Coaxial two-wheel vehicle

• US 8,028,777 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sawai, Kunihito, Kakinuma, Takekazu, Yamano, Ikuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Shriver, II; J. Allen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Avery; Bridget
• Application Number:
  US12/236,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20090032323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 180/65.1, 180/56.51, 180/180, 180/181, 180/218, 180/65.51, 280/652, 280/87.041, 280/250.1, 280/304.1, 280/755, 280/63, 280/5.508
• US Class Current: 180/65.1
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/08 single-wheel type with single axis
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/12 with driving mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/16 Single-axle vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/24 Personal mobility vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/46 Wheel motors, i.e. motor connected to only one wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/18 lateral
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/20 angular
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/24 by lever actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/34 Stabilising upright position of vehicles, e.g. of single axle vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 51/02 the driver standing in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 61/00 Motor vehicles or trailers, characterised by the arrangement or number of wheels, not otherwise provided for, e.g. four wheels in diamond pattern
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 11/007 Automatic balancing machines with single main ground engaging wheel or coaxial wheels supporting a rider

Abstract

A coaxial two-wheel vehicle with which a rider stably travels without the upper body being swayed left and right in a riding state of the center of gravity being positioned high. The coaxial two-wheel vehicle includes: a step plate for a driver to ride; a vehicle body that supports the step plate to be capable of changing a posture in a roll direction of rotating around a roll axis as the center, when a traveling direction is made the roll axis; a pair of wheels with one wheel disposed on each side of the body on the same axis in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body and rotatably supported by the vehicle body; a pair of wheel drive means to drive and rotate the pair of wheels independently; and a handle for directly changing a posture of the step plate or indirectly changing the posture through the vehicle body.

Claims

1. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle comprising:

a step plate for a driver to ride;

a vehicle body that supports said step plate so that the step plate is configured to change a posture with respect to the vehicle body in a roll direction of rotating around a roll axis as the center, when a traveling direction is coaxial with the roll axis;

a pair of wheels, with one wheel of the pair of wheels disposed on each side of the vehicle body on the same axis in a direction orthogonal to said traveling direction of said vehicle body and rotatably supported by the vehicle body;

a pair of wheel drive means to drive and rotate respectively said pair of wheels independently,

wherein said vehicle body includes a parallel link mechanism having a vehicle body upper member and a vehicle body lower member that are disposed above and below in parallel with each other and a pair of lateral members that are disposed left and right in parallel with each other and that are connected to said vehicle body upper member and vehicle body lower member in a turnable manner, and

wherein said step plate is divided in two to provide two divided steps, which are individually fixed to said pair of lateral members, and said pair of wheels are supported by the pair of lateral members through said pair of wheel drive means.

2. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a handle being inclined to the same direction with said step plate in sync with a posture change of said step plate.

3. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein an elastic member, which generates spring force to maintain angles respectively formed by said vehicle body upper member and vehicle body lower member and said pair of lateral members to be orthogonal, is interposed between the vehicle body upper member and vehicle body lower member.

4. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

posture detecting means to detect an angle between said step plate and a gravitational axis and to output a detection signal,

wherein based on the detection signal from the posture detecting means the drive of said pair of wheel drive means is controlled such that predetermined centrifugal force is given.

5. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein a posture of said step plate is changed to cancel a centrifugal force given to said driver based on a control signal output to said pair of wheel drive means.

6. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steps of the divided step plate are spaced apart and provided substantially above a respective wheel of the pair of wheels.

7. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each of the steps rotate about a respective axis parallel to the traveling direction.

8. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the steps change posture in the roll direction, a plane formed by each of the steps remain substantially parallel to each other.

9. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 2,

wherein said handle is fixed to said step plate.

10. A coaxial two-wheel vehicle according to claim 9,

wherein an elastic member which generates spring force to maintain said step plate in parallel with the vehicle body is interposed between said step plate and said vehicle body.