Patent ID: 7950479
Filing Date: 2011-05-31
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
1. An articulated vehicle for operation on a roadway, that includes a carriage to enclose objects to be transported, said carriage having an external shape that is characterized by a free airflow pattern that would occur in absence of any external surface that affects airflow, a control frame having two front wheels, and two pivotally mounted control wheels that are mounted rearward on said control frame, and a tracking frame having two rear wheels, where said tracking frame is rearward of said control frame, where wheels are attached to frames such that three wheels operate in a column on each side of said articulated vehicle, and equipment is configured along said column to create a wheel train, where wheel trains result in minimized projected frontal area of said frames, structure that connects from each frame to said carriage to hold said carriage at an elevated position above said roadway, where said structure is configured as an articulating linkage that enables relative hinging between said carriage and said control frame about a yaw hinging axis and relative hinging between said carriage and said tracking frame about a pitch hinging axis while preventing relative hinging action between frames about a roll hinging axis, and a linkage from said carriage to said control wheels that is configured to enable control of pivot action of said control wheels, where operation of a forward moving said articulated vehicle includes an aerodynamic function where said elevated position enables an air flow pattern about said carriage approximating said free air flow pattern, an aerodynamic function where minimized said projected frontal area of said frames results in lower aerodynamic drag force on said frames, pitch hinging action that maintains a front wheel, a control wheel, and a rear wheel in firm contact with said road surface, thus accommodating uneven surfaces of said roadway, yaw hinging action, where driver action through said control linkage adjusts travel direction of said control wheels, where a changed travel direction causes lateral motion of said control wheels that causes said yaw hinging action, thus setting said front wheels to make a turn, where a simultaneous effect of said yaw hinging action is that a control wheel is caused to extend laterally toward an outside of said turn, thus setting a stabilizing stance, articulated operation where said stabilizing stance acts through roll preventing linkages to prevent rollover, and and articulated operation where said narrow carriage then follows said turning travel direction of said front wheel, with said rear wheel tracking to hold said narrow carriage toward an inside of said turn.