Cantilevered Vehicle Suspension Reducing Width

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicles with leanable body frames and two front wheels face challenges in reducing their left-and-right width while maintaining sufficient rigidity to support road loads, as previous designs either increase width or require complex constructions to enhance rigidity.

Innovation Solution

The vehicle employs a cantilevered suspension system using telescopic elements with increased diameters and strategically positioned shaft and bearing members to reduce width and enhance rigidity, allowing the wheels to be supported with high rigidity without enlarging the vehicle's size.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the right front wheel and left front wheel are each supported by right and left support elements (double-sided support), then the strength for road loads is easily ensured, but the left-and-right width of the vehicle is increased

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestrength for road loadsVSAvoidleft-and-right width
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes one of the two support elements (either right or left) from each wheel assembly, transitioning from double-sided support to single-sided cantilever support. This extraction reduces the left-and-right width while the patent compensates for the reduced support count by increasing the diameter of the remaining support element and optimizing its structural configuration to maintain sufficient load-bearing strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Stability of the object's composition

If the support element diameter is increased to enhance rigidity, then the rigidity for supporting road loads is improved, but the device complexity and construction complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproverigidityVSAvoidconstruction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by increasing the diameter of the support elements (telescopic elements) to enhance their rigidity and load-bearing capacity. This parameter modification allows the single-sided cantilever support configuration to achieve sufficient structural stability without requiring additional complex support structures, thereby maintaining relatively simple construction while improving rigidity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3000706B1vehicle
Publication Date: 2019.05.08 YAMAHA MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3000706B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3000706B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3000706B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A suspension device wherein a right wheel (322) is supported in a cantilevered state at a lower part of a right telescopic element (34A) by a right shaft member (324) that penetrates the right telescopic element (34A) and a right bearing part (92) such that the right wheel is rotatable about a right steering axis (Y2) extending in a direction perpendicular to a right wheel axis (Z2) and is displaceable in the vertical direction with respect to a vehicle body frame (21). When the vehicle (1) is in an upright state, the right telescopic element (34A) and a left telescopic element (33A) are arranged in a bilaterally symmetrical manner, and the right shaft member (324) and a left shaft member (314) are arranged in a bilaterally symmetrical manner.