Tilting Wheeled Vehicle

Abstract

A tilting, preferably three-wheeled, vehicle is disclosed that has a tilting mechanism and a universal steering linkage that allows the vehicle to have leaning and steering characteristics substantially similar to those offered by an in-line two-wheeled vehicle, but that does not require complex linkages and/or control systems to operate effectively. A tilting linkage is operably secured to a frame to allow a pair of spaced apart wheels to remain substantially aligned with the plane of the vehicle throughout its range of movement while still providing an increasing camber between the wheels as tiling of the vehicle increases. A tilting lock system may be provide to limit tilting of the vehicle upon predetermined criteria.

1 - 12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A tilting wheeled vehicle, comprising:
 a frame tiltable side-to-side within a tilting range of motion of the frame;   a right wheel defining a first wheel plane that intersects the right wheel;   a left wheel defining a second wheel plane that intersects the left wheel;   a steering system including:   a tilting linkage including an upper portion having right and left upper cross members operably secured to the frame at a shared upper pivot, and a lower portion having right and left lower cross members operably secured to the frame at a shared lower pivot;   a right kingpin having the right wheel mounted thereto and pivotally secured to the right upper cross member and the right lower cross member of the tilting linkage at the first wheel plane to define a first steering axis of the right wheel;   a left kingpin operatively secured to the left wheel mounted thereto and pivotally secured to the left upper cross member and the left lower cross member of the tilting linkage at the second wheel plane to define a second steering axis of the left wheel; and   a universal steering linkage secured to a steering shaft along a frame plane that also includes the shared upper pivot and the shared lower pivot, the universal steering linkage including a right tie rod and a left tie rod that are pivotable independent of each other, wherein the right tie rod is operably secured to the right kingpin, and the left tie rod is operably secured to the left kingpin. .