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:
Nov. 06, 1990
Filed:
Mar. 13, 1989
William Pong, Brookfield Center, CT (US);
Joseph F Engelberger, Newtown, CT (US);
William S Kazman, Danbury, CT (US);
Transitions Research Corporation, Danbury, CT (US);
Abstract
A tether-guided vehicle and method of controlling same. A tether sensor indicates the angle, .theta., of the tether with respect to the vehicle and the tension, T, on the tether. A contact-sensitive bumper disposed about at least the front periphery of the vehicle indicates the position, P, and force, F, of contact with an obstacle. A drive system moves the vehicle in response to tether angle, .theta., and tension, T, thereby providing a 'servo pull' feature. When the vehicle contacts an obstacle, it stops, backs up, turns and resume forward motion to circumnavigate the obstacle, thereby providing an 'obstacle avoidance' feature. The servo pull and obstacle avoidance features make the vehicle suitable in a number of applications, such as for canister vacuums, hospital or factory carts, and the like.