Robotic vehicle

• US 7,784,570 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2007
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flir Detection, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Filippov, Mikhail, Page, Richard, Couture, Adam P., O'Brien, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Morris; Lesley D
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARCE, MARLON ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US11/834,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20080223630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 180/9.1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/005 mounted on endless tracks or belts
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/2054 Load carrying floors for commercial vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 55/065 Multi-track vehicles, i.e. more than two tracks soil-shifting machines E02F; mining machines E21C
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 55/0655 Articulated endless track vehicles steering specially adapted for trailers B62D13/00; articulated buses B62D47/025; tractor-trailer combinations or road trains comprising a uni-axle unit and a uni-axle trailer B62D53/02

Abstract

A robotic vehicle is disclosed, which is characterized by high mobility, adaptability, and the capability of being remotely controlled in hazardous environments. The robotic vehicle includes a chassis having front and rear ends and supported on right and left driven tracks. Right and left elongated flippers are disposed on corresponding sides of the chassis and operable to pivot. A linkage connects a payload deck, configured to support a removable functional payload, to the chassis. The linkage has a first end rotatably connected to the chassis at a first pivot, and a second end rotatably connected to the deck at a second pivot. Both of the first and second pivots include independently controllable pivot drivers operable to rotatably position their corresponding pivots to control both fore-aft position and pitch orientation of the payload deck with respect to the chassis.

Claims

1. A mobile robot comprising:

a chassis defining at least one chassis volume;

first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis, each flipper having a drive wheel and defining a flipper volume adjacent to the drive wheel, the first set of flippers disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis;

motive power elements distributed among the chassis volume and the flipper volumes, the motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly; and

a load shifting assembly pivotally attached to the chassis and comprising a load tilting motor and a load shifting motor, the load shifting assembly defining a load shifting volume adjacent the load tilting motor, the motive power elements being distributed among the chassis volume, the load shifting volume, and the flipper volumes,

wherein the main drive motor assembly comprises a main drive motor and a main drive motor amplifier, and the load shifting motor assembly comprises the load shifting motor and a load shifting motor amplifier.

2. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first set of flippers are rigidly coupled to the chassis, and the second set of flippers are rotatable 360 degrees about a pivot axis near a forward end of the chassis, the first and second of flippers having a drive axis common with the pivot axis.

3. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein each flipper comprises a driven track, each track trained about the corresponding drive wheel and defining the flipper volume within an envelope defined by the track.

4. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the main drive motor amplifier and the load shifting motor amplifier are disposed in at least one of the flipper volumes, the main drive motor and the load shifting motor are disposed in the chassis volume, and the battery assembly is disposed in the load shifting volume.

5. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the main drive motor amplifier is disposed in at least one of the flipper volumes, the main drive motor is disposed in the chassis volume, and the battery assembly and the load tilting motor are disposed in the load shifting volume so that the battery assembly tilts together with the load shifting assembly.

6. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the chassis extends into the flipper volumes defined by the first set of flippers, at least one of the flipper volumes defined by the first set of flippers housing the main drive motor amplifier, the chassis volume housing the main drive motor, and the load shifting volume housing the battery assembly and the load tilting motor assembly.

7. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the shifting motor amplifier is housed in at least one of the flipper volumes.

8. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the load shifting assembly comprises a linkage connecting a payload assembly to the chassis, the linkage having a first end rotatably connected to the chassis at a first pivot, and a second end rotatably connected to the payload assembly at a second pivot, both of the first and second pivots including independently controllable pivot drivers operable to rotatably position their corresponding pivots to control both fore-aft position and pitch orientation of the payload assembly with respect to the chassis.

9. The mobile robot of claim 8, wherein the independently controllable pivot drivers provide both fore-aft position and pitch orientation of the payload assembly with respect to the chassis to selectively displace a center of gravity of the payload assembly both forward and rearward of a center of gravity of the chassis.

10. The mobile robot of claim 8, wherein the first end of the linkage is rotatably connected near the front of the chassis, such that the payload assembly is displaceable to an aft-most position in which the payload assembly is located within a footprint of the chassis.

11. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a center of gravity of the robot remains within an envelope of rotation of the second set of flippers.

12. An obstacle climbing mobile robot comprising:

a chassis;

first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis, the first set of flippers disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis, each flipper having a drive wheel and defining a first volume adjacent to the drive wheel;

a load shifting assembly associated with the chassis and including a tilt motor, the load shifting assembly defining a second volume adjacent the tilt motor, the chassis defining a third volume adjacent at least one of the drive wheels; and

motive power elements distributed among the first volumes, the second volume, and the third volume, the motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly.

13. The obstacle climbing mobile robot of claim 12, wherein the main drive motor assembly comprises a main drive motor amplifier and a main drive motor, and the load shifting motor assembly comprises a load shifting motor amplifier and a load shifting motor.

14. The obstacle climbing mobile robot of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first volumes houses the main drive motor amplifier and the load shifting motor amplifier, the second volume houses the battery assembly, and the third volume houses the main drive motor and the load shifting motor.

15. The obstacle climbing mobile robot of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first volume houses the main drive motor amplifier, the second volume houses the battery assembly and the load tilting motor, so that the battery assembly tilts together with the load shifting assembly, and the third volume houses the main drive motor.

16. A mobile robot comprising:

a chassis defining at least one chassis volume;

first and second sets of right and left driven flippers associated with the chassis, each flipper having a drive wheel and defining a flipper volume adjacent to the drive wheel, the first set of flippers disposed between the second set of flippers and the chassis; and

motive power elements distributed among the chassis volume and the flipper volumes, the motive power elements comprising a battery assembly, a main drive motor assembly, and a load shifting motor assembly; and

a load shifting assembly pivotally attached to the chassis and comprising a load tilting motor and a load shifting motor, the load shifting assembly defining a load shifting volume adjacent the load tilting motor, the motive power elements being distributed among the chassis volume, the load shifting volume, and the flipper volumes,

wherein the load shifting assembly comprises a linkage connecting a payload assembly to the chassis, the linkage having a first end rotatably connected to the chassis at a first pivot, and a second end rotatably connected to the payload assembly at a second pivot, both of the first and second pivots including independently controllable pivot drivers operable to rotatably position their corresponding pivots to control both fore-aft position and pitch orientation of the payload assembly with respect to the chassis.

17. The mobile robot of claim 16, wherein the independently controllable pivot drivers provide both fore-aft position and pitch orientation of the payload assembly with respect to the chassis to selectively displace a center of gravity of the payload assembly both forward and rearward of a center of gravity of the chassis.

18. The mobile robot of claim 16, wherein the first end of the linkage is rotatably connected near the front of the chassis, such that the payload assembly is displaceable to an aft-most position in which the payload assembly is located within a footprint of the chassis.