1. An autonomous wheeled mobile robot, comprising:
at least one wheel-driving motor;
an on-board computer;
means for autonomous navigation, orientation, and maneuvering in an environment with moving obstacles;
a sensor system;
a wireless communication system for receiving and sending;
supporting means composed of a single pair of coaxial driven wheels only;
a pendulum dependant oscillation balancing system; and
a steering and drive system that superimposes the balancing system.
2. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the center of gravity of said robot lies above a co-axis of said single pair of coaxial wheels.
3. The mobile robot according to claim 2, wherein said robot is provided, at a distance from said co-axis, with at least one downwardly depending fixed support, disposed to normally remain out of contact with an underlying surface when the robot is in upright balance, but come into contact with the underlying surface should the robot lose balance, thereby preventing the robot from tipping over.
4. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the center of gravity of said robot lies below the co-axis of said single pair of coaxial wheels and that the pendulum dependent oscillation balancing system is disposed to attenuate excessive oscillation.
5. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the pendulum dependent oscillation balancing system is disposed to maintain the center of gravity of the robot substantially vertically above the line of contact between said single pair of drive wheels and an underling surface even when that surface is not level.
6. The mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising:
a coupling hitch frame for autonomous selective mechanical andor electrical coupling to, and uncoupling from, one of a plurality of different interchangeable wheeled implement modules.
7. The mobile robot according to claim 6, wherein said coupling hitch frame comprises a mechanical gripping means which can establish a coupling to an implement module having a single pair of wheels, which permits free pivoting between the robot and the implement module about a vertical axis passing through the robot-implement coupling but no pivoting between the robot and the implement module about a transverse axis passing through the robot-implement coupling.
8. The mobile robot according claim 6, wherein said coupling hitch frame comprises a mechanical gripping means which can establish a coupling to an implement module having one front pair of free running swivelable wheels and one rear pair of free running non-swievelable wheels, which permits free pivoting between the robot and the implement module about a vertical axis passing through the robot-implement coupling maintaining a substantially fixed height between said swievlable wheels and said coupling.
9. The mobile robot according claim 6, wherein said coupling hitch comprises a mechanical gripping means which can establish a coupling to an implement module having two pairs of free-running swivelable wheels, which permits no pivoting about a vertical axis passing through the robot-implement coupling.
10. The mobile robot according claim 6, wherein said coupling hitch comprises two spaced mechanical gripping means rotatable in fixed spaced relationship in a plane normal to a longitudinal axis passing through the robot.
11. The mobile robot according claim 6, wherein the coupling hitch frame is pivoted about a vertical axis passing through the midpoint between said single pair of drive wheels.
12. The use of a mobile robot according to claim 1 for transport in a peopled environment.
13. A mobile robot system for performing a plurality of separate operations, comprising:
at least one autonomous wheeled mobile robot having at least one wheel-driving motor;
an on-board computer;
means for autonomous navigation, orientation, and maneuvering in an environment with moving obstacles;
a sensor system;
a wireless communication system for receiving and sending signals;
supporting means composed of a single pair of coaxial driven wheels only;
a pendulum dependent oscillation balancing system;
a steering and drive system that superimposes the balancing system; and
a plurality of dockable operation modules, which are selectively couplable with the autonomous mobile robot to form an operation unit.
14. The robot system according to claim 13, wherein said balancing system is automatically deactivated when said robot is coupled to a wheeled implement module whereupon the steering and drive system controls transport of the operation unit.
15. The robot system according to claim 14, wherein said balancing system is automatically activated when said robot is decoupled from a wheeled implement module.
16. The robot system according to claim 13, wherein the autonomous mobile robot is provided with at least a pair of rearwardly directed sensors, laterally mounted on either side of the autonomous mobile robot or its coupling hitch frame, whereby a orientation, length and position of an implement module and surrounding obstacles are sensed and processed by the on-board computer.
17. The robot system according to claim 16, wherein said rearwardly directed sensors are laterally telescopically mounted to be extended beyond a width of a implement module which is coupled to the autonomous mobile robot.
18. A method of robotic performance including a plurality of separate operations by means of a mobile robot system comprising at least one autonomous wheeled mobile robot having at least one wheel-driving motor; an on-board computer; means for autonomous navigation, orientation, and maneuvering in an environment with moving obstacles; a sensor system; and a wireless communication system for receiving and sending signals, the method comprising:
an operation module in a module store is chosen for a predetermined operation,
the robot autonomously docks with the operation module and forms an operation unit,
the operation unit autonomously transports itself to an ordered location by intelligence of the robot,
the operation is autonomously carried out by the operation module at the location, and
the operation unit autonomously returns to the module store where the robot and the operating module are undocked.
19. A computer program product including a software program comprising instructions for a computer to perform a method according to claim 18.
20. The computer program product according to claim 19, supplied at least in part over a network such as the Internet.
21. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product according to claim 19.
22. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:
balancing the robot with a pendulum dependent oscillation balancing system undocked from the operation module.
23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:
disengaging the pendulum dependent oscillation balancing system after the robot autonomously docks with the operation module.
24. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:
automatically activating a balancing system when the robot is undocked from the operating module; and
automatically deactivating a balancing system when the robot is docked to the operating module.
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. A balanced power amplifier for driving a load, the balanced power amplifier comprising:
an input coupler device configured to generate a first signal component and a second signal component from an input signal, the first signal component and the second signal component being out of phase by ninety degrees relative to one another;
a first amplifier device for a first branch of the balanced power amplifier, the first amplifier device comprising a first input node, and the first amplifier device being configured to generate a first output signal that is influenced by the first signal component;
a second amplifier device for a second branch of the balanced power amplifier, the second amplifier device being configured to generate a second output signal that is influenced by the second signal component;
a level adjustment component coupled between the input coupler device and the first input node, the level adjustment component being configured to perform signal level tuning on its input signal; and
a control architecture coupled to the level adjustment component, the control architecture being configured to control operation of the level adjustment component in response to impedance characteristics of the load, and the control architecture comprising a gain detection circuit configured to detect gain characteristics of the first amplifier device.
2. The balanced power amplifier of claim 1, wherein:
the level adjustment component is coupled to the input coupler device such that it receives the first signal component as its input signal;
the level adjustment component generates an adjusted first signal component from the first signal component; and
the first amplifier device amplifies the adjusted first signal component to generate the first output signal.
3. The balanced power amplifier of claim 1, the level adjustment component comprising a variable attenuation element.
4. The balanced power amplifier of claim 1, the level adjustment component comprising a variable gain element.
5. The balanced power amplifier of claim 1, wherein:
the first amplifier device comprises a first output node for the first output signal;
the second amplifier device comprises a second output node for the second output signal; and
the balanced power amplifier further comprises an output coupler device coupled to the first output node and to the second output node, the output coupler device being configured to generate a combined output signal from the first output signal and the second output signal.
6. The balanced power amplifier of claim 1, wherein:
the second amplifier device comprises a second input node; and
the balanced power amplifier further comprises a second level adjustment component coupled between the input coupler device and the second input node, the second level adjustment component being configured to perform signal level tuning on its input signal.
7. The balanced power amplifier of claim 6, wherein the level adjustment component and the second level adjustment component independently tune their respective input signals.
8. The balanced power amplifier of claim 6, further comprising a control architecture coupled to the second level adjustment component, the control architecture being configured to control operation of the second level adjustment component in response to impedance characteristics of the load.
9. A balanced power amplifier for driving a load, the balanced power amplifier comprising:
an input coupler device configured to produce an in-phase signal component and a quadrature signal component from an input signal, the in-phase signal component being provided at an in-phase signal node, and the quadrature signal component being provided at a quadrature signal node;
a first amplifier device for a first branch of the balanced power amplifier, the first amplifier device having a first amplifier input node and a first amplifier output node;
a second amplifier device for a second branch of the balanced power amplifier, the second amplifier device having a second amplifier input node and a second amplifier output node;
a first level adjustment component coupled between the in-phase signal node and the first amplifier input node;
a second level adjustment component coupled between the quadrature signal node and the second amplifier input node; and
an output coupler device coupled to the first amplifier output node and to the second amplifier output node, the output coupler device being configured to generate a combined output signal; wherein
the first level adjustment component is configured to adaptively perform signal level tuning on the in-phase signal component, resulting in an adjusted first amplifier input signal;
the second level adjustment component is configured to adaptively perform signal level tuning on the quadrature signal component, resulting in an adjusted second amplifier input signal; and
signal level tuning performed by the first level adjustment component and signal level tuning performed by the second level adjustment component is based on a measured gain of the first amplifier device and the second amplifier device, respectively.
10. The balanced power amplifier of claim 9, further comprising a control architecture for the first level adjustment component and the second level adjustment component, the control architecture being configured to adaptively adjust attenuation of the first level adjustment component andor to adaptively adjust attenuation of the second level adjustment component in accordance with impedance characteristics of the load.
11. The balanced power amplifier of claim 9, further comprising a control architecture for the first level adjustment component and the second level adjustment component, the control architecture being configured to adaptively adjust gain of the first level adjustment component andor to adaptively adjust gain of the second level adjustment component in accordance with impedance characteristics of the load.
12. The balanced power amplifier of claim 9, wherein the first level adjustment component and the second level adjustment component are configured to independently perform signal level tuning.
13. A method of adaptively adjusting operating characteristics of a balanced power amplifier having an input coupler device, an output coupler device, a first amplifier device coupled between the input coupler device and the output coupler device in a first branch, and a second amplifier device coupled between the input coupler device and the output coupler device in a second branch, the method comprising:
adaptively adjusting the level of a first signal component generated by the input coupler device in response to impedance characteristics of a load being driven by the balanced power amplifier, resulting in an adjusted first amplifier input signal;
adaptively adjusting the level of a second signal component generated by the input coupler device in response to the impedance characteristics of the load, resulting in an adjusted second amplifier input signal
detecting gain of the first amplifier device; and
detecting gain of the second amplifier device; wherein
the balanced power amplifier comprises a first level adjustment component coupled between the input coupler device and the first amplifier device;
the balanced power amplifier comprises a second level adjustment component coupled between the input coupler device and the second amplifier device;
adaptively adjusting the level of the first signal component comprises dynamically tuning attenuationgain of the first level adjustment component;
adaptively adjusting the level of the second signal component comprises dynamically tuning attenuationgain of the second level adjustment component;
dynamically tuning attenuationgain of the first level adjustment component is influenced by the gain of the first amplifier device; and
dynamically tuning attenuationgain of the second level adjustment component is influenced by the gain of the second amplifier device.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
the first amplifier device amplifying the adjusted first amplifier input signal into a first amplifier output signal;
the second amplifier device amplifying the adjusted second amplifier input signal into a second amplifier output signal; and
the output coupler device generating a combined output signal from the first amplifier output signal and the second amplifier output signal.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein adaptively adjusting the level of the first signal component and adaptively adjusting the level of the second signal component are performed independently.