Patent ID: 6206127
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: B62D,B66C

Abstract:
A steering system for a gantry crane having at least four wheel assemblies arranged in a quadrilateral pattern, each said wheel assembly includes at least one wheel, the wheels being cooperatively pivotable such that said crane is selectively operable along either a longitudinal axis or a perpendicular transverse axis, the steering system comprising:a plurality of steering actuators coupled to respectively pivot the wheels; anda controller operating said steering actuators to steer the respective wheels, the controller receiving at least one signal that identifies a selected one of the axes and a selected drive direction along the selected axis, the controller operable to determine from the at least one signal a leading pair of the wheels relative to the selected drive direction, the controller operating the actuators to steer the determined leading pair of wheels in response to a steering input.