초록 ▼

Torque is generated by the rotating front road wheel of a motorcycle for balance. When the vehicle is traveling too slowly, too little torque is generated for adequate balance, and when the vehicle is traveling too quickly, too much torque is generated for safe maneuvering. A torque compensator for

Torque is generated by the rotating front road wheel of a motorcycle for balance. When the vehicle is traveling too slowly, too little torque is generated for adequate balance, and when the vehicle is traveling too quickly, too much torque is generated for safe maneuvering. A torque compensator for a motorcycle thus includes a sensor for detecting the angular momentum of the road wheel. The detected angular momentum is compared to a predetermined optimal angular momentum by a comparator. An electric flywheel attached to the steering fork of the motorcycle is driven at a variable speed to generate a compensating angular momentum equal to the difference between the angular momentum of the road wheel and the optimal angular momentum. When the angular momentum of the road wheel is below the optimum, the flywheel is driven in the same direction as the road wheel to provide supplemental momentum, so that the sum of their momentums is equal to the optimal angular momentum. When the angular momentum of the road wheel exceeds the optimum, the flywheel is driven in the opposite direction as the road wheel to provide a counteracting momentum, so that the sum of their momentums is still equal to the optimal angular momentum. Thus the combined torque of the road wheel and flywheel is always optimized for the best stability and steering response throughout the entire speed range of the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] A torque compensator for a vehicle, comprising:a variable speed flywheel with a horizontal spin axis for being attached to a steerable front supporting portion of said vehicle, said flywheel rotating at a speed generally inversely proportional to a speed of said vehicle for providin

[ I claim:] [1.] A torque compensator for a vehicle, comprising:a variable speed flywheel with a horizontal spin axis for being attached to a steerable front supporting portion of said vehicle, said flywheel rotating at a speed generally inversely proportional to a speed of said vehicle for providing greater supplemental torque when said vehicle is traveling slowly, and for providing lesser supplemental torque when said vehicle is traveling more quickly; andan angular momentun detector connected to said flywheel and arranged for measuring an angular momentum of a road wheel of said vehicle and thus measuring said speed of said vehicle.