A vehicle which rolls over the terrain to be traversed on rotatable balls rather than wheels, the vehicle having a support structure slung between the front and rear balls so that its lowest point of support for a rider of the vehicle is below the plane containing the axes of rotation of the balls. Conveniently the vehicle has only a single front and rear ball, the front ball being steerable, but the vehicle can have 3 or 4 balls. Preferably the balls are inflatable. The vehicle can also be moto...

A vehicle includes variable-ratio gearing driven via a hydrodynamic torque converter. The converter has a hydraulically-engaged lock-up clutch which is temporarily disengaged whenever a ratio is disengaged. The vehicle has a system of hydraulically-engaged clutches and brakes for changing ratio, and a system of hydraulically-engaged brakes for bringing the vehicle to rest. The respective operating pressures in the clutch-and-brake system and the braking system are independently modulated, in ord...

According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle having, viewed from the side, at least three ground wheels arranged one behind the other with respect to the direction of forward travel of the vehicle, and at least one lifting device. At least one of said ground wheels is interconnected with another wheel by a freely pivotable quadrangular structure that is in front or behind said one ground wheel with respect to the direction of forward travel.

A load carrying vehicle is provided with a pair of wheel assemblies which are swingable relative to the frame to vary the width of the track. The wheel assemblies are supported on torsion bars which extend along the frame and may be rotated by a hydraulic cylinder. The torsion bars also provide springing for the vehicle.

A vehicle in which a pair of driving wheels are disposed on both left and right sides of a vehicle body frame, the vehicle comprising a power unit composed of an engine and a pair of transmission devices extended from both ends of the engine to individually transmit power of the engine to the driving wheels, and a casing for the power unit supports the driving wheels and is supported on the body frame inserted between both the transmission devices.

A stabilization system for hover vehicles, for example free-flying or cable-controlled helicopters or ducted fan vehicles. The system includes at least one downwardly directed sensor which generates a signal representing the distance from the ground of a predetermined location on the vehicle. The signal from one or more sensors is used to control the height of the vehicle above the ground. Signal from a pair of sensors are used to control the attitude of the vehicle relative to the ground.

A transmission for vehicles is composed of an input shaft provided with a plurality of drive gears and connected to a drive shaft of an engine, an output shaft disposed parallel to the input shaft, driven gears which mesh with the drive gears, individually, and are rotatably disposed on the output shaft, a synchromesh mechanism which includes a sleeve axially movable relative to the output shaft and engages with a side of the driven gears, thereby connecting the driven gears to the output shaft,...

A hybrid vehicle comprises an internal combustion engine, a traction motor, a starter motor, and a battery bank, all controlled by a microprocessor in accordance with the vehicle's instantaneous torque demands so that the engine is run only under conditions of high efficiency, typically only when the load is at least equal to 30% of the engine's maximum torque output. In some embodiments, a turbocharger may be provided, activated only when the load exceeds the engine's maximum torque output for ...

A sunshade for vehicle has a blind and at an operating device. The blind has multiple panels pivotally connected to each other for covering a window of the vehicle. The operating device is mounted adjacent to the window of the vehicle and comprises a base, a cover and a winding assembly. The base and the cover are mounted to each other using clips and corresponding notches engaging each other to provide a strong connection. The winding assembly has two shafts mounted securely between the cover a...

According to one aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a carpet for vehicles comprises a surface skin layer 2 and a sound absorption layer 3 made of a nonwoven fabric integrally bonded to the surface skin layer 2 via an adhesive resin layer 4. The adhesive resin layer 4 is constituted by an air permeable resin layer formed by melting thermoplastic resin powder having a particle diameter of not smaller than 320 .mu.m but not larger than 1,000 .mu.m. An adhered amount of the t...