Autonomous vehicle system

摘要

An apparatus includes a housing, a rotational motor situated within the housing, an eccentric load adapted to be rotated by the rotational motor, and a plurality of legs each having a leg base and a leg tip at a distal end relative to the leg base. The legs are coupled to the housing at the leg base and include at least one driving leg constructed from a flexible material and configured to cause the apparatus to move in a direction generally defined by an offset between the leg base and the leg tip as the rotational motor rotates the eccentric load.

主权项

1. A toy vehicle comprising:
a chassis having a front end and a rear end; a vibrating mechanism coupled to the chassis and powered by a battery; at least one wheel secured near the rear end of the chassis, the at least one wheel supporting the rear end of the chassis on a surface and being adapted to contact and roll on the surface; and at least one driving leg situated nearer to the front end than the at least one rear wheel, the at least one driving leg having a leg base and a leg tip at a distal end relative to the leg base and the leg tip being rearwardly offset from the leg base, wherein vibration caused by the vibrating mechanism causes the at least one driving leg to move the vehicle across the surface and wherein the at least one driving leg is attached to a portion of the chassis, and wherein the at least one driving leg has an average axial cross-section of at least five percent of a length of the at least one driving leg between the leg base and the leg tip, and wherein the vibrating mechanism is configured to rotate an eccentric load to generate forces directed away from and towards the surface, and wherein the at least one driving leg is constructed from a resilient material that is configured to compress and bend the at least one driving leg as the vibrating mechanism generates said force that is directed towards the surface, and the resilient material of the at least one driving leg is further configured to return the at least one driving leg back to a neutral position when the vibrating mechanism generates said force that is directed away from the surface, such that operation of the vibrating mechanism causes the apparatus to move in a substantially forward direction generally defined by the offset between the leg base and the leg tip.