A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel, a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles.
Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and heavy trucks, as well as tractors and tanks. The steering wheel is the part of the steering system that the driver manipulates; the rest of the steering system responds to such driver inputs. This can be through direct mechanical contact as in recirculating ball or rack and pinion steering gears, without or with the assistance of hydraulic power steering, HPS, or as in some modern production cars with the help of computer-controlled motors, known as electric power steering.
Near the start of the 18th century, many sea vessels appeared using the ship's wheel design. However, historians are unclear when that approach to steering was first used. [1] The first automobiles were steered with a tiller, but in 1894, Alfred Vacheron took part in the Paris–Rouen race with a Panhard 4 hp model which he had fitted with a steering wheel. [2] That is believed to be one of the earliest employments of the principle. [3]
From 1898, the Panhard et Levassor cars were equipped as standard with steering wheels. Charles Rolls introduced the first car in Britain fitted with a steering wheel when he imported a 6 hp Panhard from France in 1898. [4] Arthur Constantin Krebs replaced the tiller with an inclined steering wheel for the Panhard car he designed for the 1898 Paris–Amsterdam–Paris race which ran 7–13 July 1898. [5]
In 1898, Thomas B. Jeffery and his son, Charles T. Jeffery, developed two advanced experimental cars featuring a front-mounted engine and a steering wheel mounted on the left-hand side. [6] However, the early automaker adopted a more "conventional" rear-engine and tiller-steering layout for its first mass-produced Ramblers in 1902. [6] The following year, the Rambler Model E was largely unchanged, except that it came equipped with a tiller early in the year that was changed to a steering wheel by the end of 1903. [7] By 1904, all Ramblers featured steering wheels. [8] Within a decade, the steering wheel had entirely replaced the tiller in automobiles.
At the insistence of Thomas B. Jeffery, the driver's position was also moved to the left-hand side of the car during the 1903 Rambler production. [9] Most other car makers began offering cars with left-hand drive in 1910. [10] Soon after, most cars in the US converted to left-hand drive. [11]
Steering wheels for passenger automobiles are generally circular. They are mounted to the steering column by a hub connected to the outer ring of the steering wheel by one or more spokes (single spoke wheels being a relatively rare exception). Other types of vehicles may use a modified circular design, a butterfly shape, or some other shape, such as a yoke. [12] On some Tesla models, the steering control is through a yoke rectangle shaped with rounded edges and two pistol grips. [13] The C8 Corvette includes a square-type steering wheel with rounded corners, described as a 'squircle'. [14] The objective of the flat bottom is to ease diver egress while the flattened top enhances the line of sight when driving. [14] General Motors applied for a US patent for a modular steering control that can be updated with components or changed in shape ranging from a traditional circle to a yoke. [15]
In countries where cars must drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel is typically on the right side of the car (right-hand drive or RHD); the converse applies in countries where cars drive on the right side of the road (left-hand drive or LHD).
In addition to its use in steering, the steering wheel is the usual location for a button to activate the car's horn. Modern automobiles may have other controls, such as cruise control, audio system, and telephone controls, as well as paddle-shifters, built into the steering wheel to minimize the extent to which the driver must take their hands off the wheel.
The steering wheels were rigid and mounted on non-collapsible steering columns. This arrangement increased the risk of impaling the driver in case of a severe crash. The first collapsible steering column was invented in 1934 but was never successfully marketed. [16] By 1956, Ford came out with a safety steering wheel that was set high above the post with spokes that would flex, [17] but the column was still rigid. In 1968, United States regulations (FMVSS Standard No. 204) were implemented concerning the acceptable rearward movement of the steering wheel in case of a crash. [18] Collapsible steering columns were required to meet that standard. Before this invention, the Citroën DS incorporated a curved and off-center single-spoke steering wheel designed to deflect the driver from the steering column in case of a crash. [19]
Power steering affords the driver reduced effort to steer the car. Modern power steering has almost universally relied on a hydraulic system, although electrical systems are steadily replacing this technology. Mechanical power steering systems were introduced, such as on 1953 Studebakers. [20] However, hydraulically assisted systems have prevailed.
While other methods of steering passenger cars have resulted from experiments, for example, the "wrist-twist" steering of the 1965 Mercury Park Lane concept car was controlled by two 5-inch (127 mm) rings, [21] none have yet been deployed as successfully as the conventional large steering wheel.
Passenger automobile regulations implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation required the locking of steering wheel rotation (or transmission locked in "park") to hinder motor vehicle theft; in most vehicles, this is accomplished when the ignition key is removed from the ignition lock. See steering lock. [22]
The driver's seat and steering wheel are centrally located on certain high-performance sports cars, such as the McLaren F1, and most single-seat racing cars.
As drivers may continuously have their hands on the steering wheel for many hours, these are designed with ergonomics in mind. However, the most crucial concern is that the driver can effectively convey torque to the steering system, especially in vehicles without power steering or in the rare event of a loss of steering assist. A typical design for circular steering wheels is a steel or magnesium rim with a plastic or rubberized grip molded over and around it. Some drivers purchase vinyl or textile steering wheel covers to enhance grip and comfort or simply as decoration. Another device used to make steering easier is the brodie knob.
A similar device in aircraft is the yoke. Water vessels not steered from a stern-mounted tiller are directed with the ship's wheel, which may have inspired the concept of the steering wheel. The steering wheel is better than other user interfaces and has persisted because driving requires precise feedback that is provided by a large interface. [23]
Early Formula One cars used steering wheels taken directly from road cars. They were normally made from wood. Without interior cabin packaging constraints, they tended to be made as large a diameter as possible to reduce the effort needed to turn. As cars grew progressively lower and driver's areas more compact throughout the 1960s and 1970s, steering wheels became smaller to fit into the interior space. [24]
The number of spokes in the steering wheel has continuously changed. Most early cars had four-spoke steering wheels. [25]
A Banjo steering wheel was an option in early automobiles. [26] They predate power steering. The wire spokes were a buffer or absorber between the driver's hands and the vibration transmitted from the road surfaces. Most were three- or four-spokes made of four or five wires in each spoke, hence the name "Banjo".
Edward James Lobdell developed the original tilt wheel in the early 1900s. [27] A 7-position tilt wheel was introduced by the Saginaw Division of General Motors in 1963 for all passenger car divisions except Chevrolet which received the tilt wheel in 1964. [28] This tilt wheel was also supplied to the other US automakers (except Ford). [29] Originally a luxury option on cars, the tilt function helps to adjust the steering wheel by moving the wheel through an arc in an up and down motion. Tilt Steering Wheels rely upon a ratchet joint located in the steering column just below the steering wheel. The wheel can be adjusted upward or downward by disengaging the ratchet lock while the steering column remains stationary below the joint. Some designs place the pivot slightly forward along the column, allowing for a fair amount of vertical movement of the steering wheel with slight actual tilt. In contrast, other designs place the pivot almost inside the steering wheel, allowing adjustment of the angle of the steering wheel with nearly no change in its height.
An adjustable steering column allows the steering wheel height to be adjusted with only a small, useful change in tilt. Most of these systems work with compression locks or electric motors instead of ratchet mechanisms; the latter may be capable of moving to a memorized position when a given driver uses the car or automatically moving up and forward to ease egress.
Many pre-war British cars offered telescoping steering wheels that required loosening a locknut before adjustment, many using the Douglas ASW (Adjustable Steering Wheel). [27] [30] In 1949, the Jaguar XK120 introduced a new steering wheel supplied by Bluemel that was driver-adjustable by loosening a sleeve around the column by hand. [31] The 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird had a similar design with 3 inches (76 mm) of total travel. [32] [33] In 1956, the travel was restricted to 2 inches (51 mm). A patent was filed regarding a telescoping steering wheel in July 1942 by Bernard Maurer of the Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors (now Nexteer Automotive). Nevertheless, GM would not offer a telescoping wheel of their own until the debut of the optional telescopic wheel on the 1965 Corvette and Corvair, and the optional tilt/telescope wheel on 1965 Cadillacs. The GM column was released by twisting a locking ring surrounding the center hub and offered a 3-inch (76 mm) range of adjustment.
A swing-away steering column was introduced in the 1961 Ford Thunderbird and made available on other Ford products during the 1960s. The swing-away steering wheel allowed the steering wheel to move 9 inches (229 mm) to the right when the transmission selector was in the "park" position to make the driver's exit and entry easier. [27] [34]
A tilt-away wheel was introduced by Ford in 1967 after updates to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards requirements. Though it was an update to the swing-away steering wheel, which did not meet updated safety standards, it offers limited movement but added convenience due to the automatic pop-over function over its predecessor. [35]
Some steering wheels can be mounted on a detachable or a quick-release hub. The steering wheel can be removed without using tools by pressing a button. The system is often found in narrow-spaced racing cars to facilitate the driver getting in and out, as well as in other cars as an anti-theft device. [36] The quick-release connector is often brand-specific, with some makes being interchangeable. The most common mounting pattern is 6×70 mm, [37] which denotes a bolt circle pattern with six bolts placed along a circle 70 mm in diameter. [38] Other examples of common bolt patterns are 3×1.75 in (44.45 mm), 5×2.75 in (69.85 mm), 6×74 mm and 6×2.75 in (69.85 mm). [37] The quick release itself is often proprietary.[ citation needed ]
The steering wheel should be used with strategic movements of the hand and wrist in spinning motions. Caution and care should be used to ensure the safety of the extremities. The constant motions used must be performed with caution. "Proper posture of the hand-arm system while using hand tools is essential. As a rule, the wrist should not be bent, but must be kept straight to avoid overexertion of tissues like tendons and tendon sheaths and compression of nerves and blood vessels." [39]
Turning the steering wheel while the vehicle is stationary is called dry steering. It is generally advised to avoid dry steering as it strains the steering mechanism and causes undue wear to the tires.
The first button added to the steering wheel was a switch to activate the car's electric horn. Traditionally located on the steering wheel hub or center pad, the horn switch was sometimes placed on the spokes or activated via a decorative horn ring, which obviated the necessity of moving a hand away from the rim. Electrical connections are made via a slip ring. A further development, the Rim Blow steering wheel, integrated the horn switch into the steering wheel rim.
In 1966, Ford offered the Highway Pilot Speed Control option with steering wheel pad-mounted rocker switches, on its Thunderbird. [40] Uniquely, the Thunderbird also lightly applied the brakes and illuminated the stop lamps when the Retard was continuously depressed with the cruise control on, but not engaged.
In 1974, Lincoln added two rocker switches on the steering wheel to activate various cruise control functions on the Continental and Continental Mark IV. [41] In 1988, Pontiac offered a steering wheel with 12 buttons controlling various audio functions on the Trans-Am, [42] 6000 STE and Bonneville.
In the 1990s, a proliferation of new buttons began to appear on automobile steering wheels. Remote or alternate adjustments could include vehicle audio, telephone, and voice control navigation. Scroll wheels or buttons are often used to set volume levels or page through menus and change radio stations or audio tracks. These controls can use universal interfaces, [43] wired or wirelessly.
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Game controllers are available for arcade cabinets, personal computers, and console games that are designed to look and feel like a steering wheel and intended for use in racing games. An early example is the Telstar Arcade, which featured a wheel in 1977 for use in the Road Race game that came packaged with it. [44] Some modern gaming wheels employ force feedback to simulate the tactile feedback a real driver feels from a steering wheel, as well as buttons to allow for more inputs.
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface and allowing the driver to maintain more control over the vehicle.
Steering is the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, and many more.
The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact car produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1975 through the 1980 model year. The Pacer was also made in Mexico by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) from 1976 until 1979 and positioned as a premium-priced luxury car.
The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, making it the first U.S.-produced front-wheel drive automobile since the demise of the Cord 810/812 in 1937.
The Mercury Cougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various stages in its production, the model also was offered as a convertible and a hatchback. During its production as the mid-size Mercury line, the Cougar was also offered as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.
The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced between 1939 and 2020 by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edsel Ford, who commissioned a coachbuilt 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr convertible, developed as a vacation vehicle to attract potential Lincoln buyers. In what would give the model line its name, the exterior was given European "continental" styling elements, including a rear-mounted spare tire.
A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. A tiller may also be used in vehicles outside of water, and was seen in early automobiles.
The Mercury Grand Marquis is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from the 1975 until 2011 model years. Introduced as the flagship sub-model of the Mercury Marquis in 1975, the Grand Marquis became a stand-alone model line in 1983, serving as the largest Mercury sedan. The model line served as the sedan counterpart of the Mercury Colony Park station wagon up to 1991. The fourth generation was the basis of the 2003 and 2004 Mercury Marauder.
Drive by wire or DbW technology in the automotive industry is the use of electronic or electro-mechanical systems in place of mechanical linkages that control driving functions. The concept is similar to fly-by-wire in the aviation industry. Drive-by-wire may refer to just the propulsion of the vehicle through electronic throttle control, or it may refer to electronic control over propulsion as well as steering and braking, which separately are known as steer by wire and brake by wire, along with electronic control over other vehicle driving functions.
Power steering is a system for reducing a driver's effort to turn a steering wheel of a motor vehicle, by using a power source to assist steering.
A power seat in an automobile is a seat in a passenger compartment that can be adjusted using a button, switch or joystick and a set of small electric motors. Most cars with this feature have controls for the driver's seat only, though almost all luxury cars also have power controls for the front passenger seat.
The CLEVER is a type of tilting three-wheeled motor vehicle that was developed in a collaboration between the University of Bath, BMW and a number of other partners from across Europe. CLEVER is designed as an alternative to conventional means of personal urban transport. The narrow body endows it with some of the manoeuvrability and congestion avoiding capability of a motorcycle, whilst offering comparable weather and impact protection to a car. Carbon emissions are reduced as a function of low weight and a small frontal area. The narrow track width requires that CLEVER tilts into corners to maintain stability; thus it is fitted with a Direct Tilt Control (DTC) system that uses hydraulic actuators linking the cabin to the non-tilting rear engine module.
Rim Blow was a type of steering wheel with no suspended horn ring or horn pad on the spokes that was featured on some automobiles built in the U.S. from 1969 to 1974. The inside of the rim could be depressed anywhere on its circumference to sound the horn.
The XR-400 was a fully operational concept car. A "sporty" youth-oriented convertible was built in 1962 by the Budd Company, an independent body builder in Detroit, Michigan, for evaluation by the fourth largest U.S. automaker at the time, American Motors Corporation (AMC).
The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a two-seat convertible produced by Ford for the 1955 to the 1957 model years, the first 2-seat Ford since 1938. It was developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn was developed in response to the popularity of European sports cars among Americans.
The third generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car produced by Ford for the 1961 to 1963 model years. It featured new and much sleeker styling than the second generation models. Sales were strong, if not quite up to record-breaking 1960, at 73,051 including 10,516 convertibles. A new, larger 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE-series V8 was the only engine available. The Thunderbird was 1961's Indianapolis 500 pace car, and featured prominently in US President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade, probably aided by the appointment of Ford executive Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense.
The eleventh generation of the Ford Thunderbird—a series of personal luxury cars—was produced between 2001 and 2005 by the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The Thunderbird debuted at the 1999 edition of the North American International Auto Show. Designed by Jack Telnack and manufactured in Wixom, Michigan, the car was available only as a convertible. It is the indirect successor to the tenth generation of the Thunderbird, and 68,098 units were produced before its discontinuation in July 2005.
The Chevrolet Van or Chevy Van is a range of vans that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1964 to 1996 model years. Introduced as the successor for the rear-engine Corvair Corvan/Greenbrier, the model line also replaced the panel van configuration of the Chevrolet Suburban. The vehicle was sold both in passenger van and cargo van configurations as well as a cutaway van chassis that served as the basis for a variety of custom applications.
The Ford Focus (first generation) is a compact car that was manufactured by Ford in Europe from 1998 to 2004 and by Ford in North America from 1998 to 2007. Ford began sales of the Focus to Europe in July 1998 and in North America during 1999 for the 2000 model year. Manufacturing in Argentina continued until 2008, and it was still on sale in Brazil until 2009.
Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking.
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