1. A pedal mechanism for a wheeled device comprising:
a frame;
at least one wheel having a geared hub, said wheel rotatably supported by said frame;
at least one pedal lever pivotably mounted to said frame at a mounted end, each said lever having a drive end opposite said mounted end;
a rotatable drive gear carried by said frame, said rotatable drive gear having an axle extending from at least one side;
a crank coupled between said pedal lever drive end and said axle; and
an endless chain coupled between said geared hub and said rotatable drive gear, wherein movement of said at least one pedal lever causes rotation of said wheel.
2. The pedal mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising:
a foot plate extending from said drive end of said pedal lever, said foot plate having an elongated slot; and
a bushing slidably retained in said elongated slot, said crank having a bushing end coupled to said bushing, wherein linear motion of said foot plate rotates said crank and said drive gear.
3. The pedal mechanism according to claim 2, further comprising:
opposed pedal levers, wherein a first pedal lever is mounted to one side of said frame and a second pedal lever is mounted to an opposite side of said frame, wherein said mounted ends are radially positioned on one side of said geared hub and said drive ends are radially positioned on an opposite side of said geared hub.
4. The pedal mechanism according to claim 3, wherein each said pedal lever has an elbow between said mounted end and said drive end, wherein each said mounted end angularly extends from said elbow at an angle of between 15 to 75\xb0.
5. The pedal mechanism according to claim 4, wherein a distance from said elbow to said mounted end is less than or equal a distance from a center of said geared hub to where said mounted end is mounted.
6. The pedal mechanism according to claim 3, wherein said mounted ends are coaxially aligned with one another.
7. The pedal mechanism according to claim 3, wherein said crank has pedal ends that are substantially diametrically opposed to one another, wherein one said pedal end is connected to one said pedal lever drive end and the other said pedal end is connected to the other said pedal lever drive end.
8. The pedal mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said bushings slide from end to end of said elongated slots as said drive ends are linearly moved up and down.
9. A wheeled locomotion device, comprising:
a frame;
at least one wheel coupled to said frame;
a human-effort pedal mechanism coupled to and adapted to rotate said at least one wheel, said pedal mechanism having a motion detection sensor;
a motor coupled to and adapted to rotate said at least one wheel;
a system controller connected to and receiving input from said motor and said motion detection sensor; and
a user control panel connected to said system controller, said system controller programmed to:
receive input from said motor;
receive input from said motion detection sensor;
receive user input from said user control panel as to at least one of a speed setting and a mode setting; and
generate a control signal to selectively adjust operation of said motor based on at least two of said inputs.
10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising:
a brake connected to said controller and generating a brake input signal received by said system controller, said system controller programmed to adjust operation of said motor based upon said brake input signal.
11. The device according to claim 10, wherein said user control panel provides at least one of the following modes:
a power off mode that only allows use of said human-effort pedal mechanism;
a power cruising mode that only allows use of said motor to propel the device;
a power assist mode which allows use of said human-effort pedal mechanism and said motor; and
a parking mode which allows only use of said motor at a pre-selected speed.
12. The device according to claim 11, wherein said motor is allowed to operate at at least three speeds designated as low, medium and high, where said power assist mode allows use of all three speeds and use of said motor is initiated by detected input from said human-effort pedal mechanism.
13. The device according to claim 12, wherein in said parking mode, said system controller generates said control signal to provide a constant walking speed for said device by said motor without any need of input from said motion detection sensor.
14. The device according to claim 13, further comprising:
a microcontroller receiving inputs from said motor, said motion detection sensor and said user control panel;
a battery pack with a power line, said power line generating a voltage sense signal received by said microcontroller; and
three phase MOSFET drivers connected to said power line, said drivers providing power to said motor and generating a current sense signal received by said microcontroller;
said microcontroller generating pulse-width modulated control signals received by said drivers to control operation of said motor.
15. The device according to claim 14, wherein said motor generates a rotor position feedback signal received by said microcontroller for adjustment of said pulse-width modulation control signals.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An automated pill dispensing system, comprising:
an output chute configured to hold pill-containing vials;
an optical sensor located at a predetermined location in the output chute, the optical sensor comprising an optical emitter and an optical detector configured to be operated cooperatively to output a detection signal indicating a presence or absence of a vial at the predetermined location of the output chute;
a filter circuit coupled to the optical sensor and configured to adjust the detection signal to account for ambient light conditions after the detection signal is output from the optical detector to provide a filtered detection signal; and
a controller coupled to the filter circuit and configured to receive the filtered detection signal therefrom, detect the presence or absence of the vial at the predetermined location of the output chute in response to the filtered detection signal, and control a next depositing event whereby a next vial is deposited in the output chute responsive to the detection.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is configured to output an ambient light signal indicative of the ambient light conditions prior to output of the vial detection signal therefrom, and wherein the filter circuit is configured to provide the filtered detection signal representing a difference between the detection signal and the ambient light signal.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:
correlate the filtered detection signal to a present sample value;
compare the present sample value to a current output value, wherein the current output value is based on a previous sample value;
increment or decrement the current output value by an offset value in response to the comparison to update the current output value; and
detect the presence or absence of the vial at the predetermined location of the output chute responsive to the updated current output value.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the controller is configured to provide a pulsed input signal to operate the optical sensor;
the controller is configured to provide an interrupt signal to the optical sensor at about a midpoint of each pulse of the pulsed input signal; and
the optical detector is configured to be activated in response to each interrupt signal to provide a pulsed output signal as the detection signal.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to allow a predetermined number of pulses of the pulsed input signal prior to providing the interrupt signal.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the next depositing event to deposit the next vial in the output chute responsive to detecting the absence of the vial.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the optical sensor comprises a reflective type sensor;
the optical emitter is configured to output an optical signal in response to a signal from the controller;
the optical detector is configured to output an electrical signal representative of a portion of the optical signal received at the optical detector as the detection signal;
the controller is configured to detect the presence of the vial in the predetermined location responsive to the electrical signal indicating that an intensity of the optical signal received at the optical detector exceeds a threshold value; and
the controller is configured to detect the absence of the vial in the predetermined location responsive to the electrical signal indicating that the intensity of the optical signal received at the optical detector is less than the threshold value.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the optical sensor comprises a break-beam type sensor;
the optical emitter is configured to output an optical signal in response to a signal from the controller;
the optical detector is configured to output an electrical signal representative of a portion of the optical signal received at the optical detector as the detection signal;
the controller is configured to detect the presence of the vial in the predetermined location responsive to the electrical signal indicating that an intensity of the optical signal received at the optical detector is less than a threshold value; and
the controller is configured to detect the absence of the vial in the predetermined location responsive to the electrical signal indicating that the intensity of the optical signal received at the optical detector exceeds the threshold value.
9. A method of operating an automated pill dispensing system including an output chute configured to hold pill-containing vials and an optical sensor comprising an optical emitter and an optical detector at a predetermined location in the output chute therein, the method comprising:
receiving a detection signal from the optical detector responsive to operation of the optical emitter;
adjusting the detection signal to account for ambient light conditions responsive to receiving the detection signal from the optical detector;
detecting a presence or absence of a vial at the predetermined location of the output chute responsive to the adjusting of the detection signal; and
controlling a next depositing event whereby a next vial is deposited in the output chute responsive to the detecting.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving an ambient light signal indicative of the ambient light conditions from the optical sensor,
wherein adjusting the detection signal to account for the ambient light conditions comprises adjusting the detection signal output from the optical sensor to represent a difference between the detection signal and the ambient light signal prior to detecting the presence or absence of the vial responsive thereto.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
correlating the detection signal to a present sample value;
comparing the present sample value to a current output value, wherein the current output value is based on a previous sample value; and
incrementing or decrementing the current output value by an offset value in response to the comparison to provide an updated current output value,
wherein detecting the presence or absence of the vial comprises detecting the presence or absence of the vial at the predetermined location of the output chute responsive to the updated current output value.
12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
providing a pulsed input signal to operate the optical sensor;
providing an interrupt signal to the optical sensor at about a midpoint of each pulse of the pulsed input signal; and
activating the optical detector in response to each interrupt signal to provide a pulsed output signal as the detection signal.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
allowing a predetermined number of pulses of the pulsed input signal prior to providing the interrupt signal.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the next depositing event comprises:
controlling the next depositing event to deposit the next vial in the output chute responsive to detecting the absence of the vial.
15. A computer program product for operating an automated pill dispensing system including an output chute configured to hold pill-containing vials and an optical sensor comprising an optical emitter and an optical detector at a predetermined location in the output chute, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising:
computer readable program code that is configured to adjust a detection signal to account for ambient light conditions after the detection signal is output from the optical detector;
computer readable program code that is configured to detect a presence or absence of a vial at the predetermined location of the output chute responsive to the detection signal that was adjusted; and
computer readable program code that is configured to control a next depositing event whereby a next vial is deposited in the output chute responsive to the detection.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:
computer readable program code that is configured to receive an ambient light signal indicative of the ambient light conditions from the optical sensor,
wherein the computer readable program code that is configured to adjust the detection signal to account for the ambient light conditions comprises computer readable program code that is configured to adjust the detection signal output from the optical sensor to represent a difference between the detection signal and the ambient light signal prior to detection of the presence or absence of the vial.
17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:
computer readable program code that is configured to correlate the detection signal to a present sample value;
computer readable program code that is configured to compare the present sample value to a current output value, wherein the current output value is based on a previous sample value; and
computer readable program code that is configured to increment or decrement the current output value by an offset value in response to the comparison to provide an updated current output value,
wherein the computer readable program code that is configured to detect the presence or absence of the vial comprises computer readable program code that is configured to detect the presence or absence of the vial at the predetermined location of the output chute responsive to the updated current output value.
18. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:
computer readable program code that is configured to provide a pulsed input signal to operate the optical sensor;
computer readable program code that is configured to provide an interrupt signal to the optical sensor at about a midpoint of each pulse of the pulsed input signal; and
computer readable program code that is configured to activate the optical detector in response to each interrupt signal to provide a pulsed output signal as the detection signal.
19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program code that is configured to provide the interrupt signal is further configured to allow a predetermined number of pulses of the pulsed input signal prior to providing the interrupt signal.
20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code that is configured to control the next depositing event is further configured to deposit the next vial in the output chute responsive to the detection of the absence of the vial.