Inverted pendulum type vehicle

• US 9,367,066 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2014
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Makoto, Kobashi, Shinichiro, Shirokura, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lewandroski, Sara
• Application Number:
  US14/225,471
• Publication Number:
  US 20140297124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 701/70, 701/124, 701 37- 40, 180/282, 180/7.1, 180/316, 180/315, 180/328
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/42 with use of more than one motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/20 angular
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/22 Yaw angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/26 Vehicle weight
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/34 Stabilising upright position of vehicles, e.g. of single axle vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B62H 1/12 using additional wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 45/4152 for sensing longitudinal inclination of the cycle
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 1/00 Unicycles
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 11/007 Automatic balancing machines with single main ground engaging wheel or coaxial wheels supporting a rider
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0268 using internal positioning means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility

Abstract

An inverted pendulum type vehicle capable of dissipating the dissociation of vehicle steering intention of a user and a vehicle motion condition. When a base tilts toward a first designated direction, gravity center shift effect amount Vofs_x is corrected by a gravity center shift correction amount Vdep_x calculated according to the tilting amount. The gravity center shift correction amount Vdep_x with respect to a second designated direction is determined so as to increase as the tilting amount toward the first designated direction of the base. Further, the gravity center shift effect amount Vdep_x determined by tilting toward the first designated direction of the base is controlled to a threshold value or less.

Claims

1. An inverted pendulum type vehicle comprising:

moving motion units configured to be capable of moving in all directions on a floor surface;

actuator devices that drive the moving motion units;

a base that incorporates the moving motion units and the actuator devices;

an occupant riding section incorporated into the base so as to be tiltable with respect to an imaginary line that extends orthogonally with respect to the floor surface;

a tilting state detection unit that detects a tilting state of the occupant riding section; and

a control device configured to control a motion of the actuator devices based on a detection result of the tilting state of the occupant riding section by the tilting state detection unit,

wherein the control device is configured to control the motion of the actuator devices, so that the vehicle is translated in a second designated direction that is the opposite direction of a first designated direction of the occupant riding section at a speed determined based on a tilting condition in a designated tilting posture of the occupant riding section defined in the first designated direction with respect to a reference tilting posture of the occupant riding section under a condition wherein the inverted pendulum type vehicle is halted.

2. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to determine a basic translation command value of the vehicle toward a tilting direction of the occupant riding section based on the tilting condition of the occupant riding section, to determine a translation command correction amount toward the second designated direction of the vehicle based on the tilting condition toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section, and to determine a translational speed of the vehicle based on a result obtained by correcting the basic translation command value according to the translation command correction amount.

3. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount so that the translation command correction amount of the vehicle with respect to the second designated direction continuously or intermittently increases as a tilting amount toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section increases.

4. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces after completion of tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

5. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that an increased rate of the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces with respect to the tilting amount toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section.

6. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces after completion of tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

7. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces after completion of tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

8. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the control device is configured to adjust a reduction rate of the translation command correction amount based on a motion condition of the vehicle after completion of the tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

9. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the control device is configured to adjust the reduction rate of the translation command correction amount so that the reduction rate continuously or intermittently increases as the translational speed or a turning speed of the vehicle increases after completion of the tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

10. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction becomes a threshold value.

11. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translational speed of the vehicle by subjecting a result obtained by correcting the basic translation command value according to the translation command correction amount to multi-stage limiting processing having a dead zone.

12. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translational speed of the vehicle by subjecting a result obtained by correcting the basic translation command value according to the translation command correction amount to multi-stage limiting processing having a dead zone.

13. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction becomes a threshold value.

14. An inverted pendulum type vehicle comprising:

moving motion units configured to be capable of moving in all directions on a floor surface;

actuator devices that drive the moving motion units;

a base that incorporates the moving motion units and the actuator devices;

an occupant riding section incorporated into the base so as to be tiltable with respect to an imaginary line that extends orthogonally with respect to the floor surface;

a tilting state detection unit that detects a tilting state of the occupant riding section; and

a control device configured to control a motion of the actuator devices based on a detection result of the tilting state of the occupant riding section by the tilting state detection unit,

wherein the control device is configured to control the motion of the actuator devices, so that the vehicle is translated in a second designated direction that is the opposite direction of a first designated direction of the occupant riding section at a speed determined based on a tilting condition toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section;

wherein the control device is configured to determine a basic translation command value of the vehicle toward a tilting direction of the occupant riding section based on the tilting condition of the occupant riding section, to determine a translation command correction amount toward the second designated direction of the vehicle based on the tilting condition toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section, and to determine a translational speed of the vehicle based on a result obtained by correcting the basic translation command value according to the translation command correction amount, wherein the control device is configured to adjust a reduction rate of the translation command correction amount so that the reduction rate continuously or intermittently increases as the translational speed or a turning speed of the vehicle increases after completion of tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.

15. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction becomes a threshold value.

16. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount so that the translation command correction amount of the vehicle with respect to the second designated direction continuously or intermittently increases as a tilting amount toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section increases.

17. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that an increased rate of the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces with respect to the tilting amount toward the first designated direction of the occupant riding section.

18. The inverted pendulum type vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the control device is configured to determine the translation command correction amount of the vehicle so that the translation command correction amount with respect to the second designated direction reduces after completion of tilting of the occupant riding section toward the first designated direction.