of the wheels that is closest to the acceleration direction of the center of gravity as a base wheel to be held fixed and to change wheel positions of selected remaining ones of the wheels upon the wheel position control device changes the wheel positions.