Vehicle with compliant drive train
First Claim
1. A vehicle, comprising:
- a. a body;
b. one or more driving appendages;
c. said driving appendages attached to said body to permit motion of said driving appendages to propel said body;
d. an actuation device; and
e. a drive train linking said actuation device to said driving appendages, said drive train comprising;
one or more couplings, said couplings comprising;
a) an input member, capable of cyclic motion;
b) an output member, capable of cyclic motion;
c) a torsionally compliant device unidirectionally biasing a relative phase of said input member and said output member;
d) said output member coupled to one of said driving appendages; and
e) said input member coupled to said actuation device.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle that is propelled by as few as one actuator through a compliant drive train can move quickly on relatively smooth terrain and can climb obstacles. The body of the vehicle may consist of a single segment or multiple segments connected by articulating joints. The driving appendages can take different forms including legs or specialized legs with multiple spokes attached to a rotating hub. The driving appendages can be propelled by as few as one actuator. The driving appendages are each serially connected to their actuator(s) by a compliant device. The compliant devices permit relative motion between driving appendages that share the same actuator. A springably biased compliant device maintains nominal-desired phasing among driving appendages until one of them is forcibly perturbed. The phasing of the driving appendages, or gait, adapts to the terrain. Mechanical stops limit the excursion of the compliant device such that a new desirable leg phasing is reached for climbing large obstacles. The elasticity of the compliant device restores the phasing of the driving appendages to their nominal state when the perturbation is removed. Compliance in the driving appendages and feet smooth the cyclic motion of the body. Compliant feet conform to the terrain and provide improved traction. Steering mechanisms rotate the plane of action of the driving appendages.
67 Citations
51 Claims
-
1. A vehicle, comprising:
-
a. a body;
b. one or more driving appendages;
c. said driving appendages attached to said body to permit motion of said driving appendages to propel said body;
d. an actuation device; and
e. a drive train linking said actuation device to said driving appendages, said drive train comprising;
one or more couplings, said couplings comprising;
a) an input member, capable of cyclic motion;
b) an output member, capable of cyclic motion;
c) a torsionally compliant device unidirectionally biasing a relative phase of said input member and said output member;
d) said output member coupled to one of said driving appendages; and
e) said input member coupled to said actuation device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A vehicle, comprising:
-
a. a body;
b. one or more driving appendages, said driving appendages comprising;
1) a hub rotatably attached to said body and 2) one or more spoke extensions from said hub to propel said body;
c. an actuation device;
d. a drive train linking said actuation device to said driving appendages, said drive train comprising;
one or more rotary couplings, said rotary couplings comprising;
a) an input member;
b) an output member;
c) said input member and said output member rotatably attached;
d) a torsionally compliant device unidirectionally biasing a phase of said input member and said output member;
e) said output member coupled to one of said driving appendages; and
f) said input member coupled to said actuation device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A vehicle, comprising:
-
a. a body;
b. one or more legs;
c. said legs attached to said body to permit motion;
d. an actuation device; and
e. a drive train linking said actuation device to said legs, said drive train comprising;
one or more couplings, said couplings comprising;
a) an input member, capable of cyclic motion;
b) an output member, capable of cyclic motion;
c) a torsionally compliant device unidirectionally biasing a relative phase of said input member and said output member;
d) said output member coupled to one of said legs; and
e) said input member coupled to said actuation device. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A drive system, comprising:
-
a drive member that provides a source of rotational power/torque;
a pair of unidirectionally pretensioned torsionally compliant devices, each coupled to receive rotational power/torque via the drive member; and
a pair of driving appendages, each coupled to a respective one of the torsionally compliant devices to rotate in response to the rotational power/torque provided by the respective torsionally compliant device;
wherein the torsionally compliant devices allow a phase angle change between the pair of driving appendages in response to a force or torque applied to at least one of the driving appendages. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
-
51. A drive train, comprising:
-
a drive member;
a driven member;
a unidirectionally pretensioned compliant torsional member coupled between the drive and driven members to transmit power/torque from the drive member to the driven member and to allow a phase change between the drive member and the driven member in response to a force/torque applied to the driven member;
a second drive member;
a second driven member;
a second unidirectionally pretensioned compliant torsional member coupled between the second drive member and the second driven member to transmit power/torque from the second drive member to the second driven member and to allow a phase change between the second drive member and the second driven member in response to a force/torque applied to the second driven member; and
a pair of driving appendages being secured to an object in a manner to permit their rotation, wherein one of the appendages is coupled to the driven member and the other appendage is coupled to the second driven member, wherein the pair of driving appendages cooperate to move the object over varying terrain and the compliant torsional members allow a relative phase change between the driving appendages in response to forces applied to the pair of driving appendages as they engage the terrain.
-
Specification