In this paper, a pedaled, self-balanced vehicle named Legway, is developed. The vehicle is structurally similar to a pedaled unicycle but uses a brushless DC (BLDC) hub motor as its main driving wheel. It is intended that the unstable longitudinal dynamics of the vehicle is stabilized by a feedback control system, but the lateral balancing and steering are manually controlled by the rider via a passive steering mechanism. This study is first devoted to the dynamic modeling of the steering mechanism. It is shown from analyzing the model that there is a critical speed beyond which the unicycle becomes open-loop stable in the lateral direction so that the rider can turn the handle to steer the unicycle as the conventional bicycle. The dynamic model is then used for conducting simulations for selecting appropriate design parameters. An experimental prototype is constructed based on the analysis result and the steering performance is experimentally verified.
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February 2016
Research-Article
Analysis and Design of a Passive Steering Mechanism for a Pedaled, Self-Balanced Unicycle
Chun-Feng Huang,
Chun-Feng Huang
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
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Jian-Hao Hong,
Jian-Hao Hong
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
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T.-J. Yeh
T.-J. Yeh
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
e-mail: tyeh@pme.nthu.edu.tw
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
e-mail: tyeh@pme.nthu.edu.tw
Search for other works by this author on:
Chun-Feng Huang
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
Jian-Hao Hong
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
T.-J. Yeh
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering,
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
e-mail: tyeh@pme.nthu.edu.tw
National Tsing Hua University,
Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
e-mail: tyeh@pme.nthu.edu.tw
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received September 16, 2014; final manuscript received May 1, 2015; published online August 18, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Jun Ueda.
J. Mechanisms Robotics. Feb 2016, 8(1): 011006 (10 pages)
Published Online: August 18, 2015
Article history
Received:
September 16, 2014
Revision Received:
May 1, 2015
Citation
Huang, C., Hong, J., and Yeh, T. (August 18, 2015). "Analysis and Design of a Passive Steering Mechanism for a Pedaled, Self-Balanced Unicycle." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. February 2016; 8(1): 011006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4030652
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