Amphibious Vehicle Single Drive System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Amphibious vehicles typically require duplicative systems for operating on land and water, leading to complexity, high costs, and increased susceptibility to breakage, making them unsuitable for general civilian use.
Innovation Solution
An amphibious vehicle with a single drive system utilizing conjoined rubberized tire and paddlewheel hybrids for propulsion, steering, reversing, and braking, allowing operation on both land and water with a pair of independently controlled propulsion assemblies and a multi-functional control lever system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If duplicative systems are provided for water and land use, then the vehicle can operate effectively in both environments, but the vehicle becomes complicated, expensive, and more prone to breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion assembly is designed to perform multiple functions across different environments. The conjoined rubberized tire and paddlewheel hybrid serves as both a land vehicle tire and a water propulsion device, eliminating the need for separate systems for land and water operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the tire and paddlewheel into a single conjoined hybrid propulsion assembly. This merging of previously separate components (tire for land, paddlewheel for water) into one integrated unit reduces system complexity while maintaining amphibious capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If duplicative systems are provided for water and land use, then the vehicle can operate effectively in both environments, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conjoined tire-paddlewheel hybrid serves dual purposes for land and water operation, eliminating the need to manufacture and install separate propulsion systems for each environment, thereby reducing production costs
Solution Approach 2:
By merging the tire and paddlewheel into a single conjoined assembly, the patent reduces the total number of components that need to be manufactured and assembled, leading to lower production costs compared to duplicative systems
3Adaptability or versatility
If duplicative systems are provided for water and land use, then the vehicle can operate effectively in both environments, but the vehicle becomes more prone to breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The conjoined tire-paddlewheel hybrid is designed to function reliably in both land and water environments, reducing the overall system vulnerability by having fewer separate systems that could potentially fail
Solution Approach 2:
The conjoined hybrid propulsion assembly integrates the tire and paddlewheel into a single robust unit, reducing the number of potential failure points compared to duplicative systems with multiple independent components
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 solution provides a structurally simple, cost-effective, and user-friendly amphibious vehicle capable of efficient operation on both land and water, reducing complexity and production costs while maintaining durability.
Implementation Method 1
conjoined rubberized tire and paddlewheel hybrids
Data Source
AI summary
An amphibious vehicle, mostly watercraft in appearance, has a single drive system that accelerates, propels, steers, reverses, and brakes the vehicle on land or in the water. This control is effectuated by one or both twin control levels positioned to the left and right of the vehicle operator. Rear mounted propulsions units include a paddlewheel and tire combination, which operate independently and are rotatable in either direction.