Motor vehicles – Special wheel base – Having only two wheels
Patent
1995-02-03
1999-10-26
Boehler, Anne Marie
Motor vehicles
Special wheel base
Having only two wheels
180 65, 180 658, 180907, 364176, 701124, B62D 6112
Patent
active
059710918
ABSTRACT:
There is provided, in a preferred embodiment, a transportation vehicle for transporting an individual over ground having a surface that may be irregular. 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 duster of wheels. In another embodiment, each ground-contacting member includes a pair of axially adjacent and rotatably mounted arcuate element pairs. Related methods are also provided.
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Ambrogi Robert R.
Duggan Robert J.
Heinzmann Richard Kurt
Kamen Dean L.
Key Brian R.
Boehler Anne Marie
DEKA Products Limited Partnership
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