Pressure Control Steering for Personal Transport Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal transport vehicles face challenges in maintaining stability and control, especially at high speeds, due to reliance on gyroscope data and pressure sensors that can be skewed by external factors like carrying objects, leading to potential falls and inaccurate steering.
Innovation Solution
A pressure-control steering system for personal transport vehicles that uses a combination of pressure sensors and a control circuit to generate control signals for the motors, allowing intuitive steering without shifting body position, by detecting pressure differentials across the platform and adjusting wheel speeds independently to maintain balance and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pressure sensors are used to detect driver position shifts, then steering control can be achieved, but the data may be skewed by external factors such as carrying bags
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing modalities (pressure sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer) to detect driver position and intent. By merging these different measurement approaches, the system compensates for the limitations of individual sensors - pressure sensors provide steering intent while gyroscopes and accelerometers help filter out false signals from external factors like carried objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors data from pressure sensors and other sensors, processes this information through a control algorithm, and adjusts the vehicle response accordingly. This feedback loop allows the system to learn from and correct measurement errors, improving the accuracy of driver position detection over time and filtering out noise from external factors.
2Ease of operation
If gyroscope data is used to recognize driver position shifts, then vehicle steering can be controlled, but the system becomes difficult to maintain and repair
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a control circuit that processes data from multiple sensor types (pressure sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer) through a unified algorithm. This multi-functional approach allows the same control system to handle both steering control and balance maintenance, simplifying the overall system architecture and making it more maintainable by reducing the need for specialized maintenance procedures for different control functions.
3Productivity
If the vehicle responds to driver position shifts, then the vehicle can move in accordance with driver intentions, but control becomes difficult at high speeds creating fall risk
Solution Approach 1:
The control algorithm dynamically adjusts the vehicle's response characteristics based on operating conditions, particularly speed. At lower speeds, the system is more responsive to driver position shifts. As speed increases, the system automatically modulates the response magnitude and rate, preventing overly aggressive corrections that could destabilize the vehicle at high speeds and reduce fall risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes control parameters such as gain values, response thresholds, and damping coefficients based on the vehicle's current speed and operating state. This parameter adaptation allows the vehicle to maintain optimal responsiveness across different speed ranges, ensuring stable and safe operation whether moving slowly or at high speeds.
Data Source
AI summary
A personal transport vehicle may include a first wheel and a second wheel, a first motor configured to drive the first wheel, and a second motor configured to drive the second wheel. The vehicle may also include at least one platform for supporting a driver, a plurality of pressure sensors to detect pressure applied by the driver on the platform, and a control circuit coupled to the plurality of pressure sensors to determine a pressure differential across the plurality of pressure sensors. The control circuit may generate, based on the pressure differential, control signals for the first motor and the second motor to drive the first wheel and the second wheel to turn the vehicle.