Quickly Foldable Bicycle Frame with Hidden Connecting Rods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable bicycles face issues with structural insecurity, protruding components that cause scraping or bumping, and aesthetic concerns due to the design of connecting rods, leading to safety and visual disturbances during use and storage.
Innovation Solution
A quickly foldable bicycle design featuring a front arm and intermediate arm hinged together, with a rear fork and seat tube configuration that includes rotatable joint bearings and an arc-shaped front connecting rod, positioned under the frame to avoid protrusion, enhancing safety and aesthetics by hiding connecting rods during use and minimizing volume when folded.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the front connecting rod is positioned at one side of the front arm with a protruding hinge shaft, then the bicycle structure is simpler and easier to manufacture, but it creates safety hazards by scraping or bumping the rider's legs and reduces aesthetic appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge shaft is repositioned from a lateral protrusion to an axial location within the front arm structure. The front connecting rod connects to the front arm through a hinge mechanism positioned along the longitudinal axis of the front arm, eliminating lateral protrusions that could contact the rider's legs. This dimensional repositioning maintains manufacturing simplicity while eliminating the safety hazard.
2Ease of operation
If the seat tube is slidably inserted inside the tube with universal joints, then the bicycle can be folded quickly and easily, but the seat tube swings transversely from left to right causing insecurity and danger
Solution Approach 1:
The universal joint connection between the seat tube and front arm is replaced with a fixed structural connection. The seat tube is directly integrated with the front arm structure, eliminating the universal joint that allowed transverse swinging. This extraction of the problematic universal joint maintains the quick folding capability through other mechanisms while removing the source of transverse instability.
3Device complexity
If the connecting rod is positioned protruding from the front arm, then the structure is simpler, but it creates aesthetic issues and potential scraping or bumping hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The front connecting rod and front arm are merged into a more integrated structure where the connecting rod is positioned within the contours of the front arm rather than protruding from it. The hinge connection is incorporated into the overall streamlined shape of the front arm assembly, eliminating separate protruding elements and improving aesthetic appearance while maintaining structural simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
What is disclosed is a quickly foldable bicycle. A front arm and an intermediate arm are hinged together; the intermediate arm is fixed on the intermediate tube; a rear fork is hinged on the intermediate tube or on the intermediate arm; a seat tube is slidably sleeved inside the intermediate tube; a connecting rod seat is provided at a lower end of the seat tube; a first joint bearing at the front end of the front connecting rod is connected to a fixing seat at a lower side of the front arm; a second joint bearing at the rear end of the front connecting rod is connected to the connecting rod seat; and two ends of the rear connecting rod are hinged to the rear fork and the connecting rod seat respectively. The bicycle can be folded quickly, has a firm structure, is easy to produce and is eye-pleasing.