US Patent 7188011 Automatic braking-enhanced steering system

A system for enabling a vehicle with a conventional steering system to make tighter right and left turns. The vehicle has one or more computers that monitor the steering angle and that are also capable of independently controlling a right braking unit and a left braking unit. When the computers detect that the steering angle is near the rightmost steering angle, the computers actuate the right braking unit to a greater extent than the left braking unit to allow the vehicle to make a tighter right turn. When the computers detect that the steering angle is near the leftmost steering angle, the computers actuate the left braking unit to a greater extent than the right braking unit to allow the vehicle to make a tighter left turn.