The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 31, 2019
Filed:
Dec. 02, 2016
James Walter Beard, Iii, Cookeville, TN (US);
Stephen Lee Canfield, Cookeville, TN (US);
David Andrew Bryant, Lebanon, TN (US);
Steve Glovsky, Franklin, TN (US);
James Walter Beard, III, Cookeville, TN (US);
Stephen Lee Canfield, Cookeville, TN (US);
David Andrew Bryant, Lebanon, TN (US);
Steve Glovsky, Franklin, TN (US);
Other;
Abstract
A climbing vehicle with wheel or endless-track type propulsion using suction for generating adhering forces is adapted to climbing non-planar surfaces such as intersecting walls, pipes or other structural members. The suction chamber is relatively fixed to the vehicle chassis and moves with the vehicle chassis. A seal is created around the suction chamber through an adaptive sealing mechanism. The adaptive sealing mechanism consists of a series of links that adapt to the climbing surface geometry and forms a seal at the climbing surface. The links in the adaptive sealing mechanism span a portion of the suction chamber along the longitudinal sides of the vehicle and are elastically sprung to maintain contact with the surface. The adaptive sealing mechanism links also span the lateral sides of the vehicle to fully enclose the suction chamber. Thus, the suction chamber is maintained even as the mobile vehicle passes over significant geometry changes in the climbing surface, for example transitioning between surfaces that are orthogonally opposed.