Patent Publication Number: US-2011067941-A1

Title: Vehicle with revolving driver station

Description:
FIELD 
     The vehicle described has a driver station that can revolve 360 degrees. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A motor vehicle has been developed by a Japanese firm which allows a driver compartment for the vehicle to be selectively turned on a vehicle frame to face in any desired direction. Wheels on the vehicle are independently controlled through an on-board computer. For example, when a driver turns the front wheels to the left to initiate a left turn, the computer turns the rear wheels to the right to reduce the turning radius. The driver can also override the computer to control wheel positioning. An example of where a combination of these features may be useful is when parking. A driver can rotate the driver compartment to face a parking space. The driver can then orient the wheels to drive the vehicle sideways into the parking space. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided a vehicle including a symmetrical support frame having a width dimension and a length dimension, the width dimension and length dimension being substantially the same. At least three ground engaging wheels underlie and support the support frame. Each of the wheels is capable of 360 degree rotation. A driver station is mounted on the support frame for 360 degree rotation relative to the support frame. A steering control is provided with a steering linkage between the steering control, the driver station and the wheels, wherein rotational movement of the steering control by a selected number of degrees causes the driver station and each of the wheels to move a proportional number of degrees in the same rotational direction as the steering control with the driver station always facing a forward direction of the wheels. 
     With prior art vehicles, a driver turns a steering wheel in a selected rotational direction to effect a turn and then turns the wheel back to complete the turn. This is also true with the experimental Japanese vehicle described above. With the present vehicle, no particular portion of the vehicle must be facing forward during the vehicle&#39;s movement. This means that the driver need only turn the steering wheel to initiate a turn, the steering wheel need not be turned back. As the driver station is coordinated with the positioning of the wheels, the driver will always be facing the forward direction of the wheels. During the course of a journey, different portions of the support frame will take turns being the “front” of the vehicle. There is no need to “back up” a vehicle. By merely turning the steering wheel, the driver can drive forward into a parking stall, forward out of a parking stall, and into or out of any other conceivable location. 
     This teaching will change the way in which commuters drive their vehicles. It also has potential significance for vehicles used to transport heavy loads. Pneumatic tires are only capable of carrying a finite amount of weight. The more tires on a vehicle, the more weight that the vehicle is capable of carrying. By following the teachings described above, one can position wheels at spaced intervals under a support frame and the wheels will work together to carry heavy loads. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a vehicle. 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom plan view of the vehicle illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified top plan view of an intersection showing the vehicle of  FIG. 1 , going though positions a, b, and c when negotiating a turn. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of a commercial vehicle. 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of an alternative design of the vehicle illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom plan view of the vehicle illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A vehicle with revolving driver station generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 6 . 
     Structure and Relationship of Parts: 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a vehicle  10  includes a symmetrical support frame  12  which has a width dimension and a length dimension that are substantially the same, at least three ground engaging wheels  14  underlying the support frame  12  and supporting the support frame  12 , a driver station  16  on the support frame  12  and a steering control  18 . Each of the wheels  14  is capable of 360 degree rotation and the driver station  16  is mounted to allow for 360 degree rotation relative to the support frame  12 . 
     A steering linkage  20  exists between the steering control  18 , the driver station  16  and the wheels  14 . The steering linkage  20  allows rotational movement of the steering control  18  by a selected number of degrees to cause the driver station  16  and each of the wheels  14  to move a proportional number of degrees in the same rotational direction as the steering control  18  with the driver station  16  always facing the forward direction of the wheels  14 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , gears  22  are attached to each of the wheels  14  and the steering control  18  rotates a steering column  24  that has a gear  22  at a remote end  26  of the steering column  24 . A chain linkage  28  is provided between the gears  22 , allowing rotation of the steering column  24  by a selected number of degrees to cause each of the wheels  14  to move a proportional number of degrees in the same rotational direction. 
     It will be understood that vehicle  10  may be implemented using various designs. For example, referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , gears  22  may be positioned around wheel  14 , such that wheel  14  sits within the respective gear  22 . This allows a lower profile to be obtained, and also permits driver&#39;s station  16  to extend over wheels  22 , if desired. In this embodiment, referring to  FIG. 6 , wheel  14  may be mounted to gear  22  via forks  30 , which may provide some suspension to vehicle  10 . In addition, each wheel  14  is controlled by a single linkage  28  that is in contact with each gear  22 . Steering linkage  20  is preferably powered to provide the necessary force to rotate the wheels and the driver&#39;s station, and may be powered by a separate motor from the motor that powers the drive train of vehicle  10 . 
     Operation: 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a vehicle with revolving driver station  10  is moving straight at position “a”. The driver station  16  and wheels  14  face forwards. As the vehicle  10  begins to turn, driver station  16  and wheels  14  begin to rotate, as shown in position “b”. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  as a steering control  18  is utilized to initiate a turn, the gears  22  and chain linkages  28  are caused to turn via the steering linkage  20 . The steering linkage  20  allows a turn of the steering control  18  to result in rotational movement of the driver station  16  and the wheels  14  proportional to and in the same direction as the steering control  18 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , once the vehicle  10  has completed its turn, the driver station  16  and the wheels  14  are in a different orientation while the support frame  12  retains substantially the same orientation throughout the turn. 
     Variations: 
     While a circular shape is shown, the body of vehicle  10  can be circular, triangular or any regular polygon (pentagon, hexagon, octagon). In the depicted embodiment, the support frame  12  is shown to be the same as the body of vehicle  10 , which may not always be the case. 
     The steering linkage shown is rudimentary—there are other more sophisticated steering linkages that could be employed using cables, or hydraulic linkages. 
     The vehicle  10  may be equipped with any number of wheels  14  to allow for an increased load, as shown in  FIG. 4 , which shows an exaggerated number of wheels  14  connected to support frame  12 . 
     In summary, some unique aspects regarding vehicle  10  and its manner of operation are as follows:
         1 Wheels  14  are capable of turning 360 degrees.   2 Wheels  14  always turn (pivot) clockwise or counterclockwise together, so that they are always in the same relative position.   3 Driver station  16  (platform) turns (pivots) with the wheels clockwise or counterclockwise.   4 Support frame  12  that supports wheels  14  and driver station  16  (platform) does not change direction, even when vehicle  10  is travelling in circles.   5 When vehicle  10  is travelling in circles, each wheel  14  makes the same size circles, does the same number of rotations and travels the same distance.   6 When vehicle  10  is turning a corner, steering control  18  (steering wheel) is turned, but as soon as one stops turning steering control  18  (steering wheel), vehicle  10  goes straight again. This simplifies steering. On turns there is no need to turn back steering control  18  (steering wheel) at the end of the turn.   7 The preferred configuration for wheels  14  has a vertical pivot axis for steering that crosses a horizontal wheel axis support with forks support the wheels. This construction provides superior balance and strength. The wheel assembly becomes like a pillar.       

     In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. 
     The following claims are to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of the claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should not be taken as limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope of the following claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and described.