A mobile body includes a base, three wheels attached to the base, and actuators each of which drives each wheel, and enables omnidirectional movement. Of the three wheels, one or two of the wheels are first configuration wheels, and the remaining wheel or wheels are second configuration wheels. The one wheel is oriented parallel or orthogonal to the orientation of the other two wheels.

A caster whose overall height can be reduced. A caster includes a wheel, a wheel support portion having a plate shape provided with an opening where the wheel is disposed and rotatably supporting the wheel, and a swivel mechanism portion that holds an outer peripheral portion of the opening in the wheel support portion in a horizontally swivelable manner.

An electric auxiliary driving device and a hospital bed with the electric auxiliary driving device are provided. The electric auxiliary driving device includes: a mounting support fixedly connected with a furniture; a rocker, a first end of the rocker being provided with a rotatable roller, and a second end of the rocker is hinged to the mounting support; a pulling device connected with the rocker, the pulling device being connected with the roller in a driving manner; a lifting device including a driving device and a sliding block moving along a straight line, the driving device driving the rocker to rotate by driving the sliding block to move; and a balancing device including a spring support rod, a first end of the spring support rod being hinged to the rocker, and a second end of the spring support rod is hinged to the sliding block.

An eddy current magnetic braking device includes two outer elements surrounding a central element in relative movement with respect to the two outer elements, the central element being made of an electrically conductive material, the two outer elements having first faces facing opposite second faces of the central element and each of the two outer elements including plural magnets for emitting, via the first faces, a magnetic flow that generates in the central element eddy currents when the two outer elements are in relative movement. The plural magnets are arranged in such a way that the two outer elements attract each other. The central element has a thickness such that a skin effect is generated from each face of the central element over more than half the thickness of the central element over at least a range of possible relative speeds of the central element relative to the two outer elements.

A braking device includes one or more stationary elements and one movable element that is movable with respect to the one or more stationary elements, the moveable element being made of an electrically conductive material, one or the one or more stationary elements including magnets capable of generating eddy currents in the movable element, when the one or more stationary elements and the movable element are in relative movement. The magnets include first magnets and second magnets disposed alternating, the first magnets having a first magnetization vector and each of the second magnets having a second magnetization vector, and the magnets have widths such that the first magnets are spaced apart in pairs by a first distance that is less than a second distance separating the second magnets in pairs, and the length of the second magnets being around 70% of the length of the first magnets.