Deka Products Limited Partnership

Jonathan B Pompa

John B Morrell

J Douglas Field

Dean Kamen

Burl W Amsbury

Richard William Arling

Christopher Charles Langenfeld

Jon Stevens

Jeremy B Lund

John Matthew Kerwin

David W Robinson

Richard Kurt Heinzmann

John David Heinzmann

Philip LeMay

George B Yundt

W Patrick Kelly

Dean L Kamen

A method for conducting the motion of a transporter under riderless conditions. The transporter has two laterally disposed primary wheels. In accordance with the method, an input is received via a user input disposed on the transporter and a control signal corresponding to the input received is generated. Then a torque is applied to the laterally disposed wheels so as propel the transporter on the basis of at least the control signal. The control signal may correspond to either a commanded torque or to a commanded transporter velocity. The torque may include coadded terms where the terms are, respectively, proportional to the control signal, to a counteracting artificial friction proportional to the common velocity of the wheels, and a term proportional to the differential rotation of the wheels to facilitate turning of the transporter.

Guided control of a transporter

A class of transporters for carrying an individual over ground having a surface that may be irregular. Various embodiments have a motorized drive, mounted to the ground-contacting module that causes operation of the transporter in an operating position that is unstable with respect to tipping when the motorized drive arrangement is not powered. Methods of controlling the transporter are described that allow the dynamic behavior of the transporter to more closely match preferences of a rider. These methods include providing preferential responsiveness to change in pitch angles and pitch rates.

Non-linear control of a balancing vehicle

Improvements to a motorized balancing personal transporter are revealed in embodiments of the invention. In one embodiment of the invention, a transporter for carrying a payload includes a platform for supporting a user; a ground-contacting module, to which the platform is mounted, which propels the user; a proximity detector for determining the presence of a user; and a safety switch coupled to the detector for inhibiting operation of the ground-contacting module unless the proximity detector has determined the presence of the user; and a motorized drive arrangement coupled to the ground-contacting module for causing automatically balanced and stationary operation of the device unless the proximity detector determines the presence of the user on the device. Various other mechanisms are provided for receiving rider input in order to direct steering of the transporter.

Personal transporter

A device and method for providing yaw control for a balancing transporter that has two laterally disposed ground-contacting wheels. The method has the steps of receiving a user input of a desired yaw value; comparing an instantaneous yaw value with the desired yaw value to generate a yaw error value; processing the yaw error value to obtain a yaw command signal; and applying the yaw command signal in conjunction with a pitch command signal based on a pitch error in such a manner as to maintain balance of the transporter in the course of executing yaw control. The yaw command signal may include component terms quadratic in the pitch error and/or a function of a common wheel rotational velocity. A control input mechanism is wirelessly coupled to the controller of the balancing transporter so as to maintain the sealed integrity of a user interface.

Yaw control for a personal transporter

Improvements to a motorized balancing personal transporter. An intelligent battery has a battery container sealed against moisture and a plurality of battery blocks housed within the battery container. Additionally, the battery pack has a plurality of sensors, each of which is for monitoring a characteristic of a distinct battery block. The battery pack has a processor that generates a fault flag for transmission to a circuit external to the battery container on occurrence of a critical fault and that transmits an identifying characteristic such as a battery serial number. Various mechanisms are provided for receiving rider input in order to direct steering of the vehicle. These include a rotatable grip for imparting rotary motion to a rotation sensor, a thumb-activated rotation sensor and a palm-activated sensor, each disposed on the handlebar of the vehicle.

Steering control of a personal transporter

A device and method for maintaining traction between wheels of a transporter and an underlying surface. The method has the steps of comparing acceleration of a wheel with a specified pre-set value, setting a slip condition flag based on the acceleration of the wheel, incrementally reducing the torque applied to the wheel based on the slip condition flag, determining a value of a dynamic characteristic of the wheel such as the inverse moment of inertia, and clearing the slip condition flag based on the value of that dynamic characteristic of the wheel.

Traction control for a personal transporter

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La Jolla, CA, United States of America

Jonathan B Pompa