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:
Jul. 17, 2007
Filed:
Mar. 07, 2005
Peter Alexander Loring, Robbinsdale, MN (US);
Steven Vincent Feeny, Plymouth, MN (US);
Robert J. Erko, Apple Valley, MN (US);
Paul Groschen, White Bear Lake, MN (US);
Richard Milun, Corchran, MN (US);
Peter Alexander Loring, Robbinsdale, MN (US);
Steven Vincent Feeny, Plymouth, MN (US);
Robert J. Erko, Apple Valley, MN (US);
Paul Groschen, White Bear Lake, MN (US);
Richard Milun, Corchran, MN (US);
Tennant Company, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
A rider surface maintenance vehicle with variable dynamic braking, in contrast to a mechanically-engaged braking system that uses a brake cable. A brake pedal engages a sensor that encodes the pedal position as an electronic signal. The electronic signal, along with the vehicle velocity, determines a machine deceleration rate, or braking rate, either by calculation, lookup table, or a combination of the two. The braking rate may be tuned so that the of the brake mimics or approximates the feel of a conventional mechanically-engaged brake that uses a brake cable. During stopping, once the vehicle passes below a threshold velocity, a parking brake is automatically engaged. The braking rate is converted to a duty cycle, and the braking is preferably accomplished by pulse width modulation (PWM) of an electrical load applied in parallel to the motor.