Omnidirectional vehicle
First Claim
1. An omnidirectional vehicle comprising:
- a) a first track mounted to said vehicle;
b) a second track mounted to said vehicle parallel to and spaced from said first track;
c) first means for independently driving said first track and said second track in a first direction;
d) a plurality of spheres mounted in each of said tracks at intervals spaced in said first direction;
e) second means for driving the spheres in at least one of said tracks to rotate in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction; and
means for controlling said first and second means to move the vehicle in a desired direction.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides controlled omnidirectional relative movement between a device and a selected surface in contact therewith. The device is preferably a vehicle having a first and second track mounted thereto, which tracks are parallel and spaced from each other and are independently driven in a first direction. A plurality of spheres are mounted in each of the tracks at intervals spaced in the first direction and the spheres in at least one of the tracks are driven to rotate in a second direction, generally perpendicular to the first direction. By suitably controlling the movements of the tracks in the first direction and of the spheres in the second direction, movement along any desired trajectory may be achieved with three degrees of freedom. By having the device stationary and the surface movable, an omnidirectional platform is provided.
284 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An omnidirectional vehicle comprising:
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a) a first track mounted to said vehicle; b) a second track mounted to said vehicle parallel to and spaced from said first track; c) first means for independently driving said first track and said second track in a first direction; d) a plurality of spheres mounted in each of said tracks at intervals spaced in said first direction; e) second means for driving the spheres in at least one of said tracks to rotate in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction; and means for controlling said first and second means to move the vehicle in a desired direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A device for providing controlled omnidirectional relative movement between the device and a selected surface in contact with the device comprising:
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a) a first track mounted to said device; b) a second track mounted to said device parallel to and spaced from said first track; c) first means for independently driving said first track and said second track in a first direction; d) a plurality of spheres mounted in each of said tracks at intervals spaced in said first direction; e) second means for driving the spheres in at least one of said tracks to rotate in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction; and means for controlling said first and second means to create relative movement in a desired direction between the device and the surface. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification