Electric Cart Wheel Positioning for Trunk Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foldable shopping carts face issues with stability when folded, leading to potential damage from car vibrations, making it inconvenient to load and unload goods from a car trunk.
Innovation Solution
An electric cart apparatus with oblique links and auxiliary links that position wheels above the basket, combined with Mecanum wheels and actuators, allows for easy handling and adjustment, ensuring stability and facilitating the cart's operation within a car trunk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the shopping cart is folded with links connected to wheels below the basket, then the cart can be compacted for storage, but the goods are vulnerable to damage from car vibrations and impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the wheels from a horizontal arrangement below the basket to a vertical arrangement above the basket, utilizing the vertical dimension. This dimensional change allows the wheels to serve as protective elements that absorb vibrations and impacts before they reach the goods, while still maintaining compactness when folded.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful vibrations and impacts into beneficial cushioning effects by positioning the wheels above the basket. The wheels act as shock absorbers, transforming mechanical vibrations into controlled movements that protect the goods rather than damage them.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the shopping cart uses a conventional folding mechanism, then it can be stored in a car trunk, but it requires significant labor to load and unload goods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the wheels above the basket at a height that creates an equipotential relationship between the wheel axis and the basket loading area. This allows goods to be easily transferred between the wheels and basket without significant vertical lifting, reducing the effort required for loading and unloading while maintaining storage capability.
3Volume of moving object
If the links are positioned below the basket for folding, then the structure is compact, but the cart becomes unstable due to unbalanced links during folding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the link mechanism from a horizontal folding arrangement below the basket to a vertical arrangement above the basket. This dimensional change improves stability during folding by utilizing the vertical dimension, where the links can be better balanced and controlled, while still achieving compact folded dimensions.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric cart apparatus includes a basket in which objects are to be held. A plurality of front and rear legs is erected downward from the basket. First ends of oblique links are coupled with the basket. Second ends of the oblique links are coupled with lower sections of the front legs. Each of the oblique links is divided into an upper link and a lower link. The lower link has a sliding slot which extends in a lengthwise direction. The upper link has a link engagement portion which is to move along the sliding slot. First ends of auxiliary links are coupled with link coupling portions of the oblique links. Second ends of the auxiliary links are coupled with central portions of the rear legs. Wheels are coupled with lower ends of the front and rear legs.