Three-row wheel vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11299224-B2
Application number	US-202117198598-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2021
Priority date	Mar 13, 2020
Publication date	Apr 12, 2022
Grant date	Apr 12, 2022

Abstract

A three-row wheel vehicle having front, center and rear wheels has laterally spaced leading arms each pivotably connected to a vehicle body, laterally spaced swing arms each connected to the front end of the leading arm swingably in the front and rear direction and rotatably supporting the front wheel at the lower end, and laterally spaced connecting links each attached at one end to the swing arm pivotably around an axis and attached at the other end to the vehicle body pivotably around another axis; heights of the axes are different when the vehicle is on a horizontal flat traveling road; and each connecting link is arranged to apply a reaction force including an upward component to the swing arm when a rearward force acts from the front wheel to the one end via the swing arm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A three-row wheel vehicle having a front wheel group, a center wheel group and a rear wheel group that are arranged in a front-rear direction of the three-row wheel vehicle, and at least one of the front wheel group, the center wheel group and the rear wheel group includes a pair of laterally spaced wheels, wherein
the three-row wheel vehicle has a pair of laterally spaced leading arms, a pair of laterally spaced swing arms and a pair of laterally spaced connecting links,
each leading arm is connected at a rear end portion to a vehicle body so as to pivot in a vertical direction around a first lateral pivot axis;

each swing arm is connected to a front end portion of the leading arm so as to swing in the front-rear direction around a second lateral pivot axis and rotatably supports the corresponding wheel of the front wheel group at a lower end portion; and
each connecting link is attached at one end to the swing arm so as to pivot around a third lateral pivot axis and is attached at the other end to the vehicle body so as to pivot around a fourth lateral pivot axis: and
heights of the third and fourth lateral pivot axes are different from each other when the three-row wheel vehicle is on a horizontal flat traveling road, and each connecting link is arranged to apply a reaction force including an upward component to the swing arm when a rearward force acts from the corresponding wheel of the front wheel group to the one end via the swing arm,
wherein the third lateral pivot axis is located below the second lateral pivot axis, and the fourth lateral pivot axis is located behind and below the third lateral pivot axis when the three-row wheel vehicle is on the horizontal flat traveling road.

2. The three-row wheel vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein each leading arm supports the corresponding wheel of the center wheel group rotatably around a rotation axis at a position below the first lateral pivot axis.

3. The three-row wheel vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein each rotation axis of the corresponding wheel of the center wheel group is located directly below the first lateral pivot axis when the three-row wheel vehicle is on the horizontal flat traveling road.

4. A three-row wheel vehicle having a front wheel group, a center wheel group and a rear wheel group that are arranged in a front-rear direction of the three-row wheel vehicle, and at least one of the front wheel group, the center wheel group and the rear wheel group includes a pair of laterally spaced wheels, wherein
the three-row wheel vehicle has a pair of laterally spaced leading arms, a pair of laterally spaced swing arms and a pair of laterally spaced connecting links,
each leading arm is connected at a rear end portion to a vehicle body so as to pivot in a vertical direction around a first lateral pivot axis;

each swing arm is connected to a front end portion of the leading arm so as to swing in the front-rear direction around a second lateral pivot axis and rotatably supports the corresponding wheel of the front wheel group at a lower end portion; and
each connecting link is attached at one end to the swing arm so as to pivot around a third lateral pivot axis and is attached at the other end to the vehicle body so as to pivot around a fourth lateral pivot axis: and
heights of the third and fourth lateral pivot axes are different from each other when the three-row wheel vehicle is on a horizontal flat traveling road, and each connecting link is arranged to apply a reaction force including an upward component to the swing arm when a rearward force acts from the corresponding wheel of the front wheel group to the one end via the swing arm,
wherein the third lateral pivot axis is located below the second lateral pivot axis, and the fourth lateral pivot axis is located anterior to and above the third lateral pivot axis when the three-row wheel vehicle is on the horizontal flat traveling road.

5. The three-row wheel vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein each leading arm supports the corresponding wheel of the center wheel group rotatably around a rotation axis at a position below the first lateral pivot axis.

6. The three-row wheel vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein each rotation axis of the corresponding wheel of the center wheel group is located directly below the first lateral pivot axis when the three-row wheel vehicle is on the horizontal flat traveling road.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Isono Hiroshi

Classifications

• B62D57/024 Primary

  specially adapted for moving on inclined or vertical surfaces (endless-track vehicles for ascending or descending stairs B62D55/075; hand-carts with provision for travelling up or down stairs B62B5/02) · CPC title

• B60G5/04

  with two or more pivoted arms, the movements of which are resiliently interrelated {, e.g. the arms being rigid} · CPC title

• B62D61/125 Primary

  the retractable wheel being a part of a set of tandem wheels (resilient suspension for a single set of tandem wheels B60G5/00) · CPC title

• B60G5/01

  the set being characterised by having more than two successive axles · CPC title

• B62D61/10 Primary

  with more than four wheels {(tractors of the low ground pressure type B62D49/002)} · CPC title