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US 2011/0209932 A1Published application
Omni-directional vehicle
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsToru Takenaka, Makoto Hirano, Hideharu Izumi, Kazuya Kuwabara, Taiji Koyama, Shinichiro Kobashi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
[Task] Provided is a vehicle that can make tight turns without significantly changing an attitude of a rider, and is highly convenient in narrow places. [Solution] A omni-directional one-wheeled vehicle comprises a vehicle body (7) and a secondary wheel (35) configured to contact a ground surface at a point displaced from a contact point of a driven road wheel (2).
Claims16
A vehicle, comprising:
- a vehicle body;
- an annular driven road wheel having a circular cross section and adapted to engage a road or floor surface at a ground contact point;
- a drive assembly for driving the driven road wheel;
- and
- a ground contact member provided on the vehicle body and configured to contact the road or floor surface;
- wherein the driven road wheel is rotatable around a central axial line (B) thereof and around an annular cross sectional center line (C) passing through a center of the circular cross section thereof in such a manner that the vehicle is enabled to travel in a fore-and-aft direction as the driven road wheel is driven around the central axial line (B) thereof and in a lateral direction as the driven road wheel is driven around the annular cross sectional center line (C).
3 more elements
An omni-directional vehicle, comprising:
- a base;
- a first moveable member and a second moveable member each moveably supported by the base;
- a first drive unit and a second drive unit for actuating the first moveable member and second moveable member, respectively;
- a plurality of first free rollers arranged on the first moveable member along a direction of movement thereof, and each having a rotational axis extending at a first angle with respect to the direction of movement thereof;
- and
- a plurality of second free rollers arranged on the second moveable member along a direction of movement thereof, and so as to be in a rolling contact with the corresponding first free rollers as at least one of the first and second moveable members moves along the direction of movement thereof with respect to the other, each second free roller having a rotational axis defining a second angle different from the first angle with respect to the direction of movement thereof;
- wherein the first free rollers are configured to engage a road or floor surface, and the vehicle further comprises a ground contact member configure to contact a ground surface at a point displaced from a ground contact point of the corresponding first free roller.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.