TRAVEL DEVICE

• US 20100121538A1
• Filed: 01/22/2010
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ikuo Yamano, Shinji Ishii
• Original Assignee: Ikuo Yamano, Shinji Ishii
• Inventors: ISHII, Shinji, Yamano, Ikuo
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 51/005 Vehicular characteristics of load handling vehicles, e.g. pedestrian trucks fork-lift trucks B66F9/06
• 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

Abstract

A two-wheel vehicle having a roll axis rotation flexibility in which a servo motor is mounted to each of two wheels operating independently of each other fails to perform stable straight-forward traveling on a laterally inclined road because a neutral position by a spring force of a handle or a step varies with respect to a vertical axis as a vehicle body tilts in a roll axis direction due to a road slope. Further, in such a device, the handle or the step can tilt against intention due to a left and right unbalanced load of a passenger onto the step when getting on or off the vehicle. There is thus provided a control device that enables stable straight-forward traveling while maintaining a standing posture of a person vertically on a laterally inclined road through a motor control of the position of a handle or a step. There is also provided a control device that enables a rotation while a person maintains a vertical posture when a performing rotation operation on an inclined road. There is also provided a vehicle that prevents the occurrence of an unintended inclination of a handle and a step during loading or unloading of a passenger.

Claims

1. A travel device comprising:

a plurality of wheels disposed in parallel;

a step plate mounted between the plurality of wheels for a driver to place feet;

a handle mounted vertically to the step plate;

a driving motor to allow the step plate and the handle to tilt in a roll axis direction, and to drive at least one of the step plate and the handle to tilt in the roll axis direction; and

a control unit to control the driving motor to maintain at least one of a horizontal position of the step plate and a vertical position of the handle; and

a measurement unit to measure a shift operation of at least one of the step plate and the handle from a neutral position in at least one of a horizontal state of the step plate and a vertical state of the handle maintained by the driving motor,

wherein the plurality of wheels change a traveling direction according to a value measured by the measurement unit.

2. The travel device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a load detection unit to enable adjustment of a resistance force against a shift operation of at least one of the step plate and the handle with use of a control parameter of the control unit for controlling the driving motor, and to detect a load onto the step plate,

wherein the control parameter is adjusted according to a value of a load detected by the load detection unit.

3. The travel device according to claim 2, wherein

the control unit adjusts the control parameter to maximize the resistance force upon occurrence of loading or unloading of the driver determined based on detection of a load by the load detection unit.