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EP-3774509-B1 - PERSONAL TRANSPORT DEVICE

EP3774509B1EP 3774509 B1EP3774509 B1EP 3774509B1EP-3774509-B1

Inventors

  • PELLERO, Bruno
  • Badano, Paolo

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20190328

Claims (7)

  1. Personal transport device of the balance-oriented type, comprising a base (10) interposed between electrically motorized wheels (11) commanded by a steering unit (15) and a support frame (20) integrally constrained to said base (10) and provided with a seat (21), and comprising at least one load sensor (5) configured to detect the pressure exerted by the driver on the seat (21), it comprises an electronic command and control unit (3) adapted to command the steering unit (15) on the basis of the signals received by the sensor (5), the command and control unit (3) being connected to the sensor (5) by means of first interface means (7) of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic and/or mechanical and/or pneumatic and/or fluid dynamic type, and the command and control unit (3) being connected to the steering unit (15) by means of second interface means (12) of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic type, characterized in that the command and control unit (3) is configured to process the signal received by the sensor (5) so as to detect the vertical accelerations of the seat (21) and means are provided for comparing the acceleration values measured with a predetermined safety acceleration threshold, so that the electronic command and control unit (3) commands the steering unit (15) to automatically reduce the speed of the motorized wheels (11) if the measured acceleration value is higher than said safety acceleration threshold, to then restore it when the need has ceased.
  2. Device according to claim 1, wherein at least one said sensor (5) is positioned within or under the seat (21).
  3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the command and control unit (3) is configured to process the signal received by the sensor (5) so as to detect the presence of the driver on the seat (21).
  4. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the command and control unit (3) is configured to process the signal received by the sensor (5) so as to measure the driver's weight on the seat (21).
  5. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein means are provided for comparing the measured weight value with predetermined safety weight thresholds, so that the electronic command and control unit (3) activates the steering unit (15) only if the measured weight value is included between the limits indicated by said safety weight thresholds.
  6. Transformation assembly applicable to a self-balancing personal transport device for its driving in a seated position, which device comprises a base (10) interposed between electrically motorized wheels (11) and a steering unit (15) adapted to command the motorized wheels (11) in response to balance variations of the driver relative to the base (10), it comprises a support frame (20) which can be integrally constrained to said base (10) and provided with a seat (21) and at least one load sensor (5) configured to detect the pressure exerted by the driver on the seat (21) and an electronic command and control unit (3) adapted to command the steering unit (15) on the basis of the signals received by the sensor (5), the command and control unit (3) being connected to the sensor (5) by means of first interface means (7) of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic and/or mechanical and/or pneumatic and/or fluid dynamic type, characterized in that the command and control unit (3) being connected to the steering unit (15) by means of second interface means (12) of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic type, wherein the command and control unit (3) is configured to process the signal received by the sensor (5) so as to detect the vertical accelerations of the seat (21) and means are provided for comparing the acceleration values measured with a predetermined safety acceleration threshold, so that the electronic command and control unit (3) commands the steering unit (15) to automatically reduce the speed of the motorized wheels (11) if the measured acceleration value is higher than said safety acceleration threshold, to then restore it when the need has ceased.
  7. Transformation assembly according to claim 6, which has the features according to one or more of claims 2 to 5.

Description

The present invention relates to a personal transport device comprising a base interposed between electrically motorized wheels commanded by a steering unit and a support frame integrally constrained to said base and provided with a seat. The invention falls within the technical scope of personal transport devices, and finds application above all, even if not only, in the context of balance-oriented personal transport devices. These devices are locomotion means typically comprising a platform located between a pair of electrically motorized coaxial wheels and provided with load sensing means adapted to detect the presence of a driver on the platform. These sensors are arranged to allow the activation of a steering unit suitable for commanding the motorized wheels with the aid of gyroscopic and accelerometric sensors connected to an electronic feedback control microprocessor. By way of forward and backward balance variations of the driver's body, the motorized wheels are operated in order to move the vehicle forward or backward or to stop it. In some devices, the balance variations also command the turn, while in others the turn is commanded by a swinging bar with handlebars, mechanically coupled to the platform. An example of such devices currently available on the market is called "Segway". On the Segway, the driver is placed in an upright position, with both feet resting on the platform. The existence of motorized self-balancing wheelchairs for people with no mobility of the lower limbs or partial mobility of the lower limbs is also known. In particular, the existence of a motorized wheelchair for transporting a person in a seated position, comprising a base operable by the user for the activation of the motorized wheelchair, two or more wheels arranged on the sides of the base, resting on a sliding surface, and a support frame integrally constrained to the base and provided with a seat, is known. As with the Segway, this type of motorized wheelchair also includes means for self-balancing the weight in any working condition. Such self-balancing or balancing means of the weight of the wheelchair are housed inside the base, also together with further means for varying the advancement direction of the wheelchair. The advancement or retraction is obtained through the front or rear unbalance of the user's body. The wheelchair also typically includes suitable safety measures to allow it to be parked and actuated safely after checking the presence of a suitable driver. The activation of the wheelchair is in fact obtained at the moment when a person sits on the wheelchair seat, and its weight is used to detect the presence of the user and activate the electric operation of the wheelchair. This type of motorized wheelchair can be built from scratch or be the result of the application of a seat to a pre-existing transport device such as a Segway or the like, which acts in this way as a self-balancing drive. In both cases, in the currently known personal transport devices, the activation or deactivation of the steering unit adapted to command the motorized wheels is carried out by mechanical means. However, these means are bulky, increase the overall weight of the device and require frequent maintenance. The invention is defined by the independent claims and the preferred embodiments by the dependent claims. Document EP2995540A1 shows the preamble of independent claims 1 and 6. The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of currently known personal transport devices, namely the need for mechanical interaction between the seat and the driver presence sensors provided in the platform. The present invention aims at solving the currently unsatisfied need for a personal transport device which does not require any type of mechanical actuation. These objects are obtained by means of a personal transport device as described at the beginning, which comprises at least one load sensor configured to detect the pressure exerted by the driver on the seat and an electronic command and control unit adapted to command the steering unit on the basis of the signals received by the sensor, the command and control unit being connected to the sensor by means of first interface means of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic and/or mechanical and/or pneumatic and/or fluid dynamic type, and the command and control unit being connected to the steering unit by means of second interface means of the electrical and/or optical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic type. The second interface means put the command and control unit in communication with the drive. The communication between the two, that is from the command and control unit to the drive, can be unidirectional, or it can be bidirectional. The first interface means between the sensor and the electronic command and control unit are mainly unidirectional, i.e. from the sensor to the command and control unit, but the