Patent ID: 9656704
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: B25J,B62D,Y10S

Claim:
1. A robotic vehicle comprising: a chassis having front and rear ends and supported on right and left driven tracks, each track trained about a corresponding front wheel rotatable about a front wheel axis; right and left elongated flippers disposed on corresponding sides of the chassis and operable to pivot about the front wheel axis of the chassis, each flipper having a driven track about its perimeter and a flipper end distal from the front wheel axis of the chassis; a payload deck assembly configured to support a removable payload; and a linkage connecting the payload deck to the chassis, the linkage having a first end rotatably connected to the chassis at a first pivot, and a second end rotatably connected to the deck at a second pivot, wherein the robotic vehicle is configured to pivot the flippers so that, in a first position, the flippers and the chassis are aligned and, in a second position, the flipper ends are rearward of the front end of the chassis so that the flippers and the chassis define an acute angle between a plane extending from the front end of the chassis to the rear end of the chassis and the flippers.