Obedient self-powered slave vehicles
First Claim
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1. An obedient self-powered and self-controlling slave vehicle, comprising:
- a body of said slave vehicle having a suspension and at least two ground engaging wheels;
a power supply mounted on said slave vehicle body;
separate independent drives to the respective said ground engaging wheels from said power supply;
controllable variable torque transmitting means interposed in each said independent drive and driven by said power supply;
actuator means fixably attached to said master vehicle and movable omni-directionally in unison therewith; and
,control means carried by said slave vehicle and controlling said variable torque transmitting means, said control means being operatively associated with said actuator means and actuated by said actuator means for it to follow the omnidirectional movement of said actuator means, and thus movement of said master vehicle, in dependence on translational movements of said actuator means relative to a reference point on said slave vehicle, to provide for selective steering, acceleration and braking up of said slave vehicle duplicating movements of said master vehicle in the absence of a physical interconnection between said vehicles.
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Abstract
An intelligent slave vehicle follows the movements of a master vehicle without imposing a requirement on the master vehicle to supply towing power for the slave vehicle, the slave vehicle being self powered and self controlling in dependence on movements of the master vehicle.
56 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An obedient self-powered and self-controlling slave vehicle, comprising:
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a body of said slave vehicle having a suspension and at least two ground engaging wheels; a power supply mounted on said slave vehicle body; separate independent drives to the respective said ground engaging wheels from said power supply; controllable variable torque transmitting means interposed in each said independent drive and driven by said power supply; actuator means fixably attached to said master vehicle and movable omni-directionally in unison therewith; and
,control means carried by said slave vehicle and controlling said variable torque transmitting means, said control means being operatively associated with said actuator means and actuated by said actuator means for it to follow the omnidirectional movement of said actuator means, and thus movement of said master vehicle, in dependence on translational movements of said actuator means relative to a reference point on said slave vehicle, to provide for selective steering, acceleration and braking up of said slave vehicle duplicating movements of said master vehicle in the absence of a physical interconnection between said vehicles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A self-poewred and self-controlling vehicle comprising:
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a body comprising a slave vehicle having a suspension and at least two ground engaging wheels; power supply means comprising at least one power supply mounted on said slave vehicle body; separate independent drives to the respective said ground engaging wheels from said power supply means; controllable variable torque transmitting means interposed in each said independent drive; an actuator means fixidly attached to a master vehicle and movable omni-directionally in unison therewith; and
,control means carried by said slave vehicle and controlling said variable torque transmitting means, said control means being operatively associated with said actuator means and actuated by said actuator means for it to follow the omnidirectional movement of said actuator means, and thus movement of said master vehicle, in dependence on translational movements of said actuator means relative to a reference point on said slave vehicle, to provide for selective steering, acceleration and braking of said slave vehicle duplicating movements of said master vehicle in the absence of a physical interconnection between said vehicles.
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15. An obedient self-powered and self-controlling vehicle, comprising:
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a body providing a slave vehicle having a suspension and at least two ground engaging wheels; a power supply mounted on a master vehicle; power transmitting means between the power supply on the master vehicle and the slave vehicle; separate independent drives to the respective said ground engaging wheels; controllable variable torque transmitting means interposed in each said independent drive and powered by said power supply and power transmitting means; and
,control means carried by said slave vehicle and controlling said controllable variable torque transmitting means in dependence on translational movements of a reference point of a master vehicle with which said slave vehicle is associated.
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Specification