Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system

Abstract

Vehicle comprising two wheels (3) and a central body (7), and two motorized mobile means (4) each housed in one of said wheels to allow the vehicle to move forward thanks to the displacement of the motorized mobile means inside the respective wheel. The central body (7) comprises an arm (6) extending radially beyond the profile of the wheels to support an external mass (5) with a weight comparable to that of the motorized mobile means. The motion of a first one of said motorized mobile means and the motion of the central body are linked to each other by a binding device (8) which regulates or controls the relative rotation angle (a), so that said arm and said external mass can be maintained in a position substantially parallel to the support surface of the vehicle, and at the same time the first motorized mobile means is moved to a maximum thrust position (11).

Description

[0001] LEIBO. 16e2025

[0002] “Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system”

[0003] Description

[0004] Field of the invention

[0005] The present invention relates in general to a two-wheeled vehicle, such as described for example in EP 3 347 215 Bl, EP 3 853 112 B1 and EP 4 313 750 Al.

[0006] Prior art

[0007] Among the documents mentioned above, EP 3 347 215 Bl refers to a vehicle of the type in question, the distinctive feature of which, with respect to the prior art, is that it can also move forward on water since the wheels have fins on the rolling surface of the wheel having a slightly convex shape outwards, where the fins are arranged on the sides of the rolling surface near the lateral faces of the wheel, so as to leave free a central rolling area of the rolling surface having a slightly convex shape, where this rolling area can come into contact with a solid or semi-solid surface.

[0008] This type of vehicle has the feature of being able to move on water and not only on solid or semi-solid terrain, for example muddy. This gives rise to its versatility.

[0009] The vehicle described in EP 3 347 215 Bl also has means for lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle, which at the same time also function as means for actuating the vehicle, the wheels of which have axles which are unconstrained (with regard to rotations) from a central axle which supports the payload of the vehicle. In essence, inside the wheels there are two “pendulums”, the movement of which allows the vehicle to move forward, allows the vehicle to move backward, and also its rotation on the spot around the perpendicular direction to the ground, according to the directions of actuation of the “pendulums” inside each wheel.

[0010] EP 3 853 112 Bl also relates to a two-wheeled self-propelled vehicle, generally of the type in question, the distinctive feature of which, with respect to the prior art, is that the connection means between the two wheels of the vehicle is a hub formed by two parts rotatable with respect to each other, each of said parts being connected to a relative structure arranged inside LEIBO. 16e2025 the corresponding wheel, and each structure of each wheel being able to rotate with respect to the latter by bearing with its own weight and that of the hub directly on a carriage with small wheels, but not on a lateral face of the wheel, where the carriage supports weights formed at least in part by batteries powering the actuation means. In this patent, such actuation means are formed by hub motors mounted directly on at least some of the axes of the small wheels of the carriage. The carriage forms part of the structure arranged inside the corresponding wheel, and by means of at least some of the small wheels thereof provided with a hub motor, it rests against an internal surface of the respective wheel, which is opposite with respect to the external rolling surface of the wheel itself. Also in this patent, as in the previous one, the forward motion system of the vehicle is based on a sort of "pendulum" inside the respective wheel of the self-propelled vehicle. The “pendulum” in this case is formed by the structure with carriage with relative small wheels and hub motors.

[0011] Patent application EP 4 313 750 Al relates to a self-propelled two-wheeled self-stabilizing vehicle of the general type in question, wherein a central body between the two wheels is connected to the wheels by means of its own shaft and can rotate independently of the wheels themselves on or around its own shaft integral with the central body itself. As usual, there are internal actuation means inside the vehicle wheels, which allow the wheels to rotate independently around on of their respective axes in both directions of rotation and which allow the wheels to overcome obstacles without causing the vehicle to overturn. Such actuation means act as a “pendulum”. The distinctive feature of the vehicle described in EP 4 313 750 Al, with respect to the previous documents EP 3 347 215 Bl and EP 3 853 112 Bl, and in general with respect to the prior art, is that the central body, i.e., the element mounted between the two wheels, is in the shape of a disc perpendicular to its central shaft and has two faces, each of which faces a respective internal face of a wheel, and wherein bearings are interposed between, and in contact with, each internal face of a wheel and the corresponding face of the central body, so as to maintain a constant distance between each wheel and the central body during the operation of the self-stabilizing two-wheeled vehicle. Another important feature of this latest patent application EP 4 313 750 Al is that active-balancing rolling actuation LEIBO. 16e2025 elements of the central body are interposed between the internal faces of the wheels and the faces of the central body, and they are mounted on the central body or on a wheel and are in contact with the respective internal face of the wheel or with the corresponding face of the central body.

[0012] The main problem with these two-wheeled vehicles still remains how to overcome difficult obstacles. In general, overcoming obstacles is guaranteed on modest slopes, and in the presence of small and medium obstacles, but this problem remains in more complex cases when, for example, a significant slope is added to the obstacle to be overcome. Obviously, the tendency is to lighten the wheels as much as possible, as also results from the documents cited above, by choosing appropriate materials. Normally amphibious vehicles / drones overcome obstacles thanks to the coexistence of two factors. Firstly, when the drone reaches an obstacle, the control system raises the weight of the “pendulum” inside the wheels, attempting to “fall” over the obstacle. Secondly, the thrust of the wheels together with the grip (for example of fins or a tire) on the obstacle, helps the vehicle / drone to hoist itself over the obstacle. In this dynamic, the central body (which also acts as a pendulum) is a factor that tends to push the drone in the opposite direction to the desired one. Therefore, the greater the (passive) weight of the central body, the less the drone will be able to overcome obstacles. In this perspective, the solution developed and described in EP 4 313 750 Al, according to which the rolling elements for the active balancing actuation of the central body are interposed between the internal faces of the wheels and the faces of the central body, are certainly useful. However, this solution, in addition to being improvable as such to overcome obstacles, in the manner indicated below by the present invention, requires the central body to be made in the disc shape described precisely in EP 4 313 750 Al, thus limiting the designer in the choice of the configuration of the central body.

[0013] From what has been said, it therefore appears that there remains a need, in the known art, to create a self-propelled two-wheeled vehicle that is even more efficient in overcoming obstacles.

[0014] Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to make a two-wheeled vehicle that is able LEIBO. 16e2025 to overcome obstacles even in the most difficult situations.

[0015] A second object of the invention is to make a two-wheeled vehicle that has a limited cost with respect to other vehicles of the same type with similar functions, for example terrain exploration, examination and collection of dangerous / contaminated material, first aid in alpine areas to bring materials to people in difficulty, or other.

[0016] Description of the invention

[0017] Substantially, the present invention gives preference to, with respect to the known art, a single direction of travel of the vehicle, making the two-wheeled vehicle perform better in this preferred direction, to the detriment of performance in the other direction. This is fundamentally different from the vehicles in the above-mentioned patent documents, and from other prior art vehicles, which have symmetrical dynamics in both directions of travel but have lower performance in these two directions of travel.

[0018] The present invention achieves its objects, according to claim 1, by means of a two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, comprising two nonmotorized wheels (3) and a central body (7) coaxial to them, arranged between the two wheels (3), the central body (7) and the two wheels (3) being connected to each other so as to rotate with respect to the other around a common geometric axis, and further comprising two motorized mobile means (4) each housed in one of said wheels (3) to allow the two-wheeled vehicle to move forward thanks to the displacement of the center of gravity of the wheels (3) resulting from a rotation of said motorized mobile means (4) inside the respective wheel (3) around said geometric axis, where said central body (7) comprises an arm (6) extending substantially radially with respect to said wheels (3) and to the common geometric axis of the wheels (3) and the central body (7) to support a mass (5) external to the wheels (3) having a weight comparable to that of the mobile motorized means (4) but greater than that of the individual wheels (3), where the motion of a first one of said motorized mobile means (4) and the motion of the central body (7) around said geometric axis are linked to each other by a binding device (8) which regulates or controls the relative rotation angle (a) between said arm LEIBO. 16e2025

[0019] (6) and said first motorized mobile means (4), so that, when the two-wheeled vehicle encounters an obstacle of larger dimensions (13) and / or requires greater thrust, said arm (6) and said external mass (5) are maintained in a position substantially parallel to the support surface of the two-wheeled vehicle, and at the same time said first motorized mobile means (4) is moved to a maximum thrust position (11) bringing it closer to a center of gravity of the external mass (5), so that the forward thrust of the two-wheeled vehicle is given by the maximum contribution offered by both these masses (4, 5), i.e. that of the external mass (5) and that of the first motorized mobile means (4) present in one of said wheels (3), and where said external mass (5) is arranged on the arm (6) beyond the profile (3) of the wheels in said direction of preferential motion, and when the two-wheeled vehicle is stationary, said first motorized mobile means (4) is in a zero position on the opposite side of a vertical axis of the relevant wheel (3), with respect to said external mass (5), so as to counterbalance the weight of the latter and ensure the immobility of the two-wheeled vehicle.

[0020] Certain particular embodiments of the invention are defined and protected in the dependent claims.

[0021] Brief description of the drawings

[0022] The present invention will now be described by way of non-limiting, non-binding example, with reference to the attached figures which show:

[0023] - Fig. 1 the operating principle of a two-wheeled vehicle of the known art, represented in a very schematic way, observed laterally and in the rest condition;

[0024] - Fig. 2 the operating principle of a two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, represented in a very schematic way, observed laterally and in the rest condition;

[0025] - Fig. 3 the two-wheeled vehicle of the known art, represented in a very schematic way, in a rest condition and observed laterally, in which the available dynamics are highlighted;

[0026] - Fig. 4 the two-wheeled vehicle of the known art, in the maximum thrust condition;

[0027] - Fig. 5 as in Fig. 2, but without highlighting the forces of the centers of gravity;

[0028] - Fig. 6 a vehicle of the known art, in the maximum thrust condition that allows it to overcome LEIBO. 16e2025 a small obstacle;

[0029] - Fig. 7 a vehicle of the known art, in the maximum thrust condition, that however does not allow it to overcome a large obstacle;

[0030] - Fig. 8 a vehicle according to the present invention, represented in a very schematic way to illustrate the operating principle which allows it to overcome a large obstacle;

[0031] - Fig. 9 a perspective view of a two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, in a particular embodiment thereof;

[0032] - Fig. 10 a further perspective view of the two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, viewed from another angle with respect to Fig. 10, almost laterally;

[0033] - Fig. I l a further perspective view of the two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, in which one wheel of the vehicle is not shown to facilitate the understanding of the invention and to show internal components;

[0034] - Fig. 12 as in Fig. 11, but according to a view from a different angle.

[0035] Detailed description of the invention

[0036] The present invention will be illustrated firstly in a non-binding and non-limiting manner, starting from its general operating principle, independently of its numerous possible embodiments. For this purpose, the attached schematic drawings corresponding to Figures 1 to 8 are used first, where it is essential to simultaneously make a comparison with the operating principle of two-wheeled vehicles of the known art.

[0037] In the known art, including that cited above, reference is made to a two-wheeled vehicle (not motorized), which moves thanks to the movement of internal masses that cause the displacement of the center of gravity thereof and therefore the rolling movement of the wheels towards the new center of gravity. Specifically, the known art assumes the presence of a pendulum or a carriage inside each wheel of the two-wheeled vehicle, which thus houses a preponderant mass of the vehicle and the movement of which is therefore capable of significantly modifying the vehicle's center of gravity. Essentially, in the implementations of the known art, the center of gravity of each wheel is comparable to the center of gravity of the LEIBO. 16e2025 pendulum / carriage contained therein, since the other masses present are significantly lower in value. This means that the vehicle is stationary when the potential energy of the pendulums / carriages is minimal (zero), i.e. when the latter are at rest. This situation is shown in Fig- 1 , in which the center of gravity 1 of the wheel 3 overlaps the center of gravity 2 of the pendulum / carriage 4 and therefore the vehicle is at rest.

[0038] Differently from the above, in the present invention, see Fig. 2, outside the wheels 3 (which in the present schematic drawings are always indicated by the reference numeral 3 of the external profile of the wheel) an external mass 5 is introduced which is added (as a significant mass) to the mass of the pendulum / carriage 4 inside the wheels 3. Such an external mass 5 is always supported by an arm 6, or similar, in turn supported by, or integral with, a central body 7, as can be seen from Figures 9 to 12 in the particular embodiment shown in those figures.

[0039] It should therefore be noted that the external mass 5 has, according to the present invention, a value comparable to that present inside the wheels 3 and which it is essentially represented by the pendulums / carriages 4. Therefore, the external mass 5 acts as a further element defining the center of gravity of the two-wheeled vehicle which is the subject of the present invention. Always according to Fig. 2, the external mass 5 is linked to the first mass of the carriages / pendulums 4 by means of a binding device 8, which can be made in various shapes (as illustrated below), so that the two masses cannot rotate freely with respect to one another. According to the present invention, the center of gravity of the wheel 3 (or rather of each wheel 3) is no longer comparable to the center of gravity 2 of the pendulum or carriage 4, but will be determined by the position of several masses. As shown in Fig. 2, the “stationary vehicle” condition will therefore occur when the pendulums / carriages 4 inside each wheel 3 are not in the respective rest positions in Fig. 1. In other words, by defining as “zero position” the position assumed by a pendulum / carriage 4 inside the respective wheel 3 when the latter is not subject to movement, it is possible to alter this “zero position” by means of external masses 5 and the relative arm 6 applied thereto, as long as these external masses 5 are constrained to the carriages / pendulums 4 inside the wheels 3.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 2, the center of gravity 1 of wheel 3 falls on the vertical axis of wheel 3, LEIBO. 16e2025 which therefore does not move. The pendulum / carriage 4, however, is not in the traditional rest position corresponding to Fig. 1, since it has to balance the external mass 5. The “zero position” of the pendulum / carriage 4 has therefore been moved. The center of gravity 1 of the wheel 3 is located between the center of gravity 2 of the carriage / pendulum 4 and the center of gravity 9 of the external mass 5.

[0041] At this point it is necessary to highlight other differences with respect to the known art. This will be done with reference to Fig. 3. The effect of moving the “zero position” of the pendulum / carriage 4 is to create a preferred direction of travel for the two-wheeled vehicle which is the subject matter of the present invention. In fact, the previous solutions according to the known art had the characteristic of perfectly symmetrical movement. The two-wheeled vehicle could proceed in both directions of travel without any appreciable difference in its dynamics. This was because the acceleration applied to the respective wheel 3 depended on the displacement of the center of gravity with respect to the vertical axis of wheel 3. Since the vehicle, when stationary, had the pendulums / carriages 4 at rest in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in line with the vertical axis of the wheel, there was an identical dynamic for the movement in both directions 10 (Fig. 3: the arrows 10 indicate the two available dynamics).

[0042] Assuming that the carriage or pendulum 4 is constrained in some way to the center (or to rotate around the center) of the wheel 3, the maximum thrust condition corresponds to bringing the weight of the pendulum / carriage 4 perpendicular with respect to the vertical axis of the wheel 3. Therefore, if the “zero position” corresponds to the position in which the pendulum / carriage 4 is at rest on the vertical axis of the wheel 3, as occurred in the known art, then there is equal dynamics in both directions of travel.

[0043] Fig- 4 shows said maximum thrust condition / position 11 of the pendulum or carriage 4, which is perfectly symmetrical with respect to the vertical axis of the wheel in the known art (the maximum thrust condition in the other, opposite direction is not shown).

[0044] Instead, according to the present invention, and as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, if the zero position does not correspond to the traditional position of the pendulum / carriage at rest, then there is a preferential direction of motion with better dynamic features (in the latter direction) with LEIBO. 16e2025 respect to those offered by a configuration with symmetrical movement. This is achieved at the cost of worsening the movement features in the direction opposite to said preferred direction. The typical application of the present invention precisely relates to a vehicle that provides a main direction of motion, improving the features of the movement in that direction to the detriment of the features in the opposite direction, thus leading to competitive advantages for the two-wheeled vehicle with respect to those of the prior art.

[0045] Fig. 5 clearly shows the “zero position” of the carriage or pendulum 4, which does NOT correspond to the position in which the pendulum / carriage 4 is traditionally at rest according to the known art; therefore, there cannot be equal dynamics in both directions of travel. It will be possible to exert a greater thrust in one direction (that indicated by the external mass 5) with respect to the other (where the external mass 5 is absent).

[0046] The presence of an increased maximum thrust action with respect to the known art, in the preferred direction of motion, is an aspect that will be clarified below in particular with reference (inter alia) to Fig. 8. This increased maximum thrust action allows the present invention to be advantageously also applied to an amphibious rover, since it ensures much better forward motion on water. Furthermore, the obtainable increase in thrust allows overcoming greater obstacles, as will be clarified with reference to Fig. 8. The two aspects are in a certain sense related since they descend, as will be seen, from a single mechanism or principle.

[0047] Specifically, said binding device 8 which ensures that the two masses 4 and 5 of a wheel 3 cannot rotate independently is not a rigid binding, but is instead able to vary the angle a present between the two masses 4 and 5, i.e., the angle a defined between, on the one hand, the ideal line connecting the center of gravity of the pendulum / carriage 4 and the geometric center / axis of the wheel 3, and on the other hand, the ideal line connecting the center of gravity of the external mass 5 and the geometric center / axis of the wheel 3. The center / axis of the wheel 3 is indicated by a cross in Fig. 2, for example. This “variable angle binding” 8 is actually a binding that allows the angle a to be initially set and adjusted as desired; it can be achieved in various ways, for example by means of a worm screw coupled to a ring gear with helical teeth, LEIBO. 16e2025 a toothed belt coupled to a cylindrical external ring gear, other gear systems or springs.

[0048] This feature, i.e. the variability of the angle a, is fundamental for two reasons. Firstly, the freedom to vary the angle a allows the two-wheeled vehicle of the present invention to be “calibrated” depending on how heavy and unbalanced the load it will have to carry is (for example, imagine that the external mass 5 is a replaceable / adaptable payload and / or that the length of the arm 6 is variable with telescopic means). The next step is to position the “zero position” at the desired dynamic point by appropriately positioning the centers of gravity of the two masses 4 and 5 which correspond to the equilibrium / rest position of Figs. 2 and 5.

[0049] Secondly, the possibility of moving the position of the carriage / pendulum during travel, with respect to the external mass 5, by varying the angle a, guarantees a very notable improvement in the ability to face obstacles. In fact, the ability to overcome an obstacle depends on the vehicle's ability to move its center of gravity beyond the obstacle, thus "falling" over it. In the solutions of the known art and in particular in those cited above, the center of gravity, being dependent on a mass (4) inside the wheel 3, can only also fall within the projection of wheel 3 onto the ground. Instead, in the solution proposed by the present invention, by reducing the angle a between the two masses 4 and 5, a maximum thrust condition is reached in which the vehicle's center of gravity benefits from the contribution of said mass (5) external to the wheel provided with an arm 6 of any length, so that the center of gravity can fall outside the projection of the wheel 3 onto the ground. This translates into the ability to overcome larger obstacles. This fact is depicted in Fig. 8 (present invention) which should be compared with Figs. 6 and 7 (known art) to show the difference. Specifically, in Fig. 6 the obstacle 12 is small and the center of gravity 1 of the wheel 3 (determined in this case essentially by the mass or by the center of gravity of the carriage / pendulum 4 brought to the maximum thrust position 11) ends up projected beyond the obstacle 12 itself; therefore, the obstacle 12 of small dimensions will be passed by the two-wheeled vehicle of the known art. In Fig. 7, for the twowheeled vehicle of the known art the obstacle 13 is too large, the center of gravity in the maximum thrust condi tion / positi on 11 of the carriage / pendulum 4 does not end (in projection) beyond such a large obstacle 13, therefore the vehicle will not pass. To overcome this LEIBO. 16e2025 drawback, the present invention, as shown in Fig. 8, allows to reduce (by means of the binding device 8) the angle a between the two masses 4 and 5, as previously defined, thus adding the contribution of the two masses 4 and 5 in a single direction of motion (preferential direction of motion). This causes the center of gravity 1 of the wheel 3 to potentially be outside the projection of the wheel profile 3 onto the ground and to be able to overcome obstacles 13 of larger dimensions. In this Figure 8, the obstacle 13 is therefore overcome.

[0050] Referring now to Figures 9 through 12, they show various views of a concrete, non-limiting and non-binding embodiment of the present invention, based on the principles illustrated above.

[0051] Fig- 9 is a front perspective view of the two-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention, while Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but in a lateral perspective view. In these figures, note the two wheels 3, the central body 7 mounted on the wheels 3 in a coaxial manner and free to rotate with respect to the latter using any locking system only in the direction of the axle of the wheels 3 (using bearings of any known type suitable for the purpose), and the external mass 5 constrained (preferably rigidly) to the central body 7 by connecting means, in this case said arm 6.

[0052] The two wheels 3 have a considerable rolling surface, as well as a significant volume, but it should be noted that these wheels are very light with respect to other components that determine the masses of the carriages (or pendulums) 4 and of the external mass 5, as underlined several times above. The materials used to make the wheels 3, both very resistant and light, are known to those skilled in the art and can be fiber-reinforced composite materials, or other, and there is no need to dwell further on these details here. It should be noted that the “external” circumference (with respect to the position of the central body 7) of each wheel 3 has fins 14 preferably made as a single piece during the molding of the wheel 3 and possibly having a rubbery or similar material applied to them. The fins 14 are already known in this technical field, as such, and allow the two-wheeled vehicle to have a greater grip on the ground and / or to transform the two-wheeled vehicle into a true amphibious vehicle, where such fins then act as "blades" or "propellers" that act on the water to move the two-wheeled vehicle LEIBO. 16e2025 forward.

[0053] As already stated several times, the two-wheeled vehicle of the present invention has the fundamental feature of having a preferential direction of motion and can advance with a greater thrust in this direction with respect to the “symmetrical” vehicles of the known art; in particular, an amphibious vehicle makes use of this fundamental feature which allows it to advance more quickly on water, but also a vehicle made only for land use, which uses the fundamental feature of the invention, is able to overcome greater obstacles and overcome them with ease even on stretches characterized by a certain slope.

[0054] Fig. 11 shows a part of a wheel 3, the central body 7, and a carriage 4, where in the drawing the other wheel 3 (the one on the left) has been ideally removed to show the carriage 4 and the previously mentioned binding device 8. The binding device 8, indicated by an arrow in Fig. 11, comprises in this particular embodiment a ring gear 15 with external straight-toothed teeth made of one piece with the central body 7 and coaxial with the axes (in this case ideal) of the wheels 3, a toothed belt 16 meshing with the external teeth of the ring gear 15, a pinion 17 meshing with the teeth of the toothed belt 16, and a motor (not depicted) connected to said pinion 17 by means of an output shaft thereof, where such a motor is mounted on the carriage 4. Said binding device 8 cooperates in the manner described above with reference to Figures 2, 5 and 8, with the movement of the carriage 4 (which moves as in the known art along the cylindrical internal surface of the left wheel not depicted), so that, by actuating the motors on the hub of the wheels 18 of the carriage 4 and at the same time said motor associated with the pinion 17, it will be possible to reach any relative position (angle a) between the arm 6 and the carriage 4 (or rather any angle a formed between the projection of the arm 6 on the longitudinal plane of symmetry P of the carriage and the ideal straight line, on this plane P, which joins the center of gravity of the carriage 4 to the intersection between P and the extension of the axis of the wheels 3).

[0055] In particular, it will be possible to reach the relative position 11 of greatest interest, that is, the one shown in Fig. 8 of maximum forward thrust 11. If, however, the two- wheeled vehicle must remain momentarily stationary, the motor, remaining energized, will maintain the relative LEIBO. 16e2025 position shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 5; in other words, the motor of the pinion 17 then exerts a reaction torque which will prevent the external mass 5 from falling: in these figures, the arm 6 is substantially horizontal (or generally parallel to the ground) but it may not be perfectly horizontal in other positions of stopping (or travel) of the vehicle.

[0056] Preferably, there is a mechanical locking mechanism or tensioning system (not shown in the figures), to maintain the relative position (angle a) shown in Figures 2 and 5 when the vehicle is stationary for a longer period, so as not to prolong the work carried out by the motor of the binding device 8 in this case. The mechanical locking mechanism, or tensioning system, could act, for example, directly on the pinion 17, preventing it from rotating with respect to the reference system of the carriage 4.

[0057] A person skilled in the art will immediately understand that in order to ensure that the twowheeled vehicle of the present invention is able to steer (curve), the other carriage 4 of the two-wheeled vehicle of the invention, i.e., the one housed in the other wheel 3 (and which remains hidden in this right wheel in Fig. 11), must not be constrained in any way and must therefore be freely movable by the hub motors of its wheels. In order for the two-wheeled vehicle of the invention to be able to curve, said “unconstrained” carriage 4 will move, in a first interval of time, inside its own wheel 3, generally in the opposite direction to that of the carriage 4 bound by the binding device 8.

[0058] In a particular embodiment of the invention, not shown in the drawings, the arm 6 could be telescopic and be actuatable with a linear actuator, which would ensure an arm 6 of variable length.

[0059] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the arm 6 could carry a payload, or at least a part thereof, and the external mass 5 could then comprise - at least in part - such a payload.

[0060] During the operation of the two-wheeled vehicle of the present invention, there is a continuous movement of the two carriages 4 while the arm 6 which supports the external mass 5 normally remains in a position substantially parallel to the ground, with small or in any case modest oscillations, in any case during travel. This obviously requires continuous electronic control of the above-mentioned motors, both of the carriages or pendulums, and of the binding device LEIBO. 16e2025

[0061] 8. For example, when the two-wheeled vehicle encounters a large obstacle 13, the resistance the latter creates to forward motion must translate into a rapid movement of the carriage or pendulum towards the maximum thrust position / condition 11 (Fig. 8), while at the same time the position of the external mass 5 must remain substantially unchanged. All these actions are controlled by software that allows the two-wheeled vehicle to function in this manner.

[0062] The vehicle of the present invention can be controlled remotely.

[0063] The present invention has been described so that a person skilled in the art can implement it, if desired. The concerned person skilled in the art may come up with numerous variations and modifications to what is described above, without thereby departing from the present inventive concept and the respective scope of protection that rightfully belongs thereto. For example, an obvious variant to the binding device 8 of Fig. 11 would consist of providing, in place of the straight-toothed pinion 17, a worm screw which meshes directly with a ring gear with helical teeth, effectively eliminating the toothed belt 16 as an intermediate drive element. A further variant of the binding device 8 of Fig. 11 would finally consist in providing a non-toothed belt 16, and consequently a drive roller 17 in place of the pinion, and a smooth circular flange 15 in place of the externally toothed ring gear. Indeed, this last variant of the binding device 8 could currently be the preferred one.

Claims

LEIBO. 16e2025Claims1. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, comprising two non-motorized wheels (3) and a central body (7) coaxial to them, arranged between the two wheels (3), the central body (7) and the two wheels (3) being connected to each other so as to rotate with respect to each other around a common geometric axis, and further comprising two motorized mobile means (4) each housed in one of said wheels (3) to allow the two-wheeled vehicle to move forward thanks to the displacement of the center of gravity of the wheels (3) resulting from a rotation of said motorized mobile means (4) inside the respective wheel (3) around said geometric axis, characterized in that said central body (7) comprises an arm (6) extending substantially radially with respect to said wheels (3) and to the common geometric axis of the wheels(3) and the central body (7) to support a mass (5) external to the wheels (3) having a weight comparable to that of the mobile motorized means (4) but greater than that of the individual wheels (3), and in that the motion of a first one of said motorized mobile means (4) and the motion of the central body (7) around said geometric axis are linked to each other by a binding device (8) which regulates or controls the relative rotation angle (a) between said arm (6) and said first motorized mobile means (4), so that, when the two-wheeled vehicle encounters an obstacle of larger dimensions (13) and / or requires greater thrust, said arm (6) and said external mass (5) are maintained in a position substantially parallel to the support surface of the two-wheeled vehicle, and at the same time said first motorized mobile means (4) is moved to a maximum thrust position (11) bringing it closer to a center of gravity of the external mass (5), so that the forward thrust of the two-wheeled vehicle is given by the maximum contribution offered by both these masses (4, 5), i.e. that of the external mass (5) and that of the first motorized mobile means(4) present in one of said wheels (3), and in that said external mass (5) is arranged on the arm (6) beyond the profile (3) of the wheels in said direction of preferential motion, and when the two-wheeled vehicle is stationary, said first motorized mobile means (4) is in a zero position on the opposite side of a vertical axis passing through the center of the relevant wheel (3), with respect to said external mass (5), so as to counterbalance the weight of the latter and ensure the immobility of the two-wheeled vehicle.

2. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to claim 1, characterized in that the second of said two motorized mobile means (4), not constrained by the binding device (8), is free to move inside its ownLEIBO. 16e2025 housing wheel (3), being able to move thanks to at least one motor associated with it.

3. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motorized mobile means (4) are pendulum systems constrained to a physical axle / shaft of the respective wheel (3) or trolleys constrained to the center of the wheel and equipped with wheels (18) with hub motors.

4. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said two-wheeled vehicle is a land vehicle and said support surface is the ground, or said two-wheeled vehicle is an amphibious rover and said support surface can also be a body of water, of the sea, lake or lagoon, said wheels (3) being equipped with fins (14) acting as blades for greater thrust on the water and / or for greater grip on the ground.

5. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said binding device (8) is formed by a) a ring gear with external teeth (15) coaxial to said geometric axis and made in one piece with the central body (7), a toothed belt (16) meshing with said ring gear with external teeth (15), and a pinion (17) which engages with said toothed belt (16) and is connected to an output shaft of a motor mounted on said first motorized mobile means (4), or by b) a wheel with helical teeth coaxial to said geometric axis and made on the central body (7), which engages directly with a worm screw integral to an output shaft of a motor mounted on said first motorized mobile means (4), or by c) a smooth circular flange (15), therefore not toothed, coaxial to said geometric axis and made in one piece with the central body (7), and a non-toothed belt (16) wrapped around said smooth circular flange (15) and around a drive roller (17) for driving said non-toothed belt (16).

6. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that an electronic control system and related software are provided, which control the movements of the twowheeled vehicle, in particular in such a way that when the two-wheeled vehicle encounters greater resistance to advancement, said first motorized mobile means (4) automatically approaches the center of gravity of said external mass (5) whose arm (6) is then in a substantially horizontal position, until it reaches said maximum thrust position (11) in which also an ideal connection between a center of gravity of the first motorized mobile means (4) and the geometric axis of the wheels is substantially parallel to theLEIBO. 16e2025 ground surface.

7. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said external mass (5) comprises at least in part a payload.

8. Two-wheeled vehicle with preferential direction of motion and increased thrust system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a mechanical locking mechanism, or tensioning system, is provided to maintain a certain value for said relative rotation angle (a) when the two-wheeled vehicle remains stationary for a longer period, so as not to prolong the work expended by the engine of the binding device (8), being able to switch it off in this case.

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