초록 ▼

Vehicle propulsion systems many times have a transmission with a directional control mechanism, right and left drive units, and a differential steer mechanism. In these vehicles, there is no way of independently stopping one of the drive units in order to provide a pivot turn for better control of t

Vehicle propulsion systems many times have a transmission with a directional control mechanism, right and left drive units, and a differential steer mechanism. In these vehicles, there is no way of independently stopping one of the drive units in order to provide a pivot turn for better control of the vehicle when maneuvering in tight areas and on slopes. In order to ensure that the operator has selective, independent control of applying one or the other of the right or left brakes for steering, a control and a logic system is provided in a propulsion system to automatically apply the right or left brake on the respective drive unit with respect to operator input conditions. In this arrangement, if the operator selects a clockwise steer of the vehicle, it will steer in the clockwise direction regardless of whether the vehicle is moving in the forward direction or the reverse direction. Likewise, the same is true if the operator selects a counterclockwise steer direction of the vehicle. This is accomplished by the control and logic systems sensing the travel direction of the vehicle, the steer direction of the vehicle, and automatically applying the proper brake based on the input conditions. The control and logic systems set forth herein provides a selective independent control of the respective right and left brakes to provide more precise control of the vehicle when operating in tight areas and on slopes.

대표청구항 ▼

A control system and a logic system adapted for use in a vehicle having a source of control power operative to produce a control signal, right and left drive units operatively coupled with a transmission to provide directional control to the vehicle, right and left brakes for selectively stopping th

A control system and a logic system adapted for use in a vehicle having a source of control power operative to produce a control signal, right and left drive units operatively coupled with a transmission to provide directional control to the vehicle, right and left brakes for selectively stopping the respective right and left drive units, brake engagement actuation means for controlling engagement of the right and left brakes, and a differential steer means for providing a differential speed between the right and left drive units for steering of the vehicle, the control system includes input control means for conditioning the transmission to the selected direction, comprising: means for sensing a vehicle travel direction and for operatively transmitting the control signal from the source of control power therethrough responsive to the sensed travel direction of the vehicle; and means for sensing a vehicle steer direction and for operatively transmitting the control signal received from the vehicle travel direction sensing means to the brake engagement actuation means so that the right or left brake can be selectively, independently applied during steering of the vehicle.