Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02906857 2015-10-06
Patent Application
Applicant's name: Leo Howard
Applicant's address: 16527, 108 Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4N 1N6
Date: October/05/2015
I, Leo Howard, seek a patent for my new invention, the PYTHONTRAK MARK 1 ¨ a
high mobility, high power, and flexible robot that can overcome major ground
obstacles, and be able to carry heavy equipment packs and payloads over long
distances on the ground.
Abstract:
A high mobility and high power robot, designed to be able to carry heavy packs
and payloads
over long distances on the ground, and be able to safely cross over high
walls, descend into
steep drops, cross over narrow chasms, and climb trees and other vertical
structures, using
back-drivable motors and a sectioned body shape. The limits of the robot's
mobility on the
ground depend only on its body length, which is adjustable. The power of the
robot depends on
the sizes and designs of the robot's power sources and motors, which are
adjustable.
A high mobility, high power, and flexible robot.
Background of the Invention
Field of the Invention:
The invention belongs to the field of mechatronics. An interdisciplinary field
that combines
mechanical engineering and electronic engineering. The invention shares
similarities with a
class of robots commonly referred to as unmanned ground vehicles. Unmanned
ground
vehicles (UGV) are electromechanical systems that can be either autonomous or
remotely
controlled to perform a wide variety of tasks. UGVs are generally wheeled
platforms, actuated
by motors, and carry customized tools/payloads that allow them to perform a
variety of tasks.
Unlike stationary robots, these UGV systems are mobile and can travel around
the ground.
The invention possesses a level of mobility and power beyond that of any
grounded robots or
unmanned systems currently existing. It is able to carry heavy equipment packs
and payloads
over long distances, can safely climb over high walls, descend steep drops in
terrain, cross over
narrow chasms, and even climb trees/vertical structures. A combination of
mobility and power
makes this invention unique and stand out from all other developed robotics or
unmanned
systems.
Summary of the Invention:
CA 02906857 2015-10-06
The invention pertains to a high mobility and high power robot that can carry
heavy equipment
packs and customized payloads over long distances on the ground, and can
safely overcome
major obstacles such as high walls, steep drops in terrains, narrow chasms,
and be able to climb
trees and vertical structures.
The robot is able to carry heavy payloads over long distances due to it being
powered by big
power sources and move on wheels and caterpillar tracks.
The robot can overcome obstacles while travelling on the ground, climb trees,
and maintain a
flexible body shape through the use of high torque, back-drivable motors.
These motors are
situated along strategic areas of the robot (along the joints), allowing it to
become rigid or
flexible depending on whether or not each motor is powered, and how much
torque each
motor is exerting on the environment and each other.
The robot can be remotely controlled or manually controlled. It can be
autonomous, or semi-
autonomous. The robot can be controlled through computer systems, electrical
systems,
mechanical systems, or any combinations of these.
The robot can be made of any materials, and any physical states of said
materials.
Brief Description of the Drawings:
FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the robot;
FIG. 2 shows how the robot climbs a high wall;
FIG. 3 shows how the robot descends a steep drop in terrain;
FIG. 4 shows how the robot crosses a narrow chasm;
FIG. 5 shows how the robot climbs a vertical structure such as a tree;
Description of the Preferred Embodiment:
With reference to FIG. 1, each of the robot platform is made up of a power
source (1), a set of
rubber wheels (2), caterpillar tracks (3), motors, sensors, cameras,
microphones,
microprocessors, and containers for electronics. Each of the platform is
programmable and can
move independently based on the programming of the robot.
With reference to FIG. 1, each robot platform is connected by a joint system
(4), composed of
three back-drivable motors (5) mounted on brackets (6), with the said brackets
being
connected by fasteners and bearings. These motors provide each joint with
three axes of
rotations and giving the robot high flexibility. The said motors are also back-
drivable, providing
flexibility or rigidity on command. When the motors are unpowered or
underpowered, a joint
system will be flaccid or semi-flexible, since the motors don't act against
gravity and other
forces. When the motors are powered, they will act against gravity and other
forces, to hold a
CA 02906857 2015-10-06
joint system in a desired shape, or allow the joint system to squeeze and
exert force against the
environment or each other.
With reference to FIG. 2, the robot is able to climb a high wall with
synchronous actuations of
each motor. The robot can scale a wall that is slightly shorter than the
length of the robot's
body. If an application requires the robot to scale a wall longer than its
currently existing
length, the robot can be extended and climb over said wall.
With reference to FIG. 3, the robot is able to descend a steep drop in terrain
without
plummeting down by keeping the tail end hooked into the higher end of the wall
and slowly
crawl down toward the bottom.
With reference to FIG. 4, the robot is able to cross over a narrow chasm
because the joint
systems' motors can be actuated to provide a stiff body that can.move over the
chasm without
drooping down.
With reference to FIG. 5, the robot is able to climb a vertical structure such
as a tree by
squeezing inward while crawling up the tree. The motors of the joint systems
provide the
platforms of the robot with the ability to rotate and exert force on the
vertical structure in a
concentric manner, allow the robot to resist gravity with friction force. The
robot moves
upward with the actuation of the wheels and tracks, with some parts of the
said tracks being
tangent and in contact with the vertical structure.
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are
defined as follows:
1. A high power and high mobility robot that can carry heavy equipment packs
and
payloads over long distances on the ground, with said robot being able to
safely climb
over high walls, descend steep drops, cross over narrow chasms safely, and
climb trees
and other vertical structures.
2. The robot recited in claim 1 wherein the body is made up of several
sections of wheeled
and tracked platforms, with said platforms being powered by power sources and
actuated by motors, and with said platform being connected by several back-
drivable
motors and connecting brackets.
3. The robot recited in claim 1 being powered by electrical batteries, fuel
cells, fossil fuels,
bio-fuels, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or any other forms of power
sources.
4. The robot recited in claim 1 having any devices for collecting input data
for the purpose
of controlling the robot.
5. The robot recited in claim 1 having computer systems or any other systems
that process
input data and provide output data for the purpose of controlling the robot.
6. The robot recited in claim 1 having any devices designed for sending output
data to the
said robot's actuator for the purpose of controlling the robot.
7. The robot recited in claim 1 being actuated by electrical, hydraulic,
electroactive
polymer, or any other forms of motors.
