Personal Mobility Steering Control for Tight Turns and Stability
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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, which can lead to understeering or oversteering.
Innovation Solution
A four-wheeled vehicle configuration with a steering assembly that includes two steerable front wheels and independently driven right and left drive wheels, where the steering assembly is designed to adjust wheel speeds and directions based on steering input and throttle signals to maintain stability and reduce the turning radius.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a traditional three-wheeled configuration is used, then the turning radius is reduced, but vehicle stability deteriorates causing understeering or oversteering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by implementing independent speed control of the left and right drive wheels, allowing different rotational speeds on each side. This asymmetric speed distribution enables tight turning radius while maintaining stability through differential drive control, resolving the contradiction between reduced turning radius and vehicle stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics through the controller that dynamically adjusts the speed of left and right drive wheels based on steering input. The system continuously modifies wheel speeds in real-time during turning maneuvers, enabling adaptive stability control that maintains vehicle stability while achieving tight turning radius.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a four-wheeled configuration with independent drive wheels is used, then vehicle stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the controller to perform multiple functions: it manages both the steering control and the independent speed regulation of left and right drive wheels. This multi-functional control system reduces overall device complexity despite the four-wheeled configuration with independent drives, as a single controller handles what would otherwise require separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the steering control function and the differential drive control function into a single integrated controller. By combining these control functions, the system reduces complexity while maintaining the stability benefits of four independent wheels, resolving the contradiction between improved stability and increased device complexity.
3Speed
If differential speed control of drive wheels is implemented, then turning performance is improved, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through the controller that automatically regulates the speeds of left and right drive wheels based on steering input without requiring additional manual controls. The system self-adjusts the differential speeds to achieve optimal turning performance, reducing control system complexity by eliminating the need for separate differential control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller implements feedback control by monitoring steering input and automatically adjusting the speeds of left and right drive wheels accordingly. This closed-loop control system achieves improved turning performance through differential speed regulation while keeping the control system relatively simple, as the feedback mechanism automatically manages the complexity of coordinating multiple drive wheels.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2
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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.