Control system and method (US6571892)


	Parent Case:			CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/321,401, filed May 28, 1999 now abandoned, which claims the benefit of prior filed provisional application number 60/124,403, filed Mar. 15, 1999 and entitled Control Modes for a Personal Vehicle, which is incorporated herein by reference.
	Designated Country:			AE AL AM AP AZ BA BB BG BY CU CZ EA EE GD GE GH GM HR HU ID AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE CR DM DZ
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	First Claim: Show all 2 claims			What is claimed is: 1. A method of controlling a transport device such that the transport device remains in a substantially erect orientation while a platform of the device remains substantially horizontal regardless of a surface pitch, the method comprising steps of: a) determining current operational characteristics of the transport device; and b) automatically changing between a plurality of operation sub-modes of a mode that maintains or restores an estimated location of the center of gravity above a foot print of the device depending upon the current operational characteristics; wherein step a) includes determining a value of a balance indicator and step b) includes switching between at least a first sub-mode and a second sub-mode based upon the value of the balance indicator; wherein the second sub-mode includes at least two sub-modes; wherein step b) includes entering a first sub-mode of the second sub-mode when a control switch value is greater than an entry value; and wherein the transport device remains in the first sub-mode of the second sub-mode until the control switch value falls below an exit value.
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	Forward References:			Show 23 U.S. patent(s) that reference this one

U.S. References:

Go to Result Set: All U.S. references | Forward references (23) | Backward references (29) | Citation Link

Patent	Pub.Date	Inventor	Assignee	Title
US3580344	1971-05	Floyd		STAIR-NEGOTIATING WHEEL CHAIR OR AN IRREGULAR-TERRAIN-NEGOTIATING VEHICLE
US4119163	1977-10	Ball		Curb climbing wheel chair
US4207959	1980-06	Youdin et al.	New York University	Wheelchair mounted control apparatus
US4566707	1986-01	Nitzberg		Wheel chair
US4634941	1987-01	Klimo	Invacare Corporation	Electric wheelchair with improved control circuit
US4709772	1987-12	Brunet		Motorized moving device
US4790548	1988-12	Decelles et al.		Climbing and descending vehicle
US4794999	1989-01	Hester		Wheelchair and method of operating same
US4932831	1990-06	White et al.	Remotec, Inc.	All terrain mobile robot
US4977971	1990-12	Crane, III et al.	University of Florida	Hybrid robotic vehicle
US4993912	1991-02	King et al.	Chamberlain MRC, division of Duchossois Industries, Inc.	Stair climbing robot
US5044457	1991-09	Aikman		Motor vehicle cruise control system having mode dependent gain
US5070959	1991-12	Grabowski	General Electric Company	Work vehicle having an electric propulsion system with adapted overspeed limit for traction
US5123495	1992-06	Littejohn et al.	Quest Technologies, Inc.	Wheelchair stair climbing control system
US5248007	1993-09	Watkins et al.	Quest Technologies, Inc.	Electronic control system for stair climbing vehicle
US5409250	1995-04	Csotonyi		Power driven wheel chair
US5579857	1996-12	Abe et al.	Kabushiki Kaisha Daikin Seisakusho	Stair climbing vehicle
US5641030	1997-06	Toselli	T.G.R. S.r.l.	Powered tracked vehicle suitable for carriages for the disabled
US5771861	1998-06	Musser et al.	Cummins Engine Company, Inc.	Apparatus and method for accurately controlling fuel injection flow rate
US5833248	1998-11	Eguchi	EXEDY Corporation	Stairway ascending/descending vehicle having an arm member with a torque transmitting configuration
US5904214	1999-05	Lin		Power assist anti-tip wheel system for invalid carriage
US5975225	1999-11	Kamen et al.	DEKA Products Limited Partnership	Transportation vehicles with stability enhancement using CG modification
US6003624	1999-12	Jorgensen et al.	University of Washington	Stabilizing wheeled passenger carrier capable of traversing stairs
US6009964	2000-01	Ishida	Nabco, Limited	Motor-driven vehicle
US6056078	2000-05	Pham		High performance fully-enclosed center-tracking vehicle
US6108592	2000-08	Kurtzberg et al.	International Business Machines Corporation	Voice-controlled motorized wheelchair with sensors and displays
US6112843	2000-09	Wilcox et al.	California Institute of Technology	High mobility vehicle
US6141618	2000-10	Yamashita	Mazda Motor Corporation	Traction control system for vehicles
US6282884	2001-09	Adibhatla et al.	General Electric Company	Mode blending and tuning system for turbine engines

Foreign References:

Publication	Date	IPC Code	Assignee	Title
DE19737339	1998-10	A61G 5/00	Belger, Hartmut, 07549 Gera, DE	Fahrbare Transporteinrichtung zur Ueberwindung von Stufen
JP59073372	1984-04
JP63305082	1988-12
JP04201793	1992-07
JP05213240	1993-08
WO9623478	1996-08	A61G 5/04	DEKA PRODUCTS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP	TRANSPORTATION VEHICULES AND METHODS

Other Abstract Info:

DERABS G2000-572317 DERABS G2000-572318

Continuity Data:

Application Number	Filed	Notes

>US2001000930127<	2001-08-15	is a continuation of
US1999000321401	1999-05-28	(abandoned)

US2001000930127	2001-08-15	is a non-provisional of provisional
US1999000124403P	1999-03-15

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