Control of a balancing personal vehicle

• US 6,443,250 B1
• Filed: 03/14/2000
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Deka Products Limited Partnership
• Original Assignee: Deka Products Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Ambrogi, Robert R., Morrell, John B., Heinzmann, Richard Kurt, Heinzmann, John David, Kamen, Dean L., Herr, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, Robert P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CUFF, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US09/524,931
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 180/7.1, 180/8.1, 180/8.2, 180/8.3, 180/6.48, 180/6.5, 180/6.54, 180/65.1, 180/65.8, 180/21, 180/41, 180/907, 180/118, 280/250.1, 280/47.315, 280/47.371, 280/5.2, 280/5.22, 280/5.24, 280/5.26, 280/5.28, 280/5.32, 280/DIG.10
• US Class Current: 180/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/14 Joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/04 motor-driven A61G5/06 takes precedence; motor-operated rests A61G5/12; for vehicles with handlebars, equipped with three or more wheels B62K5/003, B62K5/023
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/061 for climbing stairs
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/107 positioning the whole seat forward or rearward
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/125 for arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/128 for feet
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/14 Standing-up or sitting-down aids
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 7/00 Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel roller-skate driving mechanisms A63C17/12
• 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 11/007 Automatic balancing machines with single main ground engaging wheel or coaxial wheels supporting a rider
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/042 in which a parameter or coefficient is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance

Abstract

A vehicle for transporting a payload over a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs. The vehicle has a support for supporting the payload and a ground contacting element movable with respect to a local axis, where the local axis can be moved with respect to some second axis that has a defined relation with respect to the support. The vehicle also has a motorized drive arrangement for permitting controllable motion of the ground contacting element so as to operate in an operating condition that is unstable with respect to tipping in at least a fore-aft plane when the motorized drive arrangement is not powered. The vehicle also has an input device for receiving an indication from an assistant who is not disposed on the vehicle of a direction of desired motion of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle for transporting a payload over a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs, the vehicle comprising:

a. a support for supporting the payload;

b. at least one ground contacting element moveable with respect to a local axis, the local axis being rotatable about a second axis having a defined relation with respect to the support, wherein all ground contacting elements are rotatable about the second axis;

c. a motorized drive arrangement having an operating mode for controllable motion of the ground contacting element with respect to the local axis so that the local axis moves with respect to the second axis so as to operate in an operating condition that is always unstable with respect to tipping in at least a fore-aft plane when the motorized drive arrangement is not powered; and

d. an input device for receiving an indication from a user of a specified configuration of the vehicle.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the specified configuration includes at least one of seat height, vehicle lean, vehicle direction, and vehicle speed.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the input device further includes a user command device for receiving an indication from the user of at least one of a desired movement and a desired configuration of the assembly.

4. A vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the user command device includes a joystick.