Motorized skate

Abstract

The present invention provides a motorized skate having a balance control system adapted to maintain fore-and-aft balance of a platform of the skate about a wheel arrangement. The wheel arrangement defines a pivot point for the platform. A motor arrangement is adapted to drive the wheel arrangement so as to allow for the balance control system to maintain fore-and-aft balancing of the platform about the wheel arrangement.

1 . A motorized skate for a single foot, the motorized skate comprising:
 a platform adapted to support a single foot of a user;   a coupling arrangement adapted to couple the foot of the user to the platform;   a single wheel arrangement comprising at least one wheel, wherein each at least one wheel is arranged such that the wheel arrangement forms a single pivot point about which the platform is tiltable in a fore-aft direction;   a motor arrangement adapted to drive the at least one wheel; and   a balance control system adapted to maintain fore-aft balance of the platform about the wheel arrangement.   
     
     
         2 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , wherein the motor arrangement comprises:
 a first motor adapted to drive at least one wheel of the wheel arrangement; and   a second motor adapted to drive at least one wheel of the wheel arrangement.   
     
     
         3 . The motorized skate of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the wheel arrangement comprises a plurality of wheels;   the first motor is adapted to drive a first wheel of the plurality of wheels; and   the second motor is adapted to drive a second wheel of the plurality of wheels,   wherein the first motor and the first wheel are independent of the second motor and the second wheel.   
     
     
         4 . The motorized skate of  claim 3 , wherein during a turning manoeuvre:
 the first motor drives the first wheel at a first speed; and   the second motor drives the second wheel at a second, different speed.   
     
     
         5 . The motorized skate of  claim 2 , wherein the first and second motor is adapted to drive at least one wheel using a belt or chain. 
     
     
         6 . The motorized skate of  claim 5 , wherein a respective rotating output of the first and second motor has a smaller diameter than an input interface of the wheel driven by the respective first and second motor. 
     
     
         7 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , further comprising a stowable stand adapted to be operable in at least a stowed configuration and a deployed position, wherein the stowable stand is less proximate to the platform when in the deployed configuration. 
     
     
         8 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , further comprising a battery unit mounted thereon, the battery unit being adapted to provide power to at least the respective motor arrangement. 
     
     
         9 . The motorized skate of  claim 8 , wherein the battery unit is coupled to the platform. 
     
     
         10 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor arrangement adapted to detect a side-to-side tilting indication from the user and to generate a signal indicative of an intention to perform a turning manoeuvre based the detected side-to-side tilting indication. 
     
     
         11 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , further adapted to generate a control signal indicative of at least a current or historical control parameter of the motorized skate. 
     
     
         12 . The motorized skate of  claim 11 , wherein the control signal indicates at least one of: a speed of the skate; a remaining battery level of the skate; a distance to another skate; an indication of balance of the platform of the skate; an orientation of the skate; an indication of intended use of the skate, a wind speed incident on the skate; the acceleration of the skate; the torque applied by the motor arrangement of the skate; and a current output power of the motor arrangement. 
     
     
         13 . The motorized skate of  claim 11 , further comprising a communication arrangement adapted to communicate the control signal. 
     
     
         14 . The motorized skate of  claim 13 , wherein the communication arrangement is further adapted to receive a control signal communicated by another motorized skate. 
     
     
         15 .- 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , further comprising a wheel arrangement positioning system adapted to adjust a position of the wheel arrangement with respect to the foot platform. 
     
     
         19 . A motorized system comprising:
 a first motorized skate according to  claim 1 ; and   a second motorized skate according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         20 . The motorized system of  claim 19 , wherein the motor arrangement of the first skate comprises:
 a first motor adapted to drive a first wheel of the wheel arrangement of the first skate;   a second motor adapted to drive a second wheel of the wheel arrangement of the first skate, the first motor and first wheel being independent of the second motor and second wheel,   and wherein the motor arrangement of the second skate comprises:   a third motor adapted to drive a first wheel of the wheel arrangement of the second skate;   a fourth motor adapted to drive a second wheel of the wheel arrangement of the second skate,   wherein, during a turning manoeuvre, the first motor drives the first wheel of the first skate at a first speed, the second motor drives the second wheel of the first skate at a second speed, the third motor drives the first wheel of the second skate at a third speed and the fourth motor drives the second wheel of the second skate at a fourth speed,   wherein the first, second, third and fourth speeds are different from one another.   
     
     
         21 . The motorized system of  claim 19 , wherein if the first motorized skate is unbalanced in the fore direction, and the second motorized skate is unbalanced in the aft direction, the motorized system generates a signal indicative of an intention to perform a turning manoeuvre. 
     
     
         22 . The motorized system of  claim 19 , wherein the first skate and second skate are adapted to be releasably connectable together, so as to form a single unit. 
     
     
         23 . The motorized skate of  claim 14 , further comprising a processing unit adapted to:
 obtain the received control signal;   obtain a balance signal from the balance control system; and   control the motor arrangement to drive the wheel arrangement based on at least the received control signal and the balance signal;   wherein the balance control system is adapted to generate the balance signal based on a level of fore-and-aft balance of the platform.   
     
     
         24 . The motorized skate of  claim 1  wherein the orientation of the skate relative to a gravity force does not affect the operation of the balance control system. 
     
     
         25 . The motorized skate of  claim 1 , wherein the balance control system is adapted to maintain a combined vector of all forces applied to the skate at a position of the single pivot point.