Different from driving practice, we can't find a reference in normal driving, and we can't take the corresponding operation at the designated position, so even if we practice in driving school, many people will be at a loss when they encounter lateral parking.
But there seems to be a solution to this problem. Recently, Toyota Motor Corporation is applying for a technical patent in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which allows cars to "sideways enter" parking spaces, and even novice Xiaobai can easily sideways park.
According to the information provided by the patent application materials, in the vehicle with "four-wheel steering" technology, all four wheels will be equipped with independent hub motors, which can freely change the forward direction, and the wheels will be driven by the hub motors to move back and forth, thus realizing the steering function.
The application materials also show the lateral, oblique and in-situ rotation motion modes of the vehicle. Because the movement mode of the vehicle is obviously different from that of the traditional vehicle, it will let the driver and nearby pedestrians know the next driving direction of the vehicle through the new "sound or optical" warning signal.
For example, when all four wheels rotate 90 degrees, the vehicle can move sideways, so when encountering lateral parking, the driver only needs to determine the front and rear distance of the parking space and directly drive the vehicle into the parking space, which is simple, fast and time-saving.
This technology not only facilitates lateral parking, but also allows each wheel to rotate back and forth by 45, allowing the vehicle to directly turn around. It is believed that this U-turn mode will also have a wide range of application scenarios in future actual driving.
Although many car companies put forward the idea of moving horizontally or turning around in place earlier, only Toyota can put this great idea into practice, so it can be said to be a precedent in the industry.
So, how long do we have to wait from patent application to successful application? According to our understanding of Toyota, consumers may have to wait four or five years or even longer to drive a car with "four-wheel steering" technology. If you know Toyota's concept of building a car, you will also understand why we have to wait so long from applying for a patent to actual use.
Toyota is a car company that pays great attention to the quality of the whole vehicle. They would rather not pursue the most advanced new technology in the market, but also use the most mature old technology to reduce the failure rate of vehicles and improve the durability of the whole vehicle. So, before Toyota has a thorough grasp, let's practice side parking and in-situ U-turn.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.