Motorized Bicycle Collision Protection Catching Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
In motorized bicycles, small deviations in the straight-ahead position of the front wheel during a frontal collision can cause the wheel to rotate, reducing the distance between the obstacle and the rider, which compromises collision protection even with safety restraints like safety belts.
Innovation Solution
A collision protection device with a fixedly arranged catching element featuring guide portions that form a receptacle for the front wheel, ensuring it maintains its straight-ahead position by being pushed into the receptacle during a collision, preventing lateral movement and rotation, and utilizing a rigid catching element and a deformable rim to absorb forces and dissipate energy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the front wheel is allowed to rotate freely during collision, then the wheel can adapt to the collision angle, but the distance between the obstacle and rider is reduced, compromising collision protection
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portions are pre-positioned to define a receptacle that guides the front wheel into a straight-ahead position before the collision force fully acts. This preliminary geometric constraint ensures the wheel maintains optimal orientation for maximizing collision protection distance, preventing rotation that would reduce this distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portions act as an intermediary mechanism between the front wheel and the frame. They transmit and control the collision force through geometric constraints, guiding the wheel into the correct position without requiring active control systems, thus maintaining the protection distance while adapting to collision forces.
2Reliability
If a catching element with guide portions is added to maintain wheel position, then collision protection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catching element is segmented into two guide portions that form a receptacle. This segmentation allows the structure to guide the wheel through geometric constraints without requiring a fully enclosed complex mechanism. The two portions create the necessary constraints while remaining simple in form and easy to manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portions utilize the collision force itself to guide the front wheel into the correct position. The geometric configuration of the guide portions automatically centers and orients the wheel as collision forces push it into the receptacle, eliminating the need for additional active control mechanisms or complex actuation systems.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the guide portions are positioned close to the front wheel, then lateral movement is prevented, but the wheel cannot turn during normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portions are positioned and dimensioned to provide dynamic constraints. During normal operation, the free ends of the guide portions are spaced apart from the front wheel, allowing full steering movement. During collision, the same guide portions engage to prevent lateral movement and rotation, providing the appropriate constraints only when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portions apply constraints locally at specific points and orientations. The free ends are positioned to allow steering arc movement during normal operation, while the receptacle geometry provides lateral constraints only when the wheel is pushed forward during collision. This local application of constraints maintains operational flexibility while providing collision protection.
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 effectively maintains the distance between the obstacle and the rider by keeping the front wheel straight during collisions, enhancing collision protection and safety by absorbing and dissipating collision forces without deforming significantly, thus preventing further rotation and maintaining rider safety.
Implementation Method 1
The pushing in of the front wheel into the receptacle is preferably performed exclusively by the force of the collision, for example, by a deformation of a front wheel fork of the bicycle in the event of collision of the front wheel with the obstacle
Implementation Method 2
This means that the catching element must be able to absorb lateral forces of at least 1000 N without plastic deformation
Data Source
AI summary
A collision protection device on a motorized bicycle includes a catching element which is securely mounted on a frame of the motorized bicycle. The catching element includes a receptacle which is delimited by two guide sections and is open in the direction towards a front wheel of the motorized bicycle. The free ends of the guide sections pointing in the direction of travel are arranged such that they are always at a distance from the front wheel during normal riding but, in the event of a front-end collision in which the front wheel impacts on an obstacle, the front wheel is pushed into the receptacle between the free ends of the guide portions towards the frame of the motorized bicycle.