Patent Abstract:
A vehicle drive unit and land vehicle comprising the drive unit are disclosed. Each drive unit comprises a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels. The land vehicle comprises a pair of drive units on opposite sides thereof. The drive units comprise an electric motor for powering the pair of wheels and a gear drive assembly comprising structure for disengaging the electric motor from the ground wheels. The drive units may be remotely controllable, may be water-tight and may be floatable. The vehicle comprising the drive unit may be amphibious.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/942,610, filed Feb. 20, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to vehicle drive units for land vehicles. More particularly, it relates to modular vehicle drive units comprising a pair of wheels that are longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart. Also disclosed are land vehicles comprising at least a pair of the modular vehicle drive units. Also disclosed are land vehicles that are remotely controllable and are optionally amphibious. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Known land vehicles suffer from a variety of problems making them less than perfectly suited for a variety of applications, such as: agricultural work; mining and geological work; exploration or mapping of remote areas; academic research and the like. In particular, known land vehicles suffer from the problems of not having robust drive units capable of: being modular; being configurable in a variety of ways to form a variety of land vehicles; being readily replaceable (for example, for maintenance purposes); having ease of connectivity to a vehicle electric power source; being water-tight and optionally of floating; being readily controllable (for example, remotely); having structure for readily disconnecting an electric drive motor from ground engaging wheels; having ground engaging wheels capable of propelling a vehicle comprising the drive unit on water as well as land, etc. In addition, and in some instances as a result of the foregoing, known land vehicles suffer from the problems of: lack of robust suspension systems (for example, for traversing uneven terrain or large obstacles); carrying instrument payloads, particularly in a well-sealed environment and with ease of installation and removal from the vehicle (or drive unit); being amphibious; being remotely controllable; being skid-steerable (by differential movement of wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle); having a single electrical power source for a plurality of vehicle drive units; being towable, etc. 
     There remains a need for improved land vehicles and vehicle drive units addressing some or all of the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided a vehicle drive unit comprising: a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels; an electric motor operatively coupled to the pair of wheels by a gear drive assembly; and, a housing enclosing the gear drive and motor to which the pair of wheels is operatively mounted. 
     There is further provided a land vehicle comprising: a vehicle body; a pair of drive units pivotally attached on opposite sides of the vehicle body, each drive unit comprising a pair of longitudinally aligned and longitudinally spaced apart ground wheels, an electric motor operatively coupled to the pair of wheels by a gear drive assembly, a housing enclosing the gear drive and motor to which the pair of wheels is operatively mounted, and structure configured to pivotally mount the drive unit to the vehicle located on the housing between the pair of wheels; an electrical power supply; and, remote control structure for the vehicle configured to permit differential operation of the drive units. 
     Further features will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, embodiments thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a land vehicle comprising a pair of vehicle drive units; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the land vehicle of  FIG. 1  showing an interior of a drive unit; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of  FIG. 2 , further showing the drive unit; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of the drive unit of  FIG. 2 , exposing a portion of a gear drive of the drive unit; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of the drive unit of  FIG. 2 , further exposing the gear drive of the drive unit; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view from an opposite side of the drive unit of  FIG. 2 , showing drive chains; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view from a top of the drive unit of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view from a rear of the drive unit of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view from a rear of the vehicle of  FIG. 1  showing features of a vehicle suspension system; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the vehicle of  FIG. 1  with various features of the drive unit and vehicle exposed; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view from a bottom of the vehicle of  FIG. 1  with features of the bottom of the vehicle exposed; 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged side view of a portion of  FIG. 11 ; and, 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a drive dis-engaging level of the vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a land vehicle  1  comprises a right side  2   a  and left side  2   b  vehicle drive unit pivotally attached on either side of a central vehicle body  3 . Each vehicle drive unit  2   a ,  2   b  comprises a first ground wheel  4   a ,  4   b , and a second ground wheel  5   a ,  5   b . It can be seen that the right side vehicle drive unit  2   a  has first ground wheel  4   a  at the front of the vehicle  1  and second ground wheel  5   b  at a rear of the vehicle  1 . Left side drive unit  2   b  has second ground wheel  5   b  at a front of the vehicle  1  and first ground wheel  4   a  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) at a rear of the vehicle  1 . Thus, the right side  2   a  and left side  2   b  vehicle drive units are interchangeable with one another. This reduces the number of different drive units required to configure a vehicle  1 , simplifies maintenance of vehicles, and reduces overall complexity of manufacturing. 
     Each drive unit  2   a ,  2   b  comprises a housing,  6   a ,  6   b , to which the first wheels  4   a ,  4   b  and second wheels  5   a ,  5   b  are mounted. Side access hatches  7   a  are provided on a side of each drive unit  2   a ,  2   b  and top access hatches  7   b  are provided on a top of each drive unit. Side access hatches  7   a  permit access to interior drive components of the vehicle drive units  2   a ,  2   b , whereas the top access hatches  7   b  permit access to compartments of an interior of the drive units configured for housing vehicle payloads. These payloads may comprise such items as electronic instrumentation, operator manuals, tools, spare parts, or the like. The housings  6   a ,  6   b  are configured to be watertight; thus, the side access hatches  7   a  and top access hatches  7   b  are sealed. Also provided atop each drive unit is an optional watertight radio transceiver unit  31 , which is used to provide instructions to each drive unit for remote control of the drive unit, as will be further described hereinafter. In an alternative embodiment, individual radio transceiver units  31  may be replaced by a single radio transceiver unit located in the body  3  of the vehicle  1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the side access hatch  7   a  of drive unit  2   a  is removed to expose an interior of the right side drive unit  2   a . An electric motor  8   a  is provided and connected to a gear drive assembly  9   a . A pivot structure  10   a  is provided for pivotally attaching the drive unit  2   a  to the vehicle body  3  of the vehicle  1 . The pivot structure  10   a  is at substantially the longitudinal midpoint of the drive unit  2   a  and is also beneath the electric motor and gear drive assembly  9   a . In the embodiment shown, the pivot structure  10   a  comprises a pivot shaft receiving member in the shape of an aperture. The aperture is configured to receive a shaft  21  (not shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) with bushings, bearings or similar structure to allow pivoting movement of the vehicle drive unit  2   a  about a pivot axis passing through a center of the pivot structure  10   a . In an alternative embodiment, the pivot structure  10   a  may comprise a stub shaft extending from the vehicle drive unit  2   a  inwardly of the vehicle to be received within a corresponding aperture on the vehicle body  3 . Persons of skill in the art will readily recognize that various structures are available for pivotally attaching a vehicle drive unit  2   a ,  2   b  to the vehicle body  3 . 
     Also shown is a second engagement structure  24   b  in a first position for maintaining engagement between a shaft of a second rotatable drive structure  12   b , and other components of the gear drive assembly  9   a . Although not shown, a similar engagement structure is provided for connection with the shaft of first rotatable drive structure  12   a . The function of the second engagement structure  24   b  will be further described hereinafter. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4 , further features of the gear drive assembly  9   a  are shown. The gear drive assembly  9   a  comprises a first driven gear  11   a  and a second driven gear  11   b . The shafts of the first and second rotatable drive structures  12   a ,  12   b  extend through a center of each respective driven gear  11   a ,  11   b . Referring additionally to  FIG. 5 , wherein the electric motor  8   a  has been removed for clarity, a drive gear  13   a  that is powered by electric motor  8   a  is shown. The drive gear  13   a  and driven gears  11   a ,  11   b  form a planetary gear arrangement. It is desirable that the planetary gear arrangement comprises a drive gear  13   a  with a smaller diameter and lesser number of teeth than the driven gears  11   a ,  11   b , which are themselves equal to one another in size and number of teeth. This provides increased torque while reducing the rotational speed of the driven gears  11   a ,  11   b  as compared with the electric motor  8   a.    
       FIG. 6  shows a rear of the gear drive assembly  9   a  wherein first and second rotatable drive structures  12   a ,  12   b  (hidden behind shields in this view) each engage a respective first and second endless tension structure  14   a ,  14   b . In this embodiment, the rotatable drive structures  12   a ,  12   b  are drive sprockets and the endless tension structures,  14   a ,  14   b  are drive chains. In an alternative embodiment, the rotatable drive structures  12   a ,  12   b  are pulleys and the endless tension structures  14   a ,  14   b  are belts (which may be either toothed or not toothed). Each of the ground wheels  4   a ,  5   a  comprises a wheel sprocket (not shown) to which the endless tension structures  14   a ,  14   b  are connected. Rotation of the drive gear  13   a  in a first direction (as seen from the right side of the vehicle) causes a corresponding rotation of each driven gear  11   a ,  11   b  in a second direction. This in turn causes rotation of in the second direction of the rotatable drive structures  12   a ,  12   b . This causes a corresponding movement in the same direction of the endless tension structures  14   a ,  14   b , which in turn causes rotation in the same direction of the ground wheels  4   a ,  5   a . The electric motor  8   a  may be operated at variable speed and in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. By altering the rotational speed and direction of the motors  8   a ,  8   b  of the drive units  2   a ,  2   b , a skid steer arrangement is created for steering the vehicle  1  using differential speed control. This allows the vehicle to turn sharply on land or water by remotely controlling the speed and direction of the drive units  2   a ,  2   b.    
     Referring now additionally to  FIG. 7 , a drive unit bushing  20   a  is shown located between the vehicle body  3  and the drive unit  2   a . The drive unit bushing  20   a  comprises an arcuate shape with a center aligned with the pivot axis passing through the pivot structure  10   a . The drive unit bushing  20   a  is made from a dry lubricant material, such as an ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or the like. The drive unit bushing  20   a  is provided in two portions  20   a ′ and  20   a ″. One of the portions is mounted to an interior facing side of the drive unit  2   a  and the other portion is mounted opposite thereto on the vehicle body  3 . In an alternative embodiment, a single drive unit busing  20   a  may be fixedly mounted to either the vehicle body  3  or the drive unit  2   a  and spaced with close tolerance between those two structures. During operation, the drive unit bushing portion  20   a ′ slidingly engages the drive unit busing portion  20   a ″ during pivoting movement of the drive unit  2   a  in order to prevent deflection of the drive unit  2   a  relative to the pivot axis passing through the pivot structure  10   a . Thus, the drive unit bushing  20   a  strengthens the connection between the drive unit  2   a  and the vehicle body  3 , without the need for undue stiffening of the pivot structure  10   a  or the shaft  21  coupled thereto. 
     The shaft  21  engages with the corresponding portion of the pivot structure  10   a , as previously described. Due to the use of the drive bushing  20   a , the shaft  21  is permitted to be hollow without compromising structural integrity of the vehicle  1 . The hollow shaft  21  may therefore be used to provide a sealed connection between the drive unit  2   a  and the interior of the vehicle body  3 . An electrical supply cable (not shown) passes through cable aperture  22  in the hollow shaft  21  and thereby is allowed to enter the interior of the drive unit  2   a  in a watertight manner. The drive unit  2   a  can thereby be powered from an electrical power source (such as batteries), located within the interior of the vehicle body  3 . This lightens the weight of the drive unit  2   a  and simplifies charging of the vehicle  1  from a central location. However, in certain embodiments, it may be desirable to provide an electrical power source within the drive units  2   a ,  2   b . The hollow shaft  21  and aperture  22  may be used to provide a passage for data cables, other electrical connections or even fluid conduits between the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  and the vehicle body  3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the components of a vehicle suspension system can be seen. Right side suspension link  15   a  is pivotally attached at first end  16   a  to drive unit  2   a  at a position posterior to the midpoint of drive unit  2   a  (this is also posterior to pivot structure  10   a , which is located at substantially the longitudinal midpoint of drive unit  2   a ). The second end  17   a  of right side suspension link  15   a  is pivotally attached to suspension cross member  18 . The suspension cross member  18  is configured to pivot about a vertical pivot axis of suspension pivot structure  19 , which is attached to a rear of the vehicle body  3  at substantially the transverse midpoint thereof. Referring additionally to  FIG. 9 , a corresponding left side suspension link  15   b  is attached at a first end to left side drive unit  2   b  (not shown in  FIG. 9 ). A second end  17   b  of suspension link  15   b , is attached to suspension cross member  18  opposite attachment  17   a . Rotation of right side drive unit  2   a  in a clockwise direction (when seen from the right side of the vehicle  1 ) about the pivot axis passing through the pivot structure  10   a  causes the first end  16   a  of suspension link  15  a to move upwardly and toward the front of the vehicle  1 . This in turn draws second end  17   a  of right side suspension link  15   a  toward the front of the vehicle  1 , causing counterclockwise rotation (when seen from a top of vehicle  1 ) of suspension cross member  18  about the vertical pivot axis passing through suspension pivot structure  19 . As a result, left side suspension link  15   b  is drawn towards a rear of the vehicle, thereby causing left side drive unit  2   b  to pivot clockwise (when viewed from a left side of the vehicle  1 ). Thus, the right side drive unit  2   a  and left side drive unit  2   b  pivot in opposite directions relative to one another about their respective pivot axes. This has the effect of distributing movements of the right side drive unit  2   a  to the left side drive unit  2   b  (and vice versa) in a manner that seeks to balance, or level, the vehicle body  3  when an obstacle is encountered on one side or another. However, when the same obstacle is encountered on both sides of the vehicle (for example, when simply travelling uphill), no levelling takes place and the front of the vehicle body  3  rigidly moves upwardly with the front of the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  to overcome the obstacle. Without such a suspension system, the vehicle body  3  could potentially impact the hill while the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  pivot in response to the hill. Thus, the suspension system provides more level operation of the vehicle over uneven terrain while permitting more uniform movement of the vehicle over even sloping terrain. 
     Referring additionally to  FIG. 10 , also provided on the rear of the vehicle body  3  is an electrical disconnect  23 . The electrical disconnect  23  may be used to interrupt power flow from the electrical power supply (for example, one or more batteries, not shown), located within the vehicle body  3  to the electric motors  8   a ,  8   b , located within drive units  2   a ,  2   b . Similarly, a central charging point (not shown) can be provided on the vehicle body  3  to permit charging of the power supply from an exterior of the vehicle. Thus, with a single charging point and single electrical disconnect  23 , the vehicle may be easily operated, charged, and made safe for maintenance taking place within the interior of the drive units  2   a ,  2   b , or the interior vehicle body  3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , an underside of vehicle  1  is shown. Bottom coverings of the vehicle body  3  have been removed for clarity. As can readily be seen, the hollow shaft  21  is located within the interior of the vehicle body  3 , at a point lower than the front or rear ends of the vehicle body  3 . Thus, the underside of the vehicle body  3  is sloped downwardly from each end toward the longitudinal midpoint of the vehicle body. This facilitates movement of the vehicle body up and over obstacles, when traveling in either direction, where impact with the obstacle may occur. It also facilitates operation of the vehicle on water, as the relatively elevated front and rear ends of the underside of the vehicle body  3  serve to ride up and over any bow wake created as the vehicle moves through water. Also seen in  FIG. 12  is the tread pattern and configuration of the wheels  4   a ,  4   b ,  5   a ,  5   b . This tread configuration is advantageous in that it allows the vehicle to be propelled on water by the wheels and also on land. Differential rotational speed of the wheels  4   a ,  4   b ,  5   a ,  5   b  can be used to steer the vehicle on water or on land. The drive unit bushing  20   b  is also shown attached to an interior surface of the left side drive unit  2   b . A drive unit bushing portion  20   b ′ is provided attached to the interior facing surface of the left side drive unit  2   b  and the corresponding drive unit bushing portion  20   b ″ is provided attached to an outward facing (leftward facing) surface of the vehicle body  3  for sliding engagement of the two drive bushings with one another upon pivoting movement of the drive unit  2   b.    
     The vehicle body  3  is watertight and is desirably configured to allow the vehicle  1  to float by virtue of fluid displacement. Similarly, the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  are watertight. In some embodiments, the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  have sufficient displacement by virtue of the sealed housings  6   a ,  6   b  and ground wheels  4   a ,  4   b ,  5   a ,  5   b  to float by themselves. In other embodiments, sufficient displacement is provided by the vehicle body  3  that the vehicle can float without the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  themselves being floatable. In still other embodiments, displacement of the vehicle body  3  is insufficient for flotation and flotation is provided by the drive units  2   a ,  2   b . In still other embodiments, insufficient displacement for flotation is provided by either the drive units  2   a ,  2   b  or the vehicle body  3  and external sources of flotation are employed. These may comprise inflatable bladders, fixed flotation elements (for example, styrofoam elements), additional displacement elements (for example, pontoons) or any other suitable structure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 13 , it can be seen at the pivot structure  10   a  is open and the shaft  21  is hollow, passing all the way from one side to the other of the vehicle body  3 . The shaft  21  need not pass from one side to the other, but could simply end as a stub shaft somewhere within the interior of the vehicle body  3 . Turning specifically to  FIG. 13 , a shaft of the first rotatable drive structure  12   a  passes through a center of first driven gear  11   a ; however, the rotational axis of the rotatable drive structure  12   a  is not coaxial with the rotational axis of the first driven gear  11   a . Despite the fact that these axes are not aligned, an exterior surface of the shaft of rotatable drive structure  12   a  is frictionally engaged within an interior surface of the enlarged opening of the first driven gear  11   a . Upon rotation of the first driven gear  11   a  in a given direction, the first rotatable drive structure  12   a  is caused to also rotate in the same direction. In place of frictional engagement between the first rotatable drive structure  12   a  and the first driven gear  11   a , any suitable means of interaction may be provided (for example, meshing gear teeth). The axis of rotation of the first rotatable drive structure  12   a  is translatable toward the axis of rotation of the first driven gear  11   a  in the event that a first engagement structure (not shown) is moved from a first position to a second position. 
     Referring additionally to  FIG. 14 , a corresponding second engagement structure  24   b  that functions in a similar manner is shown in the first position, whereby the second rotatable drive structure  12   b  and second driven gear  11   b  are engaged with one another. This first position is denoted by engagement of notch  25  with post  27 . Due to flexibility of the engagement structure  24   b , the notch  25  may be elevated relative to the post  27  to allow the engagement structure  24   b  to be rotated in a clockwise direction until the second notch  26  is aligned with post  27 . The second rotatable drive structure  12   b  moves in an eccentric fashion until the rotatable drive structure is no longer engaged with the second driven gear  11   b . Thus, rotation of the ground wheel  5   a  causes rotation of second rotatable drive structure  12   b  via endless tension member  14   b , but the rotation is not transmitted to the second driven gear  11   b . This isolates electric motor  8   a  from being inadvertently driven during towing or other externally induced movement of the vehicle  1 . This makes the vehicle easier to tow or push, prevents inadvertent wear of the gear drive assembly  9   a , of the electric motor  8   a , and inadvertent back charging of the electrical power supply, which could lead to unintended heat buildup. As previously mentioned, similar engagement structure is provided for the first rotatable drive member  12   a  and first driven gear  11   a . Corresponding structures are also provided on the left side drive unit  2   b.    
     The novel features of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon examination of this disclosure as a whole. It should be understood, however, that the scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth herein, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the specification as a whole. The inventors intend to claim all disclosed features and sub-combinations of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5