CAR, WALKING APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF DETERMING SHAPE OF WHEEL

• US 20100198493A1
• Filed: 02/04/2010
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chiba Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Chiba Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Furuta, Takayuki, Yamato, Hideaki, Shimizu, Masaharu, Endo, Ken, Shimomura, Masaki, Tawara, Tetsuo, Okumura, Yu
• Granted Patent: US 8,544,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/124
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/14 Vehicles with one wheel only
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/20 angular
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/34 Stabilising upright position of vehicles, e.g. of single axle vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/30 using propulsion power stored mechanically, e.g. in fly-wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 57/00 Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track sledges B62B; motor sledges B62M
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 1/00 Unicycles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A car having a rotatable wheel, the car being able to run by rotating the wheel, the car having a leg used by the car for walking, and an attitude stabilization section for stabilizing an attitude of the car.

Claims

1-52. -52. (canceled)

53. A method of determining a shape of a wheel of a car;

the car having a car body, and the wheel that is rotatably provided to the car body;

an attitude of the car being restorable to a non-inclined state from an inclined state in which the car body and the wheel are inclined to the side, by control of an attitude control mechanism that controls the attitude in order to restore the attitude of the car;

the method comprising;

determining the attitude in which state is to be restored to the non-inclined state, in order to set an attitude restoring performance of the car; and

determining the shape of the wheel, based on a result that has been determined and a parameter showing a control ability of the attitude control mechanism.

54. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 53,

wherein the number of the wheel provided to the car is one.

55. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 54,

wherein the car is provided with a control moment gyro having a flywheel that can rotate about its rotation axis, as an attitude control mechanism.

56. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 55,

wherein the rotation axis of the flywheel is along the rotation axis of the wheel.

57. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 55,

wherein an intersection line of a contacting portion that can contact a ground while the car is moving, and that is provided to the wheel located on a lower side of the rotation axis of the wheel, and an imaginary plane in which a normal direction is a horizontal direction, and that includes the rotation axis of the wheel, is an arc,

wherein when determining the shape of the wheel, a radius of curvature of the arc is determined as the shape of the wheel.

58. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 57,

wherein the car is provided with a rotation control mechanism that controls a rotation of the wheel in order to restore an attitude of the car from a tilted state in which the car body tilts in a front-to-rear direction, to a non-tilted state,

wherein the method includes

determining the attitude in which tilted state is to be restored to the non-tilted state, in order to set the attitude restoring performance of the car, and

determining an external diameter of the wheel as the shape of the wheel, based on a result that is determined and a parameter showing a control ability of the rotation control mechanism.

59. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 58,

wherein when determining the attitude in which state is to be restored to the non-inclined state, the attitude in which inclined state and in which tilted state is to be restored is determined.

60. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 59,

wherein the parameter showing the control ability of the attitude control mechanism includes a maximum number of rotations of the flywheel, a diameter of the flywheel, and a maximum output of a gimbal motor that controls a rotation of a rotatable gimbal that holds the flywheel.

61. A method of determining a shape of a wheel according to claim 60,

wherein the rotation control mechanism is a driving motor for rotating the wheel, and

the parameter showing the control ability of the rotation control mechanism includes the maximum output of the driving motor.

62. A method of determining a shape of a wheel of a car;

the car having a car body, and the wheel that is rotatably provided to the car body;

an attitude of the car being restorable to a non-inclined state from an inclined state in which the car body and the wheel are inclined to the side, by control of an attitude control mechanism that controls the attitude in order to restore the attitude of the car;

the method comprising;

determining the attitude in which state is to be restored to the non-inclined state, in order to set an attitude restoring performance of the car; and

determining the shape of the wheel, based on a result that has been determined and a parameter showing a control ability of the attitude control mechanism,

wherein the number of the wheel provided to the car is one, wherein the car is provided with a control moment gyro having a flywheel that can rotate about its rotation axis, as an attitude control mechanism,

wherein the rotation axis of the flywheel is along the rotation axis of the wheel, wherein an intersection line of a contacting portion that can contact a ground while the car is moving, and that is provided to the wheel located on a lower side of the rotation axis of the wheel, and an imaginary plane in which a normal direction is a horizontal direction, and that includes the rotation axis of the wheel, is an arc,

wherein when determining the shape of the wheel, a radius of curvature of the arc is determined as the shape of the wheel,

wherein the car is provided with a rotation control mechanism that controls a rotation of the wheel in order to restore an attitude of the car from a tilted state in which the car body tilts in a front-to-rear direction, to a non-tilted state,

wherein the method includes

determining the attitude in which tilted state is to be restored to the non-tilted state, in order to set the attitude restoring performance of the car, and

determining an external diameter of the wheel as the shape of the wheel, based on a result that is determined and a parameter showing a control ability of the rotation control mechanism,

wherein when determining the attitude in which state is to be restored to the non-inclined state, the attitude in which inclined state and in which tilted state is to be restored is determined,

wherein the parameter showing the control ability of the attitude control mechanism includes a maximum number of rotations of the flywheel, a diameter of the flywheel, and a maximum output of a gimbal motor that controls a rotation of a rotatable gimbal that holds the flywheel,

wherein the rotation control mechanism is a driving motor for rotating the wheel, and

the parameter showing the control ability of the rotation control mechanism includes the maximum output of the driving motor.