Articulated Wheel Shape Change for Vehicle Turning Traction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle designs fail to efficiently adapt wheel shape during turning conditions, leading to reduced traction and increased wheel spin, which can affect handling and stability.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle incorporates an elongated wheel with a linkage mechanism that reconfigures from a cylindrical shape to a frustoconical shape during turns, utilizing an expansion device and actuator system to adjust the wheel shape based on turning direction, enhancing traction and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed cylindrical wheel shape is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but traction is reduced and wheel spin increases during turning conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel structure is made dynamically adjustable through a linkage mechanism that changes the wheel's shape from cylindrical to frustoconical based on turning conditions. The linkage mechanism includes links interconnected to the wheel and a control system that activates the shape change during turns, allowing the wheel to adapt its geometry to maintain optimal traction and reduce wheel spin.
2Ease of operation
If the wheel shape is changed during turning, then traction and stability are improved, but the device complexity increases due to the linkage mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel transitions from a static cylindrical shape to a dynamic frustoconical shape during turning operations. The linkage mechanism enables this shape transformation by connecting control elements to the wheel structure, allowing the wheel to tilt and expand on the outer edge during turns, thereby improving handling and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel's geometric parameters are changed during turning by adjusting its shape from cylindrical to frustoconical. This parameter change includes modifying the contact surface area and the wheel's tilt angle, which are controlled through the linkage mechanism to optimize performance during turning conditions.
3Reliability
If a cylindrical wheel shape is maintained, then manufacturing is simple, but the contact surface area is reduced during turns leading to wheel spin
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel is designed with a dynamic shape-changing capability that transforms it from a simple cylindrical form to a frustoconical configuration during turning. This dynamic transformation increases the contact surface area with the ground during turns, preventing wheel spin and improving stability, while the base cylindrical structure remains simple for manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel structure is segmented into multiple components that can move relative to each other through the linkage mechanism. This segmentation allows the wheel to maintain a simple cylindrical manufacturing form while enabling complex shape changes during operation, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and operational performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a frame including a front frame part and a rear frame part. An elongated single wheel is rotatably connected to one of the front frame part and the rear frame part. The elongated wheel houses an expansion device including a linkage mechanism adapted to reconfigure a shape of the elongated wheel between a cylindrical shape in top view of the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling in a straight direction and a frustoconical shape in top view of the vehicle in a turning condition of the vehicle.