1. Technical Field
This invention relates to steering systems and, more particularly, to an auxiliary steering system for vehicles for assisting a driver to laterally park a vehicle into space-limited areas.
2. Prior Art
Conventional vehicles with wheels are classified into two categories: automobile type vehicles, whose front or rear wheels are steered to change the direction in which vehicles travel, and omni-directional vehicles, whose wheels are all steered in a certain direction so that the vehicle can travel forward, backward, right, left, or diagonally without changing the vehicle position. The conventional automobile type vehicle has a larger turning radius, which leads to the difficulty one encounters when trying to maneuver and position such a vehicle into a limited area of space. This is especially true of instances when a driver is attempting to parallel park their vehicle. During this time consuming procedure, one must often maneuver the vehicle backwards and forwards a number of times, while running the risk of striking the cars parked fore and aft of the limited space.
Since the omni-directional vehicle can change direction without changing vehicle position or orientation, it is used in, for example, office robots, which must change direction and travel in the narrow spaces between desks. A conventional omni-directional vehicle can change direction by steering a plurality of wheels by independent steering mechanisms using special drive sources. The conventional omni-directional vehicle of this type has a steering motor for each wheel and is thus expensive. Since all the wheels must be simultaneously steered in a given direction, the steering motors must be synchronized. Synchronizing control devices are complicated and expensive.
Accordingly, a need remains for an auxiliary steering system for vehicles in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an auxiliary steering system that is easy to use, simple in design, and eliminates the frustrations associated with parallel parking. Instead of repeatedly traveling back and forth to maneuver a vehicle into a tight parking space on a congested street, such a system enables the vehicle to be driven laterally into the parking spot. This advantageously greatly reduces the possibility of accidentally bumping into other parked cars or stationary objects. The system is also easily adaptable to a variety of vehicles and can thus be employed by many vehicle manufacturers.