5694 results about "Wheel drive" patented technology

A self-propelled robot is disclosed for movement over a surface to be treated. The robot has a power supply and a pair of wheels driven by motors for moving the robot over the surface. A mechanism is provided for controllably depositing a fluent material on to the surface. Navigation sensors provide signals for enabling the robot to navigate over the surface and one or more detectors detect the presence of the material on the surface and provide signals indicative of its presence. A control system receives the signals from the sensors and detectors and controls the motors and the depositing mechanism in dependence upon the signals received from the sensors and detectors.

A four-wheel pool cleaner (20) motivated by water flow to move along a pool surface, and having: a body (24); the four wheels rotatably mounted thereon and including two sets of two wheels (22) each, one wheel of each set on each side; a drive mechanism (36) in position to be moved by water flow and having a rotatable drive member (76); a drive train extending to the first wheel set (22a, b) and to the second wheel set (22c, d), to drive all four wheels. Preferred embodiments include: wheel-to-wheel drive links (88) along the side; a turbine (36) as drive mechanism; a pair of spaced wheelgears (32, 34), preferably integrally formed with the wheel, facilitating drive linkages and steering; a pair of end-to-end drive shafts (80, 82) joined by a coupler (84c), one shaft end (80a) being a ball joint allowing fore-and-aft movement of a drive-shaft distal end; a spring (102) and cam (100) for alternately moving that distal end between a driving position engaging one of the spaced wheelgears (32), and a steering position engaging the other of the spaced wheelgears (34); wheel treads (108) with radial fingers (110), some (110a-c) of longer length; and a segmented articulated skirt (56) to help enclose a plenum beneath the pool cleaner.

The invention provides a wheel driving robot finger device, belonging to a robot technical field which comprises a base, a motor, a reducer, a first gear, a second gear, a close joint shaft, a middle part finger, a far joint shaft and a terminal finger section as well as a driver, a transmission part, a driven wheel, a spring part. The middle part finger is sleeved on the close joint shaft. Two terminals of the spring part are respectively connected with the middle and the terminal finger sections. The device uses a pair of wheel mechanisms to sleeve a plurality of active middle part fingers with the decoupling effect of the spring part comprehensively to realize the special effect that the double joints drive the finger to bend so as to catch the objects. With simple structure, reliability, low cost, convenient installation and maintenance, small volume and light weight, the wheel driving robot finger device similar to human fingers is especially suitable for being used as a thumb of the hand of the humanoid robot or a part of other fingers that uses fewer drivers to drive more rotation joints to automatically adjust to catch the objects of different shapes and sizes.

A hybrid drive arrangement for a motor vehicle including an internal combustion engine (1), which is connected or can be connected in a wheel-driving manner, via a first torque transmission path (11, 13), to a driving wheel (15) of the motor vehicle. An electric machine (19), which is operable at least as a motor, is fed from an electrical energy source (7, 29) of the motor vehicle and is connected or can be connected in a wheel-driving manner, via a second torque transmission path (21, 23, 13), to the driving wheel (15). Arranged in the first and/or the second torque transmission path are coupling elements (11, 23) which, in a first operating state, permit the driving of the motor vehicle by the wheel-driving torque of the electric machine (19), operated as a motor, without mechanical torque support from the internal combustion engine (1), and which, in a second operating state, permit the driving of the motor vehicle by the internal combustion engine (1), without mechanical torque support from the electric machine (19). Depending on the driving speed of the motor vehicle, an electronic driving control system (31) activates the first operating state, at least in a first range of driving speeds including standstill of the vehicle, if the driving speed is less than a predetermined speed limit, and activates the second operating state, at least in a second range including the maximum speed of the vehicle, if the driving speed is greater.

An autonomous wheeled mobile robot (1) comprising at least one wheel-driving motor, an on-board computer, means for navigation, orientation, and maneuvering in an environment with moving obstacles; a sensor system; and a wireless communication system for receiving and sending.

A power split hybrid wheel drive system of the present invention comprises a planetary gear train (16) coupled to the output shaft of a driving engine (12). A primary motor or generator (18) is coupled to an output shaft of the planetary gear train (16) for receiving power therefrom, and a secondary motor or generator (30, 32) is associated with each driven vehicle wheel (14) to provide an electrical power pathway. A mechanical differential gear train (20) is coupled between the output shaft of the planetary gear train (16) and each driven vehicle wheel; (14) to provide a mechanical power pathway, while a mechanical clutch (22) and brake system (24) is configured to regulate the mechanical power routed to the differential gear train (20). A control system (48) is included to regulate the flow of electrical power between the primary motor (18) and secondary motors or generators (30, 32).

A coaxial two-wheel vehicle with which a rider stably travels without the upper body being swayed left and right in a riding state of the center of gravity being positioned high is provided. The coaxial two-wheel vehicle includes: a step plate for a driver to ride; a vehicle body that supports the step plate to be capable of changing a posture in a roll direction of rotating around a roll axis as the center, when a traveling direction is made the roll axis; a pair of wheels disposed on both sides on the same axis in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body and rotatably supported by the vehicle body; a pair of wheel drive means to drive and rotate the pair of wheels independently; and a handle for directly changing a posture of the step plate or indirectly changing the posture through the vehicle body.

A mid-wheel drive power wheelchair for use by handicapped and disabled persons is provided having a frame, a seat supported by the frame, a pair of drive wheels supported on the frame under the seat, drive means for causing rotation of the drive wheels, power means for supplying power to the drive means, a rearward idler wheel, a forward anti-tip device and a resilient suspension supporting the forward anti-tip device, the suspension being attached to the drive means rearward of the front portion of the frame.

A combination rotor and wheel assembly for an unmanned vehicle with ground and aerial mobility has a rotor arm adapted to be attached at an inner end thereof to a vehicle body. A rotor is rotatably connected to an outer end of the rotor arm about a rotor axis, and a rotor drive mounted on the rotor arm rotates the rotor such that the rotor exerts an upward lift force on the rotor arm. An open spoked wheel is rotatably connected about the rotor axis independent of the rotor The diameter of the wheel is greater than that of the rotor, and a bottom edge of the wheel is below the rotor. A wheel drive rotates the wheel. Vehicles can have various numbers and orientations of the rotor and wheel assembly to provide aerial and ground mobility.

An apparatus for climbing and descending stairs or other obstacles has three flexibly connected sections and a pair of crawler belt systems on opposite sides of the unit. Each of the crawler belt systems comprised of three crawler belts are driven by one of a pair of motors that directly drives a pinion that engages two of the crawler belts, one of which then drives the last crawler belt through another pinion. The stair-climbing apparatus also includes a mounting platform for coupling a carrier device such as a wheelchair or a box. In order to provide cushioning and stability for movements from a horizontal surface to an inclined surface and vice versa, shock absorbers are provided between the three sections. A linear actuator is also provided to provide stabilization as well as the ability to raise and lower both the stair-climbing crawler unit as well as the wheelchair, providing three modes of operation including manually wheel driven mode, motor wheel driven mode, and motor crawler driven mode.

The invention provides a composite transformation mobile robot combining an elastic foot and a wheel type motion mechanism, which comprises a space machine body frame unit of a foot-wheel composite mobile transformation robot, driving wheel drive units, driven wheel driven units, four modular leg units, a control sensing system unit, a hermetical casing and a power source. The robot used elastic foot replaces the traditional rigid foot to increase the kinetic stability of the robot and reduce the vibratility and impact force of the robot, and is combined with a wheel type moving method, so that the quick mobility and high efficiency of the wheel type movement on a flat ground can be guaranteed, and the excellent maneuverability and strong obstacle crossing function of the foot type moving, creeping and climbing motion under complex terrains such as complex mountain environment and city terrain can be taken into account; as the foot type composite transformation mobile robot adopts modular design, the foot and wheel cannot interfere each other, the maintenance and replacement are convenient, and the motion pattern is flexible and variable; and the athletic ability of the robot is improved in virtue of the mutual transformation, coordination and combination of the foot type motion and the wheel type motion.

An inverted pendulum type moving body subject to a traveling control in response to a traveling instruction based on an intention of a rider while keeping a balance, a manipulation mode is performed based on the intention of the rider and an automatic operation mode is performed without being based on the intention of the rider.

The inverted pendulum type moving body includes a center-of-gravity position adjusting unit for adjusting a center-of-gravity position of the rider in accordance with a manipulation signal outputted from a control device. When an instruction for switching a control mode to an automatic operation mode, where a predetermined traveling control is performed without being based on intention of the rider, is generated, and controls a wheel drive unit in accordance with a traveling instruction based on the center-of-gravity position.

A self-propelled crawler/tractor apparatus is disclosed for traveling through a tubular pipeline while conducting pipeline wall inspection operations and/or towing gear for cleaning, maintenance and the like. The crawler/tractor apparatus is propelled by a plurality of radially positioned motorized traction wheels. Each motorized traction wheel includes a brushless DC electric motor along with clutch, gearbox and other mechanical drive components integrated into a compact self-contained motorized wheel assembly which is sealed and filled with an electrically non-conductive lubricating/cooling oil. The seal integrity at each wheel assembly is maintained against oil leakage and debris ingress by a pressure-balancing mechanism which matches internal oil pressure to the exterior ambient pressure present in the pipeline. The electric motor drive for each traction wheel is individually controlled via an onboard computer to provide a wide range of torque and wheel speeds.

A lawn mower having selectively drivable wheels, includes dirigible front drive wheels, a pair of right and left rear drive wheels, a body frame, an engine supported by the body frame, a mower unit vertically movably supported by the body frame forwardly of the rear drive wheels, a change speed device for changing a speed of drive from the engine, a front wheel driving device for transmitting drive from the change speed device to the front wheels, a left rear wheel driving device for transmitting drive from the change speed device to a right axle of the left rear wheel, a right rear wheel driving device for transmitting drive from the change speed device to a left axle of the left rear wheel, and rear wheel clutches associated with the left rear wheel driving device and the right rear wheel driving device, respectively, for selectively connecting and disconnecting drive. The rear wheel clutches are operable by an interlocking mechanism in response to a displacement to the front drive wheels from a straight running posture, to disconnect drive transmission to one of the rear drive wheels moving along an inner track of turning of the vehicle body. The interlocking mechanism has a link mechanism operatively connecting a steering mechanism for steering the front drive wheels to each of the rear wheel clutches, and extending over the mower unit.

In a fuel cell equipped vehicle (10), hydrogen cylinders (18) storing hydrogen gas to be supplied to a fuel cell battery (30), a fuel cell (30), fuel cell accessories (31), a storage battery (40), and a PCU (50) that controls the supply of electric power from the fuel cell (30) and the storage battery (40) to a front wheels-driving electric motor (14) and a rear wheels-driving electric motor (16) are arranged in that order under a floor of a passenger compartment (R1). Therefore, these major component devices do not reduce the spaces of a passenger compartment (R1), a forward compartment (R2), and a rearward compartment (R3). Since the component devices disposed under the floor of the passenger compartment (R1) have relatively great weights, the center of gravity of the vehicle comes to a low position in a central portion of the vehicle, thus achieving good running stability of the vehicle.

The present invention provides a light source apparatus and an image projection apparatus having the light source apparatus. The light source apparatus includes a lamp for emitting white illumination light, a color wheel for sequentially switching a color filter on which illumination light emitted from the lamp is incident, a wheel driving unit for controlling rotation of the color wheel, an LED light source unit for emitting at least one color of illumination light, an LED driving unit for controlling illumination light of the LED light source unit, an optical synthesis unit capable of optically synthesizing illumination light from the lamp and illumination light from the LED light source unit and emitting such synthesized illumination light, and a system controlling unit for controlling the wheel driving unit and the LED driving unit so that each illumination light synthesized can be the same in color.

Described is a battery powered, four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle, with independently operable, variable speed, bi-directional electric motors, one of which may selectively used to drive the front wheels of the vehicle, the other of which may be selectively used to drive the rear wheels of the vehicle. A front differential drive mechanism allows the front wheels to operate at different speeds. Front wheels of the vehicle are steerable through universal joints disposed between the front differential mechanism and each front wheel. A rear differential drive mechanism allow the rear wheels to rotate at different speeds. By selectively choosing whether to engage front and rear wheels and the direction they rotate, the vehicle may be operated as a four-wheel drive vehicle, a front-wheel drive vehicle, a rear wheel drive vehicle, with all four wheels disengaged, or even with front and rear wheels rotating in opposite directions.

A method of propelling a heavy-duty series hybrid vehicle including a first wheel driven by a first shaft and a second wheel driven by a second shaft includes independently driving the first shaft with a first electric motor; and independently driving the second shaft with a separate, second electric motor. Flexible joint shafts may be provided for independent wheel suspension and to allow for separate isolation mounts for the motors and gear boxes.

The invention provides a motor-driven wheel drive device in which the durability of a wheel bearing is increased, the weight and size thereof are reduced, and the disassembly and reassembly thereof is taken into account. [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] This motor-driven wheel drive device comprises a drive part (4) having an electric motor (M) driving a planetary speed reduction gear (2) installed in the wheel bearing (1) and a rotating member (17). The wheel bearing (1) further comprises a hub wheel (6) on which an inside rolling surface (6a) is formed, an inner ring (7) press-fitted to the hub wheel, an outer member (8) in which double rows of outside rolling surfaces (8a) are formed, and rolling elements (9). The planetary speed reduction gear (2) further comprises a sun gear (3) formed in a rotating member (17), a plurality of planetary gears (12) disposed between the outer member (8) and the sun gear (3), and carrier pins (14) pivotally supporting these planetary gears on a connection shaft (13). The drive part (4) further comprises the electric motor (M) releasably disposed on the outer member (8) and the rotating member (17). The connection shaft (13) is connected to the hub wheel (6) through a serration, and the rotation of the electric motor (M) is transmitted to the hub wheel (6) through the rotating member (17) and the planetary speed reduction gear (2).

A LSG four wheel drive hybrid vehicle drive mechanism with its front wheel drive adopts engine and crankshaft installed disk generator, automatic clutch and manual transmission MT or directly using AMT automatic transmission to form the drive system, with the ISG generator installed on the engine and the automatic clutch or AMT automatic transmission, with the rear wheel drive using rear wheel drive generator, rear wheel drive decelerator and differential formed electric rear axle. The overall drive scheme is simple, effective, low in cost, easy for realization, with relatively ideal vehicle matching and control effect.

The present invention relates to an automatic guide method of intelligent industrial transportation vehicle and electric vehicle adopting said automatic guide method. The visual guide method of automatic guide vehicle controlled by computer is characterized by that the camera mounted on the automatic guide vehicle can be used for shooting the running path mark line on the pavement, station address code identifier and running state control identifier, and the computer connected with the camera can utilize image intellectualized identification to obtain the position deviation and direction deviation parameters of the vehicle body and running path mark line and station address and running state control information to give out correspondent control signal to wheel drive mechanism controller to implement automatic guide control of the automatic guide vehicle.

The invention discloses an integrated electric wheel drive unit for an electric automobile, which comprises a disc motor, a motor controller, a battery unit, a whole vehicle electronic control unit ECU, a vehicle bridge and a brake caliper, wherein the brake caliper is fixed on a motor shell and matched with a rotor and brakes the rotor to rotate; the rotor is fixed at one end of a motor rotor shaft, while the other end is fixed on a vehicle wheel hub of a tire through a bearing; a stator is fixed on the motor shell which is fixed with the vehicle bridge; the whole vehicle electronic control unit ECU, the battery unit, the motor controller and the stator are connected with each other in turn through a high voltage wire bale; and the whole vehicle electronic control unit ECU is also in signal connection with the motor controller which is in signal connection with the brake caliper. The invention saves the conventional clutch, the conventional gear box, the conventional main speed reducer, the conventional differential mechanism and other components, simplifies the structure of the whole vehicle, improves the transmission efficiency, and can realize the electronic differential speed control of an electric wheel by control technology.

The vehicle, for example a stand-up wheelchair, comprises a frame (11) and, arranged on the latter, a seat device (19). On each side of the frame (11), the central wheel (13), which can be driven by a motor (27), and the front wheel (15) are operatively connected to each other by an endless chain (45). The frame (11) has a front part (21) and a rear part (23), which are connected to each other in an articulated manner by way of a joint (25). In the sitting position, the front wheels (15) are not in contact with the ground, which means that they do not obstruct the manoeuvring of the vehicle in a confined space. In the standing position, the front wheels (15) are in contact with the ground, but the central wheels (13) are not. The user, in the standing position, is thus able to turn about the axis of the vehicle, without the central wheels (13) having a blocking action.

A deck assembly for a self-propelled, walk-behind rotary lawn rotary mower is provided. The deck assembly is configurable for either front or rear wheel drive and includes a deck defining a cutting chamber which may house a cutting member. The cutting chamber is bound at least in part by a rear enclosure member. The deck assembly also includes a side discharge port having a side discharge port door. A rear discharge port located on a rear portion of the deck is also provided. Preferably, a duct of substantially rectangular cross section extends through the rear enclosure member between the cutting chamber and the rear discharge port. In one embodiment, the duct has a first, uppermost surface and a second, lowermost surface, wherein the first, uppermost surface and the second, lowermost surface both form substantially horizontal planes.

An electric motor diagnosing apparatus is provided in a vehicle having a generator driven by a drive torque of a drive source, an electric motor driven by electric power supplied from the generator, and a wheel driven by the electric motor. The electric motor diagnosing apparatus comprises a counterelectromotive force determining section and an electric motor diagnosing section. The counterelectromotive force determining section determines whether a voltage of electric power supplied from the generator to the electric motor is greater than an induced voltage of a counterelectromotive force of the electric motor. The electric motor diagnosing section drives the electric motor by controlling the generator to supply the electric power to the electric motor, and determines whether the electric motor is rotating, upon determining that the voltage of the electric power supplied from the generator to the electric motor is greater than the electric motor induced voltage.

The invention discloses a variable-gap roll shaft fruit and vegetable classifier; a driving chain wheel drives a driven chain wheel to rotate by a chain which is evenly distributed with sorting rollers; a plane classification bed is formed by a roll surface of the sorting roller on an upper layer chain, and a plane belt-type conveyor is positioned under the plane classification bed; at the two ends of each sorting roller shaft, a pushing roller wheel is positioned on the sorting roller shaft at the outer side of the chain, and a guide roller wheel matched with a guide rail is fixedly arranged on the sorting roller shaft at the inner side of the chain; the two sides along the longitudinal direction of a stander are respectively provided with a spiral conveying shaft by a bearing seat, and the two spiral conveying shafts are parallel to each other; a motor leads the two spiral conveying shafts to have the consistent rotating shaft and the opposite rotating directions by a transmission device; the screw pitches of the I and the III sections of the spiral conveying shafts are more than that of the II section thereof; the pushing roller wheels are matched with spiral pushing grooves of the spiral conveying shafts; the screw pitch of the II section of each spiral conveying shaft is adjusted, so that the gaps among the sorting rollers running to the II section of the spiral conveying shafts are larger than the diameters of selected fruits; and a feeding groove is arranged above the surface of the I-section sorting roller. The variable-gap roll shaft fruit and vegetable classifier has simple structure, high operation efficiency, stable changing process of the gaps of the sorting rollers, and high classification accuracy rate.

The invention relates to a cooling fan for use in a motor vehicle. To achieve improved cooling of an electric motor it is proposed that the motor housing enclosing the electric motor be used as a heat sink for emitting waste heat into a cooling air flow. The cooling air flow for cooling the electric motor is routed here through the interior of the motor housing and subsequently along the outside of the motor housing over cooling elements in the areas of the air inlet openings and in the area or an air exit gap between fan wheel hub and front part of the motor housing. The cooling air flow is created in this case by the fan wheel hub of the fan wheel driven by the electric motor.

A wheelchair has two central wheels that can be separately driven by a motor. In order to allow the wheelchair to turn around in narrow spaces, the central wheels can be driven in opposite directions of rotation. When the wheelchair is turned around, the front wheels and rear wheels do not constitute a hindrance because they are kept at a distance from the ground by the swiveling wheel. All three wheels are coupled together on each side by a chain. When the front wheels run against an obstacle, the wheelchair climbs over the obstacle with the driven front wheels. This causes the fork of the swiveling wheel to swivel about the rotational axis in the direction of arrow, against the force of a spring, bringing the rear wheels in contact with the ground and also driving the wheelchair's rear wheels. This all-wheel drive allows the wheelchair to overcome relatively high obstacles both forwards and backwards, even when driving slowly and without losing its maneuverability.

Either the front wheels and rear wheels of a front wheel- and rear wheel-drive vehicle are driven by an engine and the other thereof are driven by an electric motor. The electric motor is operated when the vehicle starts. A driving torque detecting circuit detects a driving torque of wheels to be driven by the engine. Control circuit prohibits the operation of the electric motor when the driving torque to be detected at vehicle start-up exceeds a predetermined value.

An auxiliary electric drive assembly includes an alternating current induction motor, planetary speed reduction gearing and a differential. The differential may be either active or passive. The auxiliary drive system is utilized as the front axle in a rear wheel drive vehicle and the rear axle in a front wheel drive vehicle. Elimination of many of the components in a conventional four wheel drive system such as the transfer case and hybrid gears improves the overall efficiency and fuel economy of a vehicle so equipped.