A self-propelled, one-wheeled vehicle may include a board having two deck portions each having a concave front footpad configured to receive a foot of a rider, and a wheel assembly disposed between the deck portions. The concave front footpad has a rider detection sensor in the form of a membrane switch conforming to the shape of the footpad (e.g., facilitated by one or more slots formed in the membrane switch). A motor assembly drives the vehicle in response to board orientation and rider detection information.

A footpad for a self-balancing vehicle comprising a low durometer elastomeric material body for enhanced ride comfort and a support structure comprising at least one stiffer reinforcing member having at least a portion embedded in the elastomeric material body and in close proximity to the elastomeric material body edges for improved footpad response and fixation integrity.

Motorized hub assemblies for use with platforms and the corresponding motorized platforms are presented. At least one of the hub assemblies can be a motor and can contain an internal motor to propel the platform when activated. In some embodiments, the motorized platform has two sets of motorized wheels or two sets or motorized treads for differential rate maneuvering. In some embodiments, different base platforms are mounted to a single set of wheels or a single tread to provide a sporty style ride. A handlebar can also be implemented for greater stability. In all cases, there is no requirement for an electronic stabilization platform.

A control system for a tiltable vehicle may include a motor controller configured to respond to backward or reverse operation of the vehicle by hindering a responsiveness of the control system (e.g., proportionally) and/or eventually disengaging a drive motor of the vehicle. Accordingly, a user may intuitively and safely dismount the vehicle by selectively commanding reverse operation. In some examples, the backward direction may be user-defined.

A control path is added to a two-wheeled self-balancing vehicle that has steering augmentation and CMG or reaction wheel actuators for roll balancing. These actuators are used to damp yaw disturbances while preventing roll disturbances, based on a yaw rate disturbance signal received on the control path.

A two-wheeled vehicle is provided. The two-wheeled vehicle includes a chassis, and a first wheel carriage moveably coupled to, and longitudinally displaceable relative to the chassis. At least a first wheel is rotationally mounted on the first wheel carriage, and coupled to the chassis through the first wheel carriage. The two-wheeled vehicle further includes a first linear actuator system coupled to the first wheel carriage, and configured to longitudinally displace the first wheel carriage relative to the chassis. A first motor is mounted to the first wheel and the first wheel carriage. The first motor is configured to provide a drive energy to the first wheel, and to be displaced along with the first wheel carriage as the first wheel is displaced by the first linear actuator system.

A wear computing system (100, 200, 300) for computing a wear of a wheel (3) of a vehicle (2) comprises a revolution sensor (48) configured to detect a number of revolutions of the wheel (3), an acceleration sensor (49) configured to detect an acceleration of the vehicle (2) in a travel direction thereof, and a control unit (7) configured to compute a travel distance of the vehicle from the acceleration of the vehicle, and compute the wear from the travel distance and the number of revolutions of the wheel (3).

A spherical/elliptical single-wheeled vehicle comprises a motor, pedals and a wheel. The motor comprises a motor shell and a spindle having two ends fixedly connected to the pedals respectively. The wheel is spherical or elliptical and is of a hollow structure having two ends formed with openings, and the wheel is arranged on the motor housing in a sleeving manner, is fixedly connected to the motor housing, and comprises a sleeve made from an elastic material. The wheel has a large contact area with the ground at any angles, thus the controllability of the single-wheeled vehicle is greatly improved; in addition, users can get on the vehicle easily, and the operation difficulty of the single-wheeled vehicle is lowered, and user experience is improved; and the reinforcing shells are used to support the two ends of the spherical/elliptical wheel, so that the structural stability of the spherical/elliptical single-wheeled vehicle is improved.

A system and method of stabilizing a vehicle are disclosed. In accordance with one aspect, a self-stabilizing vehicle having an articulated frame may generally comprise: a base frame portion coupled to one or more wheels; an operator frame portion to support an operator of the vehicle; a hinge assembly operably coupling the base frame portion and the operator frame portion; and a control unit to drive the hinge assembly causing the operator frame portion to rotate (relative to the base frame portion) about one or more hinge axes as a function of inertial data and speed data, and optionally steering control input signals. In some two-wheeled applications, both wheels are steerable; additionally, both wheels may be driven. Alternative vehicles are disclosed having one wheel and three wheels.

A traveling apparatus includes a frame, a wheel body, a rotating shaft, and a brake assembly. The wheel body is rotatably arranged on the frame, and is configured to roll on a bearing surface. The rotating shaft is connected to the frame, and the brake assembly is rotatably arranged on the rotating shaft. On a rotation path of the brake assembly, the brake assembly has an idle position in which the brake assembly defines a gap with a working surface of the wheel body, and a brake position in which the brake assembly is configured to be in contact with the working surface of the wheel body. The working surface is a surface of the wheel body configured to be in contact with the bearing surface.