STAIR CLIMBING WHEELED VEHICLE, AND SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAKING AND USING SAME
First Claim
1. A friction clutch system for at least one wheel of a stairclimbing hand truck, comprising:
- at least one wheel of the stairclimbing hand truck having minimal resistance to rotation in a first direction;
a configurable slip torque resistor suitable for providing a configurable resistance to rotation in an opposite direction of rotation.
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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.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A friction clutch system for at least one wheel of a stairclimbing hand truck, comprising:
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at least one wheel of the stairclimbing hand truck having minimal resistance to rotation in a first direction; a configurable slip torque resistor suitable for providing a configurable resistance to rotation in an opposite direction of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of providing a friction clutch for at least one wheel of a stairclimbing hand truck, comprising:
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providing minimal resistance to rotation of at least one wheel of the stairclimbing hand truck in a first direction; providing a configurable slip torque resistance to rotation of the at least one wheel in an opposite direction of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A spider-wheeled, stairclimbing device, comprising:
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at least two spider wheels, each comprising a plurality of round wheels about a center point; at least one motor suitable at least for rotating the plurality of wheels about the center point; a microprocessor controller; and a configurable clutch associated with at least one of the plurality of wheels. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification