ROBOTIC VEHICLE
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A mobile robot comprising:
- a chassis defining at least one chassis volume;
first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis, each flipper having a drive wheel and defining a flipper volume adjacent to the drive wheel, the first set of flippers disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis; and
motive power elements distributed among the chassis volume and the flipper volumes, the motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mobile robot includes a chassis defining at least one chassis volume and first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis. Each flipper has a drive wheel and defines a flipper volume adjacent to the drive wheel. The first set of flippers is disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis. Motive power elements are distributed among the chassis volume and the flipper volumes. The motive power elements include a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly.
152 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A mobile robot comprising:
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a chassis defining at least one chassis volume; first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis, each flipper having a drive wheel and defining a flipper volume adjacent to the drive wheel, the first set of flippers disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis; and motive power elements distributed among the chassis volume and the flipper volumes, the motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A skid steer drive comprising:
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a chassis; a drive wheel rotatably mounted to the chassis; a load shifting assembly coupled to the chassis and including a tilt motor; and at least three sets of motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, main drive motor assembly, and load shifting motor assembly; wherein the skid steer drive defines a first volume adjacent the drive wheel, the load shifting assembly defines a second volume adjacent the tilt motor, and the chassis defines a third volume adjacent the drive wheel; and wherein the at least three sets of motive power elements are distributed among the first, second, and third volumes.
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21. A mobile robot comprising:
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a chassis; a skid steer drive disposed on the chassis and comprising a drive wheel; and a load shifting assembly rotatably coupled to the chassis and comprising a load tilting motor and a load shifting motor, the chassis defining a through space configured to receive the load shifting assembly; wherein the skid steer drive defines a first volume adjacent the drive wheel, the load shifting assembly defines a second volume adjacent the load tilting motor, and the chassis defines a third volume adjacent the drive wheel; and wherein a main drive motor amplifier and a load shifting motor amplifier are disposed in the first volume, a battery assembly is disposed in the second volume, and a main drive motor and the load shifting motor are disposed in the third volume.
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22. A mobile robot comprising:
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a chassis; a skid steer drive disposed on the chassis and comprising a drive wheel; and a load shifting assembly rotatably coupled to the chassis and comprising a load tilting motor, the chassis defining a through space configured to receive the load shifting assembly; wherein the skid steer drive defines a first volume adjacent the drive wheel, the load shifting assembly defines a second volume, and the chassis defines a third volume adjacent the drive wheel; and wherein a main drive motor amplifier is disposed in the first volume, a battery assembly and the load tilting motor are disposed in the second volume so that the battery assembly tilts together with the load shifting assembly, and a main drive motor is disposed in the third volume.
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23. An environmentally sealed mobile robot comprising:
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a skid steer drive defining a first volume; a cast unitary load shifting assembly defining a second; a cast unitary chassis defining a third volume adjacent the skid steer, a fourth volume adjacent the first volume, and a passageway internally connecting the third volume and the fourth volume; a sealed hollow linkage connecting the second volume and the third volume; a main drive motor amplifier sealed in the first volume and fourth volume; and a battery assembly and the load tilting motor sealed in second volume; wherein the main drive motor amplifier delivers power through the passageway to a main drive motor disposed in the third volume; and wherein the battery assembly and the load tilting motor tilt together with the load shifting assembly, the battery assembly delivering power through the sealed hollow linkage to the main drive motor amplifier and main drive motor.
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24. A mobile robot comprising:
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a tracked drive having a drive wheel and defining a first volume within an envelope of the tracked drive; a load shifting assembly defining a second volume; a chassis and defining a third volume adjacent the drive wheel, the first volume extending into the chassis; wherein the first volume houses a motor amplifier that sinks heat into the chassis, the second volume houses a battery assembly and load tilting motor assembly that sink heat into the load shifting assembly, and the third volume houses drive motors that sink heat into the chassis.
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25. A mobile robot comprising:
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a chassis; a first set of right and left driven flippers rotatably coupled to the chassis; a second set of right and left driven flippers rotatably coupled to the chassis; and a head rotatably coupled to the chassis; wherein each flipper is independently rotatable about a pivot axis with respect to the chassis, allowing the chassis to tilt about the pivot axis with respect to the first and second sets of flippers. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of maneuvering a robot to climb an obstacle, the method comprises:
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raising a forward-facing pair of flippers; approaching the obstacle by driving at least a rearward-facing set of flippers; adjusting a chassis tilt angle between the rearward-facing set of flippers and a chassis to be less than 90 degrees; partially mounting the obstacle with the forward-facing pair of flippers; after partially mounting the obstacle, adjusting the chassis tilt angle to place a chassis center of gravity either above or above and forward of a crest of the obstacle; and driving with both the forward-facing and rearward-facing sets of flippers up the obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A method of maneuvering a robot to climb an obstacle, the method comprises:
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raising a forward-facing pair of flippers; approaching the obstacle by driving at least a rearward-facing set of flippers; adjusting a chassis tilt angle between the rearward-facing set of flippers and a chassis to be less than 90 degrees; partially mounting the obstacle with the forward-facing pair of flippers; after partially mounting the obstacle, adjusting the chassis tilt angle to be greater than 90 degrees and adjusting an angle between the forward-facing pair of flippers and the rearward-facing pair of flippers to be substantially straight; and driving with both the forward-facing and rearward-facing sets of flippers up the obstacle. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification