Patent ID: 8172033

Claim:
A materials handling vehicle comprising: a frame comprising an operator's compartment; wheels supported on said frame, at least one of said wheels being a steerable wheel; a steer-by-wire system associated with said steerable wheel to effect angular movement of said steerable wheel about a first axis, said steer-by-wire system comprising: a control handle capable of being moved by an operator to generate a steer control signal; a selection switch capable of generating one of a first select signal and a second select signal, wherein said selection switch comprises a speed selection switch and said first select signal comprises a low speed select signal and said second select signal comprises a high speed select signal; a steer motor coupled to said steerable wheel to effect angular movement of said steerable wheel about the first axis; control apparatus coupled to said control handle to receive said steer control signal, coupled to said selection switch to receive said one select signal, and coupled to said steer motor to generate a first drive signal to said steer motor to effect angular movement of said steerable wheel about the first axis, and said control apparatus converting said steer control signal to a corresponding desired angular position for said steerable wheel using one of first and second steerable wheel-to-control-handle-position ratios, wherein said one ratio is selected based on said one select signal.