Inverted Pendulum Vehicle Steering Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inverted pendulum type vehicles require skillful maneuvering techniques for smooth turning, especially at low speeds or when stopped, making them difficult to navigate effectively.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle incorporates a traveling motion unit, a first actuator, an occupant mounting section, a wheel, a second actuator, and a controller with a control unit that adjusts the wheel's steering direction and the traveling motion unit's velocity to facilitate easy turning without requiring skilled operation, by changing the wheel's rolling direction relative to the vehicle's movement vector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inverted pendulum type vehicle relies on occupant body movement for turning, then the vehicle can turn during travel, but skillful maneuvering technique is required and turning is difficult at low speeds or when stopped
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a wheel as an intermediary turning mechanism between the traveling motion unit and the occupant mounting section. This wheel, steerable by a second actuator, mediates the turning action by changing its rolling direction relative to the traveling direction, enabling easy turning without requiring skilled occupant maneuvering
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the turning function from the traveling function by adding a separate steerable wheel system. The traveling motion unit handles forward/backward movement while the steerable wheel independently handles turning, allowing each function to be controlled separately and making turning accessible to ordinary users
2Ease of operation
If the wheel is added to assist turning, then turning becomes easy without skillful maneuvering, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The steerable wheel serves multiple functions: it acts as a support element during turning operations, provides additional propulsion assistance, and functions as a steering mechanism. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by delivering multiple benefits from a single component
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel's steering angle and rolling direction are dynamically adjusted by the second actuator based on the desired turning command. The system continuously modifies the wheel's orientation relative to the traveling motion unit's velocity vector, enabling adaptive and smooth turning control
Data Source
AI summary
A controller 21 of a vehicle 1 is equipped with a first control 24, which is configured to control a first actuator 8 so as to move a traveling motion unit 3 according to tilting of an occupant mounting section 5, and a second control unit 25, which is configured to control, in a case where a turning command is output from a joystick 12, an electric motor 14 such that a steering direction of a wheel 4 viewed from above the vehicle 1 becomes tilted with respect to a direction of a moving velocity vector V of the traveling motion unit 3.