초록 ▼

There is provided, in a preferred embodiment, a device for transporting a human subject over ground having a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs. This embodiment has a support for supporting the subject. A ground-contacting module, movably attached to the support, serves to suspend

There is provided, in a preferred embodiment, a device for transporting a human subject over ground having a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs. This embodiment has a support for supporting the subject. A ground-contacting module, movably attached to the support, serves to suspend the subject in the support over the surface. The orientation of the ground-contacting module defines fore-aft and lateral planes intersecting one another at a vertical. The support and the ground-contacting module are components of an assembly. A motorized drive, mounted to the assembly and coupled to the ground-contacting module, causes locomotion of the assembly and the subject therewith over the surface. Finally, the embodiment has a control loop, in which the motorized drive is included, for dynamically enhancing stability in the fore-aft plane by operation of the motorized drive in connection with the ground-contacting module. The ground contacting module may be realized as a pair of ground-contacting members, laterally disposed with respect to one another. The ground-contacting members may be wheels. Alternatively, each ground-contacting member may include a cluster of wheels. In another embodiment, each ground-contacting member includes a pair of axially adjacent and rotatably mounted arcuate element pairs.

대표청구항 ▼

A device, for transporting a human subject over a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs, the device comprising: (a) a support for supporting the subject, the support having left and right sides and defining fore-aft and lateral planes; (b) a plurality of support members on each side o

A device, for transporting a human subject over a surface that may be irregular and may include stairs, the device comprising: (a) a support for supporting the subject, the support having left and right sides and defining fore-aft and lateral planes; (b) a plurality of support members on each side of the support, each support member being mounted to permit complete travel around an axis and joined to a discrete ground-contacting component, the ground-contacting component having a point of contact with the surface and occupying only a portion of the entire angular distance around the axis; the support and the support members being parts of an assembly; (c) a motorized drive arrangement, mounted to the assembly, coupled to the support members, for causing locomotion of the assembly and the subject over the surface; and (d) a control loop, in which the motorized drive arrangement is included, for dynamically maintaining stability in the fore-aft plane by operation of the motorized drive arrangement so that the net torque experienced by the assembly about the point of contact with the surface, taking into account torques caused by gravity as well as by all other external forces and by the motorized drive, causes a desired acceleration of the assembly.