Self-stabilizing skateboard
First Claim
1. An electric vehicle, comprising:
- a board including first and second deck portions formed of a single physical piece of material and each covered with non-slip material, and an opening for receiving a wheel assembly including a tire between the first and second deck portions;
a brushless, direct-drive hub motor configured to cause rotation of the tire and thus to propel the electric vehicle in forward or reverse motion at a speed of up to 12 miles per hour;
a rechargeable battery configured to power the motor;
a battery management system configured to prevent the battery from being overcharged or over-discharged;
a regenerative braking mechanism configured to recover and channel energy into the battery;
sensors including a gyro configured to measure pivotation of the board about a pitch axis and at least one hall sensor configured to measure a rotational rate of the motor;
a motor controller configured to receive information from the sensors and to send a motor control signal to the motor based on the received information using a proportional-integral-derivative control scheme;
a handle disposed on an underside of the board and configured to allow a user to grasp the handle, lift the electric vehicle off the ground, and carry the electric vehicle from one location to another; and
a light assembly disposed at each end of the board, each light assembly configured to indicate a direction the electric vehicle is moving by changing color when the vehicle changes its direction of movement.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electric vehicle may comprise a board including first and second deck portions each configured to receive a left or right foot of a ride, a wheel assembly disposed between the deck portions and including a ground-contacting element, a motor assembly mounted to the board and configured to rotate the ground-contacting element around an axle to propel the electric vehicle, at least one sensor configured to measure orientation information of the board, and a motor controller configured to receive orientation information measured by the sensor and to cause the motor assembly to propel the electric vehicle based on the orientation information. The electric vehicle may include exactly one ground-contacting element, and the motor may be a hub motor.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electric vehicle, comprising:
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a board including first and second deck portions formed of a single physical piece of material and each covered with non-slip material, and an opening for receiving a wheel assembly including a tire between the first and second deck portions; a brushless, direct-drive hub motor configured to cause rotation of the tire and thus to propel the electric vehicle in forward or reverse motion at a speed of up to 12 miles per hour; a rechargeable battery configured to power the motor; a battery management system configured to prevent the battery from being overcharged or over-discharged; a regenerative braking mechanism configured to recover and channel energy into the battery; sensors including a gyro configured to measure pivotation of the board about a pitch axis and at least one hall sensor configured to measure a rotational rate of the motor; a motor controller configured to receive information from the sensors and to send a motor control signal to the motor based on the received information using a proportional-integral-derivative control scheme; a handle disposed on an underside of the board and configured to allow a user to grasp the handle, lift the electric vehicle off the ground, and carry the electric vehicle from one location to another; and a light assembly disposed at each end of the board, each light assembly configured to indicate a direction the electric vehicle is moving by changing color when the vehicle changes its direction of movement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An electric vehicle, comprising:
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a board including first and second deck portions formed of a single physical piece, and an opening for receiving a ground-contacting tire between the first and second deck portions with the tire extending above and below the board; a direct-drive transverse flux brushless hub motor configured to cause rotation of the tire and thus to propel the electric vehicle in forward or reverse motion; a rechargeable battery configured to power the motor; a battery management system configured to prevent the battery from being overcharged or over-discharged; a regenerative braking mechanism configured to channel energy from motion of the electric vehicle into the battery; sensors including at least a gyro and a hall sensor; a motor controller configured to receive information from the sensors and to send a motor control signal to the motor based on the received information using a proportional-integral-derivative control scheme, thereby to propel and actively balance the electric vehicle; and a handle disposed on an underside of the board and configured to allow a user to grasp the handle, lift the electric vehicle off the ground, and carry the electric vehicle from one location to another. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of propelling an electric vehicle, comprising:
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providing a board, including first and second deck portions formed of a single physical piece of material and an opening formed in the board between the first and second deck portions; providing a wheel assembly attached to the board, including a tire extending above and below the board through the opening; initializing sensors integrated into the board, the sensors including at least a gyro and an accelerometer; detecting, with a rider detection device, whether a rider is positioned on the board; acquiring orientation information from the sensors; initializing a self-balancing feedback control loop only if the rider detection device detects the rider positioned on the board, wherein the feedback control loop includes; acquiring acceleration measurements of the board from the accelerometer; acquiring position measurements of the board from the gyro; determining a lean angle of the board based on the acceleration measurements and the position measurements; calculating an error angle representing displacement of the board from the level orientation, based on the orientation information; calculating P, I, and D values for a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control scheme; and sending a motor control signal to a motor controller based on at least one of the lean angle, the error angle, and the P, I, and D values; with the motor controller, energizing an electric hub motor and thereby rotating the tire and propelling the electric vehicle, based on the motor control signal; and repeating the feedback control loop until the rider detection device detects that the rider is no longer suitably positioned on the board. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification