DYNAMICALLY BALANCED IN-LINE WHEEL VEHICLE
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle, comprising:
- a body portion;
a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable;
a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other;
one or more sensors that sense a balance of the vehicle and generate sensor signals; and
a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically controls the steerable wheel to maintain the balance of the vehicle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A family of vehicles is presented which exploit dynamic controls to stabilize in-line two wheeled vehicles. The stabilization results in improved safety at high speeds and on uncooperative surfaces. Stabilization affords balance at zero speed without auxiliary support means. Transformational wheel base length affords high visibility at low speeds and low drag at high speeds. In wheel chair configurations transforming wheel base length allows navigation up and down stairs.
-
Citations
75 Claims
-
1. A vehicle, comprising:
-
a body portion; a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable; a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other; one or more sensors that sense a balance of the vehicle and generate sensor signals; and a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically controls the steerable wheel to maintain the balance of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. A vehicle, comprising:
-
a body portion; a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable; a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other; one or more sensors that sense a balance of the vehicle and generate sensor signals; and a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically adjusts the distance between the first wheel and the second wheel to provide a transformable wheelbase. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
-
-
60. A dynamically balancing wheelchair, comprising:
-
a seating portion; a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable; a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other; one or more sensors that sense a balance of the vehicle and generate sensor signals; and a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically controls the steerable wheel to maintain the balance of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
-
-
69. A human powered vehicle, comprising:
-
a seating portion; a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable; a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other, the second wheel being powered by human energy; one or more sensors that sense a balance of the vehicle and generate sensor signals; and a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically controls the steerable wheel to maintain the balance of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72)
-
-
73. A robot, comprising:
-
a body portion; a first wheel connected to the body portion wherein the first wheel is steerable; a second wheel inline with the first wheel that is also connected to the body portion wherein the first and second wheels are spaced apart from each other; one or more sensors that sense a balance of the robot and generate sensor signals; and a control system that, based on the sensor signals, automatically controls the steerable wheel to maintain the balance of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75)
-
Specification