A vehicle with omnidirectional movement is provided. The vehicle is able to move in three degrees of freedom, including forward, backward, sideways and rotating around the center of the vehicle. Methods of controlling said vehicle said vehicle is also provided. The methods control the movement of the vehicle in an omnidirectional manner by utilizing wheel, tire, suspension, driveshafts, and steering components of a conventional automobile.

The present disclosure relates to a system and a method of controlling the movement of a tracked mobile mining machine having one or more articulated vehicle units. The control system works by taking input from manual or automated input means, the input serving as a set operating value for at least one driving parameter. The controller generates control signals, which are sent to regulating means that actuate the motor of the mobile mining machine. Using sensors on the machine, actual values of the driving parameter are measured in real-time and fed to the controller for comparison with the original set values. Any difference in the values is compensated for when the controller sends control signals to the regulating means causing readjustment of the driving parameter of the mining machine. The control system is applicable to crawler-driven powered vehicle units to ensure synchronous crawler movement for both linear and non-linear paths.

An apparatus for transporting a load is described, including: a body including a part or portion for engaging with or connecting to a load to be transported; a ground-engaging device supporting the body, the ground-engaging device for effecting movement of the body over a surface; a transmitter module; a receiver module; and a controller for communicating with the transmitter and receiver modules and the ground engaging device and for receiving status signals from components and/or devices of the apparatus, wherein the controller is capable of conducting a check as to the status of the components and/or devices of the apparatus, and after completing said check to provide an “apparatus operative” or “apparatus non-operative” signal to the transmitter module, wherein the transmitter module is configured to transmit the “apparatus operative” or “apparatus non-operative” signal, and wherein the receiver module is configured to receive from a first predetermined, or designated, other such apparatus its respective “apparatus operative” or “apparatus non-operative” signals.

Apparatuses, methods and systems are provided for forming an autonomous vehicle of an upper body unit configured to consume space in an upward direction to minimize a horizontal footprint and enable a stacking of vehicle components on top of each other in the upward direction; a lower chassis unit configured to oppose the upper body unit and include a structure for supporting the modular unit with prismatic cross members to configure to a range of module unit widths, the lower chassis unit including: a set of structural rails on either side of the lower chassis unit configured in a rigid frame unit with longitudinal members wherein the structural rails can be attached to another corresponding set of structural rails; a plurality of compartment units including: front-compartment, rear-compartment, and mid-compartment units configured to be attached on either side of the lower chassis unit for the forming of the autonomous vehicle.

A steering method of an industrial truck. The industrial truck comprises a drive, at least three steerable wheels, at least one steering setpoint value transmitter which steers at least one of the at least three steerable wheels, a steering computer which provides angle setpoint values, and an electrical power electronics unit which supplies electrical energy to a steering motor associated with the at least one steered wheel. The method comprises steering, via the at least one steering setpoint value transmitter, the at least one steered wheel, detecting angular positions of the at least one steered wheel, providing the angle setpoint values via the steering computer, comparing the angular positions of the at least one steered wheel with the angle setpoint values provided via the steering computer so as to determine a setpoint/actual value difference, and controlling the electrical power electronics unit based on the setpoint/actual value difference.

The present application discloses a steering control system, a method and a crane. The steering control system includes: one or more first angle sensors, one or more second angle sensors, and a steering controller; each of the first angle sensors collects an actual steering angle of a wheel corresponding to a mechanical steering axle as a first steering angle; each of the second angle sensors an actual steering angle of a wheel corresponding to an electrically controlled steering axle as a second steering angle; the steering controller obtains a theoretical steering angle of the wheel corresponding to the electrically controlled steering axle in a corresponding travel mode according to the first steering angle, and compares the second steering angle with the theoretical steering angle, to control the wheel corresponding to the electrically controlled steering axle to steer according to a difference therebetween.

A vehicle suspension device includes a wheel body on which a wheel and tire unit is mounted, a steering drive unit configured to transmit a driving force to rotate the wheel body in a lateral direction of a vehicle body, so that the wheel and tire unit rotates together with the wheel body, and a wheel moving unit disposed on the vehicle body to be movable in a front-back direction, configured such that a position thereof changes in a top-bottom direction, and connected to the wheel body to support the wheel body, so that a position of the wheel body is changed in response to the wheel moving unit moving in the front-back direction and changing the position in the top-bottom direction.

A steering system (10) for a vehicle wheel (12) has a wheel carrier (14) for mounting a steered wheel (12), the wheel carrier (14) being rotatably mounted with respect to the vehicle about a steering axis to allow the wheel (12) to be steered. A hydraulic cylinder (20) has a piston therein and a rigid connecting rod assembly (22) extending from the piston out of the cylinder (20). The rigid connecting rod assembly (22) comprises a first section (22) adapted to reciprocate into and out of the cylinder (20) and a second section (26) rigidly extending from the first section (22) to a pivot point connection (50) where it is pivotally connected to the wheel carrier (14) at an offset from the steering axis. The hydraulic cylinder (20) is pivotally mounted on the vehicle such that it is prevented from translational movement relative to the vehicle but capable of changing its orientation with respect to the vehicle. Due to the rigid connecting rod assembly (22) and the pivot connection to the wheel carrier (14), as well as the pivotal mounting of the cylinder (20) on the vehicle, lateral strains on the seals of the hydraulic cylinder (20) are avoided.

A steering method for an industrial truck. The industrial truck includes a pivot plate which is mounted to be rotatable about a steering axis in two steering directions, three wheels, one of the three wheels being designed as a central wheel which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation in the pivot plate, and a hydraulic cylinder which rotates the pivot plate about the steering axis. The method includes exerting steering forces of at least approximately equal magnitude on the pivot plate to provide a rotation about the steering axis in each of the two steering directions.

A higher throughput is an increasingly necessary requirement for driverless transport systems with a plurality of driverless transport vehicles. In arrangements with inclined roadways, resuming a movement is problematic in that doing so has hitherto only been possible with a limited arrangement of the roadways and/or with highly dimensioned drives. The novel method provides for moving a driverless transport vehicle on an inclined transport roadway, wherein the steering drives are actuated on the basis of the detected inclination direction in order to move the vehicle such that the transport vehicle is moved transversely to the inclination direction. After a specified minimum speed of the transport vehicle transversely to the inclination direction is reached, the steering drives are adjusted such that the transport vehicle continues to move in the inclination direction.