Cross-country vehicle
First Claim
1. A cross-country vehicle for step-like locomotion across terrain, with an on-board power supply that provides the power necessary for control and movement of said vehicle, as well as for working equipment mounted on said vehicle, said vehicle comprising:
- a frame (1);
two wheels (6, 6'"'"') attached to a rear portion of said frame (1) by means of pivotable swing arms (5, 5'"'"'), the position of each said wheel (6, 6'"'"') being adjustable by means of at least one drive element (73'"'"') pivoting a corresponding said swing arm, and said wheels (6, 6'"'"') being non-driven and lockable;
two individually powered leg units (4, 4'"'"'), attached to a front portion of said frame (1), each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') having at least three degrees of freedom of movement and being activated by means of a plurality, of drive elements (70, 71, 72, 70'"'"', 71'"'"', 72'"'"'), a foot (45, 45'"'"') pivotally connected to the outer end of each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"'), said drive elements capable of lifting said foot (45, 45'"'"') from said terrain, moving said foot (45, 45'"'"') over said terrain without said foot touching said terrain, and again touching said foot (45, 45'"'"') to said terrain whereby such movement of said foot (45, 45'"'"') propels said vehicle relative to said terrain in the desired direction of locomotion during a stride phase, said leg units (4, 4'"'"') activating the movements of said feet (45, 45'"'"') relative to said frame (1) and relative to said terrain;
a computer aided manual control means for controlling said movement of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') with proportional movement- and power-amplifier systems in communication with said control means and said leg units (4, 4'"'"'); and
an on-board computer (COMP) providing at least the following functions;
(a) controlling of individual adjustments of said wheels (6, 6'"'"') to maintain the positional stability of said vehicle;
(b) locking of the movement of at least one of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') until a stable vehicle position with a specific ground pressure is achieved;
(c) performing a vehicle stability calculation on the basis of a three point support position, namely, analysis, of the specific pressure of said wheels (6, 6'"'"') and of said leg units (4, 4'"'"'), to determine movement of the other said leg unit; and
(d) executing different vehicle gaits resulting in at least one pattern of vehicle movement based on at least one preset control program.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention creates a cross-country vehicle that is characterized by the combination of two hydraulically operated leg units at the front of the vehicle with two wheels at the rear of the vehicle, it being possible to adjust the height of these wheels, which are supported on longitudinal arms, hydraulically. Motion of the vehicle is effected by appropriate movements made by means of hand levers and amplifiers. An on-board computer automatically provides for a constant and near horizontal position of the vehicle cab and constantly carries out calculations to ensure that when one leg is raised the position of the center of gravity is at that moment within the three support points. The decisive point of the invention lies in the fact that the advantages of leg units are combined with the advantages of wheels. The command of the leg elements is greatly simplified since there are only two such units. The vehicle is well suited as a vehicle platform for various machinery used in forestry, by virtue of its cross-country capability.
15 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A cross-country vehicle for step-like locomotion across terrain, with an on-board power supply that provides the power necessary for control and movement of said vehicle, as well as for working equipment mounted on said vehicle, said vehicle comprising:
- a frame (1);
two wheels (6, 6'"'"') attached to a rear portion of said frame (1) by means of pivotable swing arms (5, 5'"'"'), the position of each said wheel (6, 6'"'"') being adjustable by means of at least one drive element (73'"'"') pivoting a corresponding said swing arm, and said wheels (6, 6'"'"') being non-driven and lockable;
two individually powered leg units (4, 4'"'"'), attached to a front portion of said frame (1), each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') having at least three degrees of freedom of movement and being activated by means of a plurality, of drive elements (70, 71, 72, 70'"'"', 71'"'"', 72'"'"'), a foot (45, 45'"'"') pivotally connected to the outer end of each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"'), said drive elements capable of lifting said foot (45, 45'"'"') from said terrain, moving said foot (45, 45'"'"') over said terrain without said foot touching said terrain, and again touching said foot (45, 45'"'"') to said terrain whereby such movement of said foot (45, 45'"'"') propels said vehicle relative to said terrain in the desired direction of locomotion during a stride phase, said leg units (4, 4'"'"') activating the movements of said feet (45, 45'"'"') relative to said frame (1) and relative to said terrain;
a computer aided manual control means for controlling said movement of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') with proportional movement- and power-amplifier systems in communication with said control means and said leg units (4, 4'"'"'); and
an on-board computer (COMP) providing at least the following functions;(a) controlling of individual adjustments of said wheels (6, 6'"'"') to maintain the positional stability of said vehicle; (b) locking of the movement of at least one of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') until a stable vehicle position with a specific ground pressure is achieved; (c) performing a vehicle stability calculation on the basis of a three point support position, namely, analysis, of the specific pressure of said wheels (6, 6'"'"') and of said leg units (4, 4'"'"'), to determine movement of the other said leg unit; and (d) executing different vehicle gaits resulting in at least one pattern of vehicle movement based on at least one preset control program. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
- a frame (1);
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19. A cross-county vehicle for step-like locomotion across terrain, with an on-board power supply that provides the power necessary for control and movement of said vehicle, as well as for working equipment mounted on said vehicle, said vehicle comprising:
- (1);
two runners attached to a rear portion of said frame (1) by means of pivotable swing arms (5, 5'"'"'), the position of each said runner being adjustable by means of at least one drive element (73'"'"') pivoting a corresponding said swing arm, two individually powered leg units (4, 4'"'"') attached to a front portion of said frame (1), each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') having three degrees of freedom of movement and being activated by means of a plurality of drive elements (70, 71, 72, 70'"'"', 71'"'"', 72'"'"'), a foot (45, 45'"'"') pivotally connected to the outer end of each of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') said drive elements capable of lifting said foot (45, 45'"'"') from said terrain, moving said foot (45, 45'"'"') over said terrain without said foot touching said terrain, and again touching said foot (45, 45'"'"') to said terrain whereby such movement of said foot (45, 45'"'"') propels said vehicle relative to said terrain in the desired direction of locomotion during a stride phase, said leg units (4, 4'"'"') activating the movements of said feet (45, 45'"'"') relative to said frame (1) and relative to said terrain, a computer aided manual control means for controlling said movement of said leg unit (4, 4'"'"') with proportional movement- and power-amplifier systems in communication with said control means and said leg unit (4, 4'"'"'); and
an on-board computer (COMP) that provides at least the following functions;(a) controlling on individual adjustments of said runners to maintain the positional stability of said vehicle; (b) locking of the movement of at least one of said leg units (4, 4'"'"') until a stable vehicle position with a specific ground pressure is achieved; (c) performing a vehicle stability calculation on the basis of the current three point support, namely the specific pressure of said runners and of said leg units (4, 4'"'"'), to determine movement of the other said leg unit; (d) executing different vehicle gaits resulting in at least one pattern of vehicle movement based on at least one preset control program. - View Dependent Claims (20)
- (1);
Specification