Golf Cart Frame with Conical Wheels for Compact Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional golf carts face challenges in achieving both high stability during use and compactness when folded, while also being easy to handle.
Innovation Solution
The golf cart features side wheels with a negative camber and a cone-shaped peripheral surface, steering knuckles that run along the inside of the wheels, and a multi-part frame with rotating/pivoting joints, allowing for parallel alignment and a height-adjustable handle for ergonomic handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the steering knuckles are positioned close to each other for compact folding, then the folded size is reduced, but the standing width and stability during use are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The side wheels are designed with a conical shape instead of a cylindrical form, creating negative camber. This curvature allows the wheels to splay outward during use, increasing the standing width and stability, while the conical geometry enables the steering knuckles to be positioned closer together for compact folding. The curved surface of the cone allows the wheel to contact the ground at an angle that maximizes both stability and compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the wheels from cylindrical to conical, specifically introducing a negative camber angle. This parameter change allows the same wheel to provide both a wide stance during use (improving stability) and enable close positioning of steering knuckles when folded (reducing volume). The camber angle serves as a critical parameter that reconciles the contradiction between stability and compactness.
2Volume of moving object
If the frame parts are designed to fold parallel to each other for compact storage, then the folded volume is minimized, but the complexity of the pivoting and alignment mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the pivoting function with the alignment function into a single integrated mechanism. The rotating/pivoting joints are designed to perform both functions simultaneously: as the frame parts pivot during folding, the geometry of the joint and the conical wheels automatically guide the parts into parallel alignment. This eliminates the need for separate alignment mechanisms, reducing overall device complexity while achieving compact folded volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The folding mechanism is designed to be self-aligning through its geometric configuration. As the frame parts are pivoted toward each other, the conical shape of the wheels and the geometry of the rotating joints automatically guide the frame parts into parallel alignment without requiring additional actuators or adjustment mechanisms. The system uses its own structural features to achieve alignment, reducing complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a golf cart (10) with a multi-part frame or chassis comprising at least one upper frame or chassis part (18) and a lower frame or chassis part (14) pivotable to the latter, from which two pivotable axle journals (54) extend with side wheels (56, 58) detachably connected to them, the respective circumferential surface of which has the form of a cone with a smaller diameter on the inside than on the outside.