Stair-Climbing Wheeled Vehicle
First Claim
1. A stair-climbing wheeled vehicle comprising:
- a rigid frame supporting a rotatable axle;
a pair of spider assemblies rotatably supported adjacent opposite ends of said axle, each of said pair of spider assemblies supporting a plurality of rotatable wheels coupled to rotate in synchronicity;
an angular position sensor supported on said frame in position to measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and
an electric motor supported on said frame and operatively connected to drive said pair of spider assemblies to rotate;
a power source supported on said frame an operatively connected to said electric motor; and
a controller supported on said frame and operatively connected to said angular position sensor and said power source to cause said electric motor to apply varying rotational torque to said pair of spider assemblies to cause said pair of spider assemblies to maintain a selected angular position of said spider assemblies relative to said frame as a function of input received from said angular position sensor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wheeled vehicle comprising a power-driven spider assembly for ascending and descending stairs. The vehicle includes an angular position sensor providing input to a controller operable to control a servo-motor to effectively lock the position of the spider relative to the frame, regardless of the hand truck'"'"'s spatial orientation relative to a vertical plane, or any balancing of the hand truck. The angular position sensor provides input to the controller, which is programmed with predefined angular zones of instability, and causes the controller to accelerate rotation of the spiders through those zones when the wheeled vehicle is in the descent mode, to avoid instability of the hand truck. A hand truck may include a removable basket and/or a pivotable platform usable to transport loads.
67 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A stair-climbing wheeled vehicle comprising:
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a rigid frame supporting a rotatable axle; a pair of spider assemblies rotatably supported adjacent opposite ends of said axle, each of said pair of spider assemblies supporting a plurality of rotatable wheels coupled to rotate in synchronicity; an angular position sensor supported on said frame in position to measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and an electric motor supported on said frame and operatively connected to drive said pair of spider assemblies to rotate; a power source supported on said frame an operatively connected to said electric motor; and a controller supported on said frame and operatively connected to said angular position sensor and said power source to cause said electric motor to apply varying rotational torque to said pair of spider assemblies to cause said pair of spider assemblies to maintain a selected angular position of said spider assemblies relative to said frame as a function of input received from said angular position sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of operation of a stair-climbing wheeled vehicle, said method comprising:
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providing a wheeled vehicle comprising; a rigid frame supporting a rotatable axle; a pair of spider assemblies rotatably supported adjacent opposite ends of said axle, each of said pair of spider assemblies supporting a plurality of rotatable wheels coupled to rotate in synchronicity; an angular position sensor supported on said frame in position to measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and an electric motor supported on said frame and operatively connected to drive said pair of spider assemblies to rotate; a power source supported on said frame an operatively connected to said electric motor; and
a controller supported on said frame and operatively connected to said angular position sensor and said power source;operating said angular position sensor to repeatedly measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and controlling said electric motor to cause application of varying rotational torque to said pair of spider assemblies to cause said pair of spider assemblies to maintain a selected angular position relative to said frame as a function of measurements taken by said angular position sensor.
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20. A method of operation of a stair-climbing wheeled vehicle, said method comprising:
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providing a wheeled vehicle comprising; a rigid frame supporting a rotatable axle; a pair of spider assemblies rotatably supported adjacent opposite ends of said axle, each of said pair of spider assemblies supporting a plurality of rotatable wheels coupled to rotate in synchronicity; an angular position sensor supported on said frame in position to measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and
an electric motor supported on said frame and operatively connected to drive said pair of spider assemblies to rotate;a power source supported on said frame an operatively connected to said electric motor; a plurality of control switches operable by a user, said plurality of control switches being user-selectable to select a mode of operation for said vehicle; a controller supported on said frame and operatively connected to said angular position sensor and said power source, said controller storing a set of microprocessor-executable instructions for each of a plurality of modes of operation, each set of instructions providing instructions for controlling said motor; receiving a user'"'"'s selection of a mode of operation by operation of said plurality of control switches; operating said angular position sensor to repeatedly measure an angular position of one of said pair of spider assemblies relative to said frame; and controlling said electric motor to cause application of varying rotational torque to said pair of spider assemblies to cause said pair of spider assemblies to rotate, as specified by said set of instructions for said user'"'"'s selection of said mode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification