ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,546,090, issued on Feb. 10, was assigned to DEERE & COMPANY (Moline, Ill.).
"Reconfigurable steering device" was invented by Michael W. Thompson (Clayton, Ind.) and Brian M. Huenink (Cedar Grove, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicle steering device includes a body, a rotary stand, a motor, an orientation sensor, an angle sensor, and a controller. The body can be oriented in a first position corresponding to the joystick mode or a second position corresponding to the steering wheel mode. The rotary stand is rotatably coupled to the body. The motor has an output shaft to rotate the rotary stand. The orientation sensor detects an o...