A walking assist device has a frame, a plurality of wheels, drive units, a battery, and a drive control unit that controls the drive units. The walking assist device also has: a pair of right and left movable handles that are grasped by a user and movable back and forth with respect to the frame in accordance with arm swing performed during walk of the user; handle guide units provided on the frame to guide the movable handles in a movable range that matches the arm swing performed during walk of the user; and a grasp portion state detection unit that detects the state of the movable handles. The drive control unit controls the travel speed of the walking assist device by controlling the drive units on the basis of the state of the movable handles which is detected using the grasp portion state detection unit.

A walking assist device has a frame, fixed handles, rails provided with movable handles, front wheels, rear wheels and that serve as drive wheels, drive units, a battery, and a drive control unit, and travels forward or rearward together with a user that walks while grasping the fixed handles or the movable handles. The walking assist device has an operation mode switching unit that switches between a training mode, in which a load is applied to operation of the body of the user performed as the user walks, and an assist mode in which a load on operation of the body of the user performed as the user walks is alleviated.

A pallet and a transport device for the pallet. The pallet, includes a frame having side parts and a rod that extends between the side parts. A span of the rod is at least half of the length of the rod. The pallet includes foot arrangements having parts configured to guide the pallet onto a bed of the transport device. The transport device includes the bed, a chassis and articulations enabling rotation of the bed relative to the chassis. The bed includes side beams that are configured to engage with the parts of the foot arrangements thereby guiding the pallet onto the bed. A system includes the pallet and the transport device.

A self-propelling trolley assembly has a battery; a wheel driven by an electric motor that is powered by the battery; a rotation position or velocity sensor arranged to sense a rotation position or rotation velocity of the wheel; a user interface; and a control unit to affect a rotation of the wheel according to particular drive modes including a feedback assisted propulsion drive mode; a free-wheeling drive mode; and a rocking drive mode. The drive modes are implemented using different drive voltage patterns to the electric motor, and a stator of the electric motor has a number of stator poles that are not an integer multiple of a number of rotor poles and the stator poles are grouped into at least three magnetically and electrically identical subsets that are mounted sequentially around an angular direction of the electric motor.

The invention relates to a vehicle (5) for moving on a surface (25), said vehicle having a safety sensor system for detecting objects or persons within a monitoring space (50) or an environment of the vehicle (5), said safety sensor system being configured to interact with a vehicle controller (30, 40) and to influence a movement of the vehicle (5) via said vehicle controller. The safety sensor system comprises a tactile sensor system (10) having at least one first sensor (11), and a proximity sensor system (20) having at least one second sensor (21), wherein the first sensor (11) and the second sensor (21) are each based on an optical measurement principle. The tactile sensor system (10) or at least one sensor (11) of the tactile sensor system (10) is arranged at a height below the proximity sensor system (20) or of at least one sensor (21) of the proximity sensor system (20), in relation to the surface (25). The invention also relates to a safety method in which, when the vehicle (5) approaches an object or a person and the object or the person enters a predefined safety region or monitoring space (50) of the vehicle (5), the vehicle (5) is first automatically braked as the result of a signal from the proximity sensor system (20), and, in the event of a subsequent potential collision with the object or the person, the vehicle (5) is automatically stopped as the result of a signal from the tactile sensor system (10).

A walking-type electric carrier, comprising a handlebar, a driving mechanism, and a carrier frame that is connected to the driving mechanism; the handle bar comprises an armrest cross-bar, a vertical post that is vertically connected to the armrest cross-bar; the vertical post is connected to the driving mechanism; the vertical post is provided with a lifting handle, and the armrest cross-bar is provided with a detachable handle component; the handle component comprises a handle base and a handle body; the handle base and the handle body are detachably connected; the driving mechanism is controlled by the handle body to propel the carrier to move.

Examples of systems and methods for locating movable objects such as carts (e.g., shopping carts) are disclosed. Such systems and methods can use dead reckoning techniques to estimate the current position of the movable object. Various techniques for improving accuracy of position estimates are disclosed, including compensation for various error sources involving the use of magnetometer and accelerometer, and using vibration analysis to derive wheel rotation rates. Various techniques utilize characteristics of the operating environment in conjunction with or in lieu of dead reckoning techniques, including characteristic of environment such as ground texture, availability of signals from radio frequency (RF) transmitters including precision fix sources. Navigation techniques can include navigation history and backtracking, motion direction detection for dual swivel casters, use of gyroscopes, determining cart weight, multi-level navigation, multi-level magnetic measurements, use of lighting signatures, use of multiple navigation systems, or hard/soft iron compensation for different cart configurations.

Provided is an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including a plurality of casters allowing the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to be moved according to a control signal, a detection sensor configured to detect a motion of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, an input configured to receive a control command of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus from a user, and a controller configured to determine whether a user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus on the basis of at least one of the detected motion or the received control command, and upon determining that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, transmit a control signal for locking at least one of the plurality of casters.

A shopping cart is configured to roll along a supporting surface and includes a chassis, a basket, a rear leg, a rear wheel, and a rotational brake. The basket is supported above the chassis. The rear leg extends downwardly from the chassis. The rear wheel is rotatably coupled to the rear leg and is configured to rotate about a rotational axis. The rear wheel defines an outside perimeter configured to contact and roll along the supporting surface. A rotational brake is coupled to the rear leg and extending radially away from the rotational axis in a rearward and downward direction beyond an outside perimeter of the rear wheel. The rotational brake is configured to impede rotation of the chassis and the basket about the rotational axis.

Devices, assemblies, systems, and methods are disclosed for stabilizing a cart. An example cart is a surgical cart having a robotic arm thereon. A stabilizer system may be part of or used with the cart to stabilize the cart at a location. The stabilizer system may include a stabilizer and an actuator. The stabilizer may have a foot and a biaser configured to bias the foot to a retracted position and contribute to an amount of force applied to a floor supporting the cart when the foot is in a deployed position. The actuator acts on the stabilizer to overcome a bias force biasing the stabilizer to the retracted position and cause feet of the stabilizer to contact the floor. Once the feet of the stabilizer contact the floor, a spring of the biaser causes the foot to apply a predetermined force amount to the floor.