Wheel substitutes for land vehicles – Combined or convertible
Patent
1993-09-28
1995-02-21
Stormer, Russell D.
Wheel substitutes for land vehicles
Combined or convertible
305 31, B62D 5530
Patent
active
053909968
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for determining the load applied to a wheel of a tracked vehicle by the track adjacent to the wheel.
2. Description of Related Art
It has previously been proposed to use so called "active" suspension systems to control the suspension of a tracked vehicle. "Active" suspension systems are suspension systems in which the wheels of the vehicle are connected to hydraulic actuators which can be controlled to cause motion of the wheels. The hydraulic actuators are controlled by control processors in response to various measured physical parameters. An example of such an "active" suspension system can be seen in European Patent Publication No. 0114757.
The application of active suspension to a tracked vehicle provides problems since in most active suspension systems it is necessary to measure the load transmitted by an actuator to the vehicle body. In a tracked vehicle, the load transmitted by an actuator to the tracked vehicle body comprises not only the load on the wheel transmitted from the road, but also comprises load on the wheel due to tension in the vehicle track associated with the wheel. For correct operation of the vehicle suspension system the force on the wheel due to the track of a tracked vehicle must be isolated, to allow the active suspension system to react only to loads on the wheel due to road inputs, that is to say loads on the wheel due to the interaction of the vehicle with the terrain over which it passes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a tracked vehicle having a plurality of wheels and a track extending around the wheels wherein there is provided apparatus for determining the track force applied to at least one wheel.
The term "track force" which is used in this specification describes the force applied to a wheel of a tracked vehicle resulting from tensile forces in the track extending around the wheels of the vehicle.
According to the present invention there is also provided a tracked vehicle having a plurality of wheels and a track extending around the wheels wherein there is provided means for determining the force applied on to a wheel resulting from the interaction of the wheel with the ground over which the vehicle passes comprising:
a first signal generating means which generates signals indicative of the force transmitted from the wheel to the vehicle body,
second signal generating means which generates signals indicative of the track force applied to the wheel and
processor means for combining the signals generated by the first and second signal generating means to remove from the signals indicative of the force transmitted from the wheel to the vehicle body those signals attributable to the track force applied to the wheel.
Preferably the apparatus for determining the track force applied to at least one wheel includes means for determining tensile forces in the track.
Preferably the means for determining tensile forces includes sensor means for generating signals indicative of the position of one or more movable wheels of the vehicle.
Preferably the means for determining tensile forces in the track calculates the tensile forces as a function of the position of the wheels and the length of the track.
In a first preferred embodiment the tracked vehicle has an upper plurality of wheels and a lower plurality of wheels, which lower plurality of wheels are adjacent the ground over which the vehicle passes, and a track extending around both the upper wheels and the lower wheels wherein the means for determining tensile forces comprises processor means for summing the distances between;
the foremost and hindmost upper wheels,
the foremost and hindmost lower wheels,
the foremost upper and the foremost lower wheels, and
the hindmost upper and the hindmost lower wheels.
In the first preferred embodiment the processor means preferably calculates the tensile forces as the product of the summed distances and a predefined proportionality constant.
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Search Report of PCT/GB 92/00567.
Search Report of PCT/GB 91/00068 (relating to USSN 07/910,258 which precedes this application).
PCT Publication WO 91/10586 of application PCT/GB 07/910,258 (now US national phase 07/910,258).
Lotus Cars Limited
Stormer Russell D.
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