Amphibious Motorcycle Hull Design for Leaning and Buoyancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Amphibious motorcycles face challenges in achieving sufficient buoyancy for water flotation while allowing for adequate leaning and turning on land, as existing solutions often require bulky and prone-to-failure movable flotation elements.
Innovation Solution
An amphibious motorcycle design featuring a hull with center and side portions that form wheel bays, allowing the wheels to retract and extend, providing buoyancy in water and enabling leaning on land, with a wheel retraction system and suspension systems for both front and rear wheels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional movable flotation elements are added to the amphibious motorcycle, then sufficient buoyancy for water flotation is achieved, but the device becomes bulky and prone to failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for separate movable flotation elements by integrating buoyancy directly into the hull structure. The hull is designed with sufficient volume and shape to provide inherent buoyancy, eliminating the extraction of unnecessary components while maintaining flotation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The hull structure is merged with the buoyancy function, combining the vehicle body with the flotation element into a single integrated structure. This eliminates the need for separate bellows or movable flotation aids, reducing complexity while ensuring reliable buoyancy.
2Ease of operation
If the hull width is reduced to allow leaning on land, then turning capability is improved, but buoyancy in water decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The hull employs different cross-sectional profiles at different locations along its length. The midsection is narrower to permit leaning, while the forward and aft sections have increased volume to maintain buoyancy. This local variation in geometry allows the hull to satisfy both operational and flotation requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a uniform two-dimensional cross-section to a three-dimensional variable profile. By varying the hull's volume distribution along its longitudinal axis, the design achieves narrow width where needed for leaning while maintaining sufficient overall displacement for buoyancy through extended fore and aft sections.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design allows for stable floating in water and smooth turning on land without additional bulky flotation elements, enhancing the motorcycle's overall performance and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a hull provides buoyancy to the vehicle such that it floats while in the water
Data Source
AI summary
An amphibious motorcycle with a hull that provides desirable buoyancy for the vehicle to float while in the water and yet allows the vehicle to lean/turn during use on land is provided. The amphibious motorcycle has a front wheel with a front suspension system and a rear wheel with a rear suspension system. Also included can be at least one wheel retraction system that is operable to move the front wheel and/or the rear wheel between a deployed position for use of the amphibious motorcycle on land and a retracted position for use of the amphibious motorcycle on or in the water. The amphibious motorcycle also has a hull that can have a center portion with a center bow and two oppositely disposed and spaced apart side portions each with a side bow.