Self-Stabilizing Two-Wheeled Vehicle
AssigneeBryant Engineering & Development, LLC
InventorRobert H Bryant
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method of stabilizing a two-wheeled vehicle are disclosed. In accordance with one aspect, a self-stabilizing two-wheeled vehicle having an articulated frame may generally comprise: a front wheel and a rear wheel substantially aligned along a longitudinal axis; a base frame portion coupled to the front wheel and to the rear wheel via respective front and rear suspension components; an operator frame portion to support an operator of the vehicle; a hinge assembly operably coupling the base frame portion and the operator frame portion; and a control unit to drive the hinge assembly causing the operator frame portion to rotate about a hinge axis as a function of inertial data and speed data.
Claims17
A self-stabilizing two-wheeled vehicle comprising:
- a front wheel and a rear wheel substantially aligned along a longitudinal axis;
- a base frame portion coupled to the front wheel and to the rear wheel;
- an operator frame portion to support an operator of the vehicle;
- a hinge assembly operably coupling the base frame portion and the operator frame portion;
- and
- a control unit receiving, from an inertial sensor, inertial data related to deviation of the base frame portion from a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis and receiving, from a speed sensor, instantaneous speed data related to a rate of travel of the vehicle;
- wherein the control unit is operative to drive the hinge assembly causing the operator frame portion to rotate about a hinge axis as a function of the inertial data and the instantaneous speed data.
A method of stabilizing a two-wheeled vehicle, the method comprising:
- coupling a base frame portion of the vehicle to a front wheel and to a rear wheel, wherein the front wheel and the rear wheel are substantially aligned along a longitudinal axis;
- coupling the base frame portion to an operator frame portion with a hinge having a hinge axis, wherein the operator frame portion is to support an operator of the vehicle and is selectively rotatable relative to the base frame portion about the hinge axis;
- receiving, from an inertial sensor, inertial data related to deviation of the base frame portion from a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis and receiving, from a speed sensor, instantaneous speed data related to a rate of travel of the vehicle;
- and
- responsive to the inertial data and the instantaneous speed data, selectively driving the hinge to cause the operator frame portion to rotate about the hinge axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.