Low-Gravity Wheel-Integrated Vehicle for Stable Obstacle Climbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ground and amphibious vehicles face limitations in cornering at high speeds and climbing large objects due to their high center of gravity, and single-wheel designs are prone to spinning issues during acceleration.
Innovation Solution
The design features multiple wheels with axles in a plane, positioning the majority of the vehicle's weight and components below the axle level, including engines, motors, and electronics within the wheels, allowing for a low center of gravity and independent wheel movement, enabling rapid acceleration and high-speed cornering while preventing flipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the center of gravity is positioned high above the wheels to accommodate large wheels for climbing objects, then the vehicle's ability to climb large objects is improved, but the vehicle becomes unstable and prone to flipping when cornering at high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the center of gravity in a different vertical dimension - below the wheels rather than above them. This dimensional reversal allows the vehicle to maintain stability during high-speed cornering while still accommodating large wheels for climbing objects, as the low center of gravity prevents flipping regardless of wheel size.
2Speed
If the center of gravity is positioned low close to the ground to enable high-speed cornering, then the vehicle's cornering capability is improved, but the vehicle cannot climb over objects of even the smallest size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reverses the conventional vertical positioning dimension by placing the center of gravity below the wheels rather than above them. This allows the vehicle to achieve both low-speed stability for climbing and high-speed cornering capability, as the low center of gravity prevents flipping while large wheels provide climbing ability.
3Device complexity
If a single large wheel is used to reduce the number of components, then the device complexity is reduced, but the vehicle becomes susceptible to the motorized portion spinning off-axis during rapid acceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the propulsion system into multiple independent wheel-axle-motor units rather than using a single large wheel. This segmentation ensures that each motor remains stable during rapid acceleration while distributing the complexity across multiple standardized modules, improving reliability without excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Vehicles are disclosed which have a lower center of gravity than existing all-terrain, amphibious, and unmanned ground vehicles due to the location of propulsion units and other vehicle components inside the wheels of the vehicle. The vehicles can climb over large obstacles yet are also able to corner at high speeds. The vehicles can be configured for direct manual operation or operation by remote control, and can also be configured for a wide variety of missions.