DRIFTING ELECTRIC SCOOTER

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drifting electric scooter and, more specifically, to a drifting electric scooter, wherein: a sensor unit is installed at a controller and the movement of a scooter is controlled according to the moving direction and angle of the controller, and thus a short control section for acceleration and stopping of a conventional electric scooter is widened, so that the problems, such as abrupt start and abrupt stop, of the conventional electric scooter can be solved; the drifting electric scooter allows riders to more precisely control the speed and enjoy riding such that the riders can easily and safely control acceleration and stopping by simple upward/downward movement of the controller; a human body detection sensor is attached to a handle portion of the controller, and thus the scooter stops to prevent malfunction of the scooter when the controller is separated from a user's hand, so that safety is ensured and thus safe riding is possible; and multiple switches for selecting various riding modes are installed at the controller, so that more pleasant and interesting riding than in conventional scooter riding is possible.

Claims

1. A drifting electric scooter comprising: a controller (10) provided therein with a sensor unit (11), in which movement of the scooter is controlled according to a pointing direction of the controller (10); a scooter body (20) having a pressure sensor (21) installed at a portion where both feet of a user are placed to determine whether the user gets on the scooter; a pair of front wheel portions (30) connected by a scooter truck (50) formed on one side of a lower surface of the scooter body (20), in which a direction of the front wheel portions (30) is changed by a first motor (60) connected to one side of the front wheel portions (30); a pair of rear wheel portions (40) connected by a scooter truck (50) formed on an opposite side of the lower surface of the scooter body (20), in which a direction of the rear wheel portions (40) is changed by the first motor (60) connected to one side of the rear wheel portions (40); a second motor (70) installed inside the pair of rear wheel portions (40) or inside both wheel portions (30 and 40) to rotate or stop each of the wheel portions (30 and 40); a control unit (80) installed in the scooter body (20) to receive a signal from the pressure sensor (21) or the sensor unit (11) of the controller (10), in which the control unit (80) controls the first motor (60) and the second motor (70) according to a signal from the sensor unit (11).

2. The drifting electric scooter of claim 1, wherein, when the controller (10) is raised or lowered while pointing upward or downward by the sensor unit (11) installed therein, the scooter moves forward or stops, when a left side of the controller (10) is rotated while pointing to a left, the scooter is turned to the left, when a right side of the controller (10) is rotated while pointing to a right, the scooter is turned to the right, an acceleration in a forward movement of the scooter is controlled step by step according to an angle of raising or lowering the controller (10), a stopping speed of the scooter is adjusted step by step according to an angle of raising or lowering the controller (10), and a direction change to the left and right of the scooter is adjusted step by step according to an angle of rotating the controller (10) to the left or right.

3. The drifting electric scooter of claim 2, wherein a plurality of switches are installed in the controller (10) to select various riding modes, a riding mode of a first switch (13) among the plurality of switches is a drifting mode, in which the front wheel portion (30) and the rear wheel portion (40) are operated in different directions so that the scooter is drifted, a riding mode of a second switch (14) among the plurality of switches is a sliding mode, in which the front wheel portion (30) and the rear wheel portion (40) are operated in a same direction so that the scooter slides, a riding mode implemented when the first switch (13) and the second switch (14) among the plurality of switches are pressed simultaneously is a spinning mode, in which a front portion of the scooter is lifted up and a pair of rear wheel portions (40) rotate in different directions, so that the scooter rotates in place, a riding mode of a third switch (15) among the plurality of switches is a hard drifting mode, in which if the third switch (15) is pressed while the scooter is turning left or right, the rear wheel portion (40) stops and the scooter slides in a turning direction of the scooter, resulting in a hard drifting, and a riding mode of a reverse switch (16) among the plurality of switches is to rotate the front wheel portion (30) and the rear wheel portion (40) in opposite directions such that the scooter moves back

4. The drifting electric scooter of one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a human body detection sensor (17) is installed on a handle portion (12) of the controller (10) so that the scooter is automatically stopped when the controller (10) is separated from the user.

5. The drifting electric scooter of claim 1, wherein the first motor (60) is attached to a lower surface of the scooter truck (50) or the scooter body (20), or accommodated in the scooter truck (50) or the scooter body (20), and a driving bar (61) connected to a rotation shaft of the first motor (60) is connected to the pair of front wheel portions (30) and the pair of rear wheel portions (40) to change directions of the front wheel portions (30) and the rear wheel portions (40) corresponding to a rotation direction of the first motor (60).

6. The drifting electric scooter of claim 1, further comprising a battery unit (90) installed on a lower surface of the scooter body (20) for supplying power to the first motor (60), the second motor (70), and the control unit (80), wherein the battery unit (90) is rechargeable and detachable.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a drifting electric scooter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing two and four wheels of a drifting electric scooter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a first switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a second switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a riding mode in a state in which a first switch and a second switch are simultaneously pressed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a third switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a first motor connected to a wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a second motor mounted on a wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

Mode for Invention

[0047] The present invention having the above features may be more clearly comprehended through preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0048] Before describing various embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the application is not limited to the details of configurations and arrangements of elements described in the following detailed description or illustrated in the drawings. The present invention may be implemented and practiced in different embodiments, and can be carried out in various methods. In addition, the expressions and predicates used herein with respect to the direction of terms such as devices or elements (for example, “front”, “back”, “up”, “down”, “top”, “bottom””, “left”, “right”, “lateral”, etc.) are used only to simplify the description of the present invention, and do not mean that related devices or elements should have a specific orientation. Further, terms such as “first” and “second” are used in the specification and the appended claims for the purpose of explanation and are not intended to represent or imply any relative importance or intention.

[0049] Accordingly, the embodiments described herein and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely preferred embodiments according to the present invention, and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications may be substituted there for at the time of filing of the present application.

[0050] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a drifting electric scooter according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing two and four wheels of a drifting electric scooter according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a first switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a second switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a riding mode in a state in which a first switch and a second switch are simultaneously pressed according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a riding mode of a third switch according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a first motor connected to a wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a second motor mounted on a wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, the drifting electric scooter of the present invention enables easy riding without the need to move the center of gravity to the left and right as in the conventional scooter, and, in order to allow a rider to perform the riding with desired angle and speed when turning the direction to the left and right, the present invention includes a controller 10, a scooter body 20, front wheel portions 30, rear wheel portions 40, a first motor 60, a second motor 70, and a control unit 80.

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the controller 10 may include of a case formed with a handle portion 12 so that a user can hold and use the controller 10, and an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor may be installed inside the controller 10 to measure the acceleration and angular velocity so that the exact position and state of the controller 10 may be detected in the three-dimensional phase, thereby accurately controlling the movement of the electric scooter according to the command of the rider. In this case, the sensor unit 11 may be installed on the front side of the inside of the controller 10, and the sensor unit 11 may include an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a tilt sensor, etc., The sensor unit 11 may use any one of X, Y, and Z axes and more than one axis may be used.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 5, the acceleration sensor may detect a change in motion in the X, Y, and Z directions and receive raw data allocated thereto. In addition, after setting the acceleration axis and the rotation axis to allow a microprocessor of the control unit to recognize the intention of the rider for acceleration and rotation, output data is processed/treated into data that can be processed by the control unit (microcomputer). Then, the microcomputer performs the acceleration and rotation according to the input value. At this point, acceleration and rotation values are corrected such that the controller 10 does not operate when the controller 10 is dropped or placed on the floor.

[0054] In particular, as a measure for a case where the controller 10 is dropped, the battery is mounted on the handle portion of the controller 10 so that the heavy battery portion is directed downward to perform a stop command.

[0055] In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the gyro sensor may detect the direction change of the three axes of X, Y, and Z and receive the raw data allocated thereto. Further, the output data may be processed into data that can be processed by the microcomputer.

[0056] In addition, since sudden change of the data of the acceleration sensor and the gyro sensor may happen when the rider drops the controller 10 or performs an abrupt control operation, the microcomputer shuts off the power of the scooter and stops the operation of the first motor and the second motor.

[0057] Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the scooter moves forward or stops as the controller 10 is raised or lowered while pointing upward or downward by the sensor unit 11 installed therein. According to the present invention, the scooter is set to move forward as the controller 10 is lowered and to stop as the controller 10 is raised, but it is also possible to set the scooter to operate reversely. In addition, the scooter stops when the controller 10 is raised upward, but this stop operation can be changed to a backward movement function.

[0058] In addition, when the left side of the controller 10 is rotated to the left while pointing to the left, the scooter turns to the left, and when the right side of the controller 10 rotates to the right while pointing to the right, the scooter turns to the right.

[0059] In other words, when it is necessary to rotate the scooter to the left, it is enough to simply rotate the left side of the controller 10 to the left while the left side of the controller 10 is pointing to the left, that is, it is enough to simply tilt a wrist to the left while maintaining the driving angle of the controller 10. When it is necessary to rotate the scooter to the right, it is enough to simply rotate the right side of the controller 10 to the right while the right side of the controller 10 is pointing to the right, that is, it is enough to simply tilt a wrist to the right while maintaining the driving angle of the controller 10.

[0060] In addition, the forward movement of the scooter is controlled step by step according to the angle of raising or lowering the controller 10, the stop speed of the scooter is controlled step by step according to the angle of raising or lowering the controller 10, and the direction change to the left and right of the scooter is controlled step by step according to the angle of rotation of the controller 10 to the left or right.

[0061] Meanwhile, the controller 10 is provided with a plurality of switches to select various riding modes. In the present invention, the switches include a first switch 13, a second switch 14, a third switch 15, and a reverse switch 16.

[0062] A riding mode implemented when the first switch 13 is pressed is a drifting mode, in which, as shown in FIG. 6, the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 are operated in different directions so that the scooter is drifting. In this case, when the controller 10 is rotated to the left while pressing the first switch 13, the front wheel portion 30 turns to the left and the rear wheel portion 40 turns to the right, thereby drifting to the left, and when the controller 10 is rotated to the right while pressing the first switch 13, the front wheel portion 30 turns to the right and the rear wheel portion 40 turns to the left, thereby drifting to the right. It is possible to control the scooter to have the drifting speed and the same drifting angle at both front and rear wheel portions based on the drifting speed and the direction change command, the drifting angle of the front and rear wheel portions can be controlled differently, and the drifting angle can be controlled according to the speed of the scooter.

[0063] A riding mode implemented when the second switch 14 is pressed is a sliding mode, in which, as shown in FIG. 7, the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 are operated in the same direction, so that the scooter slides. At this point, when the controller 10 is rotated to the left while pressing the second switch 14, both the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 turn to the left and slide, and when the controller 10 is rotated to the right while pressing the second switch 14, both the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 turn to the right and slide. The sliding speed control and the sliding angle control can be achieved based on the sliding speed and the direction change command, the sliding angles of the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 may be controlled differently, and the sliding angle according to the speed of the scooter may also be controlled.

[0064] A riding mode implemented when the first switch 13 and the second switch 14 are pressed simultaneously is a spinning mode, in which, as shown in FIG. 8, a pair of rear wheel portions 40 are rotated in different directions in a state in which the a front portion of the scooter is lifted up so that the scooter is rotated in place.

[0065] When the front portion of the scooter is lifted up and the controller 10 is rotated to the left while simultaneously pressing the first switch 13 and the second switch 14, the left wheel of the pair of rear wheel portions 40 rotates reversely and the right wheel rotates forward, so that the scooter is spinning to the left. When the scooter is running, the right wheel rotates forward, and the left wheel is not rotated due to the removal of power so that the scooter is spinning to the left. In this case, it is controlled according to the spinning speed and the rotation command, and the spinning speed may also be controlled according to the speed of the scooter.

[0066] In addition, when the front portion of the scooter is lifted up and the controller 10 is rotated to the right while pressing the first switch 13 and the second switch 14 simultaneously, the left wheel of the pair of rear wheel portion 40 rotates forward and the right wheel rotates reversely, so that the scooter is spinning to the right. When the scooter is running, the left wheel rotates forward, and the right wheel does not rotate due to the removal of power so that the scooter is spinning to the right. In this case, it is controlled according to the spinning speed and the rotation command, and the spinning speed may also be controlled according to the speed of the scooter.

[0067] A riding mode implemented when the third switch 15 is pressed is a hard drifting mode, in which, as shown in FIG. 9, when the third switch 15 is pressed while the scooter is turning left or right, the rear wheel portion 40 stops and the scooter slides in the turning direction of the scooter, resulting in the hard drifting.

[0068] In order to achieve the hard drifting to the left while the scooter is running, the front wheel 30 is rotated to the left and the third switch 15 is immediately pressed to stop the rear wheel portion 40 so that the rear wheels slide and the hard drifting to the left can be achieved. In order to achieve the hard drifting to the right while the scooter is running, the front wheel 30 is rotated to the right and the third switch 15 is immediately pressed to stop the rear wheel portion 40 so that the rear wheels slide and the hard drifting to the right can be achieved. In this case, the third switch 15 immediately stops the second motor 70 of the rear wheel portion 40, which may be referred to as a function similar to that of a hand brake of a vehicle.

[0069] According to a riding mode implemented when the reverse switch 16 is pressed, the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 rotate in opposite directions so that the scooter moves backward due to the reverse rotation between the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40. At this point, when the controller 10 is rotated to the left or right while pressing the reverse switch 16, the scooter is operated in the rotation direction, which is the same as the driving method for driving the scooter in the forward direction. The only difference is that the scooter moves backward direction.

[0070] Meanwhile, a human body detection sensor 17 may be installed on the handle portion 12 of the controller 10, or the scooter may be operated by pressing an operation switch (not shown) that operates a control command between the controller 10 and the scooter. Thus, when the controller 10 is separated from the user, the scooter is automatically stopped, and thus the scooter does not malfunction.

[0071] Meanwhile, according to another embodiment, a small throttle (joystick, not shown) may be installed outside the controller 10 so that the controller 10 is not directly rotated to the left and right, but the throttle is driven to the left and right to rotate the scooter to the left and right. According to the test result, the safe control can be achieved by the throttle.

[0072] That is, the controller 10 is a controller in which the sensor unit and the throttle type are mixed, in which the sensor unit is responsible for driving and stopping, and the throttle is responsible for rotation to the left and right.

[0073] When the rotation to the left or right is performed by using the throttle, since the steering angle of the scooter is 60 degrees or less per each side, a sufficiently accurate rotation control is possible even if the throttle is used.

[0074] Meanwhile, the controller 10 may be accommodated in a skateboard glove, a wrist protector, a knee protector, and the like in use, and the controller 10 may be applied to all electric products using a wireless controller.

[0075] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the scooter body 20 is a rectangular board plate, and the design can be changed in various shapes such as a square shape, a circular shape, a round shape, etc. in addition to the rectangular shape, and the scooter body 20 may be formed of various materials such as wood, plastic, and metal.

[0076] A pressure sensor 21 may be installed at a portion where both feet of the user are placed to determine whether the user gets on the scooter, and when the pressure sensor 21 detects that the user gets on the scooter based on a load, the pressure sensor 21 may transmit a signal to the control unit 80 so that the control unit 80 releases the lock to drive the scooter.

[0077] In addition, when the foot of the rider placed on the pressure sensor is moved toward the center of the scooter (outside the pressure sensor) or when the foot of the rider is shifted from the scooter, the power is cut off and the scooter is automatically stopped. This is a function for the safe riding together with the human body detection sensor of the controller, the acceleration sensor, the gyro sensor, the battery position, and the shut off function when the controller is placed on the floor.

[0078] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and 6 to 10, the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 prepared as pairs are connected on the lower surface of the scooter body 20 by the scooter truck 50, in which the front wheel portion 30 is formed on the front side of the scooter, and the rear wheel portion 40 is formed on the rear side of the scooter.

[0079] The front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 may be respectively connected to a first motor (servomotor, 60) as shown in FIG. 10 to change the direction by the first motor 60. The first motor 60 may be attached to or accommodated in the lower surface of the scooter truck 50 or the scooter body 20, and a driving bar 61 connected to the rotation shaft of the first motor 60 may be connected to the pair of front wheel portions 30 and a pair of rear wheel portions 40 to change the direction of the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 in accordance with the rotation direction of the first motor 60. In this case, the first motor 60 may include a servomotor or a motor capable of adjusting an angle through the PID control.

[0080] That is, the driving bar 61 of the first motor 60 connected to the pair of wheel portions 30 and 40 may directly change the direction of the wheel portions 30 and 40 in the same manner as the principle of the wheel direction switching of a vehicle, or the driving bar 61 of the first motor 60 may be connected to a horizontal axis of the scooter truck 50 to tilt the horizontal axis to the left and right in order to change the direction of the wheel portions 30 and 40. In this way, the direction of the wheel portions 30 and 40 may be variously changed. Since the structure and principle of the vehicle wheel direction switching are generally known in the art, the structure, configuration, and principle thereof will not be described. At this point, the first motor 60 may be installed only on the front wheel portion 30 to facilitate the direction change.

[0081] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 11, the installation position of the second motor 70 may be changed depending on whether the scooter is a two-wheel drive type or a four-wheel drive type. It is installed only on the pair of rear wheel portions 40 if the scooter is a two-wheel drive type and it is installed on the front wheel portion 30 and the rear wheel portion 40 if the scooter is a four-wheel drive type to independently rotate or stop the wheels of the wheel portions 30 and 40.

[0082] The second motor 70 may be an in-wheel motor or a motor attached to a truck, and the in-wheel motor is a motor manufactured to rotate an outer portion of the wheel on the same principle as the motor of a washing machine that rotates a tub. Since the in-wheel motor is the same as a conventional in-wheel motor, the description about the configuration, structure and operation principle thereof will be omitted.

[0083] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, the control unit 80 may be installed on the scooter body 20 to receive a signal from the pressure sensor 21 or the sensor unit 11 of the controller 10 and control the first motor 60 and the second motor 70 according to the signal from the sensor unit 11. At this point, the control unit 80 may correspond to a microcomputer in which a micro-program is set.

[0084] As described above, the control unit 80 is a processor that may receive a signal from the pressure sensor 21, prepare to drive the scooter, transmit the signal to the first motor 60 and the second motor 70 to control the first motor 60 and the second motor 70 under the control of the controller 10, and control the rotation speed and rotation direction of the first motor 60 and the second motor 70 in accordance with the operation of the switch that is operated corresponding to the riding mode of the controller.

[0085] Meanwhile, a battery unit 90 for supplying power to the first motor 60, the second motor 70, and the control unit 80 may be further installed on the lower surface of the scooter body 20, and the battery unit 90 may be configured to be rechargeable and detachable.

[0086] In addition, the controller and the control unit may be wirelessly connected to each other through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or RF, data transmission from the controller to the control unit may include a command of a rider and a board status information transmission command that the rider needs to know, and data transmission from the control unit to the controller may include scooter status information such as remaining battery capacity, current scooter speed, and travelling distance information.

[0087] Meanwhile, the electric scooter of the present invention rotates easily. When rotating, if the lengths of arc drawn by the inner wheel and the outer wheel are different, the smooth rotation may not be achieved. This is because the outer wheel cannot follow the speed of the inner wheel when inner and outer first motors rotate at the same speed. Thus, the rotation angle of the front wheel is measured according to the rotation command of the rider to obtain a desired radius of rotation, and the difference in the travel distance between the inner wheel and the outer wheel is calculated. Then, the number of rotations of the outer wheel is increased or the number of rotations of the inner wheel is decreased to make a safe, smooth and easy rotation. At this point, the same algorithm is applied to the rotation to the left or right, and the role of a differential gear of a vehicle is solved by a program.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0088] 10: controller 11: sensor unit [0089] 12: handle portion 13: first switch [0090] 14: second switch 15: third switch [0091] 16: reverse switch 17: human body detection sensor [0092] 20: scooter body 21: pressure sensor [0093] 30: front wheel portion 40: rear wheel portion [0094] 50: scooter truck [0095] 60: first motor 61: drive bar [0096] 70: second motor 80: control unit [0097] 90: battery unit