Independent Drive Wheel Control for Tight-Turning Mobility Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Personal mobility vehicles face challenges in navigating tight spaces due to their turning radius and stability issues, particularly when entering or exiting tight turns, leading to understeering or oversteering.
Innovation Solution
A four-wheeled vehicle design with a steering assembly that includes two steerable front wheels and independent motors for each drive wheel, controlled by a controller that adjusts wheel speeds and directions based on steering input and position to enhance turning radius and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a conventional two-wheeled or three-wheeled mobility vehicle is used, then the vehicle structure is simple, but the turning radius is large and stability is poor when entering or exiting tight turns
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle is divided into four independent wheels with separate motor control for each wheel. This segmentation allows independent control of each wheel's speed and direction, enabling precise maneuvering and improved stability during turns by differentially adjusting wheel speeds to prevent understeering and oversteering.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle employs dynamic control of wheel speeds and steering angles based on real-time sensing of vehicle state and turn conditions. The system continuously adjusts motor outputs to maintain optimal stability during turning maneuvers, adapting the vehicle's behavior to the specific turning scenario.
2Speed
If independent motor control for each drive wheel is implemented, then turning radius is reduced and maneuverability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle incorporates sensors that continuously monitor wheel positions, steering angles, and vehicle motion state. This feedback is processed by the control system to dynamically adjust motor commands, enabling precise wheel speed control and coordinated steering while maintaining manageable system complexity through intelligent control algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a vehicle may include a frame having longitudinal axis. The vehicle may include a steering assembly having a steering input and at least one wheel. The steering assembly may be coupled to the frame and configured to steer the vehicle based on input from a steering input. The vehicle may include a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel. The vehicle may include a steering position sensor configured to detect steering input including a position of the steering input and at least one of i) a rate of change of position of steering input and ii) steering position time. The vehicle may include at least one controller configured to process a signal from the steering position sensor and, in response to the processed signal, drive the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel, the first drive wheel being driven independent of the second drive wheel.