Four-Wheel Mobility Steering With Independent Drive for Tight Turns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Personal mobility vehicles face challenges in navigating tight spaces due to their turning radius and stability issues, particularly when entering or exiting tight turns, leading to understeering or oversteering, especially in crowded environments.
Innovation Solution
A four-wheeled vehicle design with a steering assembly that includes two steerable front wheels and independent motor control for each drive wheel, allowing for differential wheel speeds and directions to manage turning radius and stability, utilizing sensors and controllers to detect steering input and throttle signals for optimal vehicle control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a conventional two-wheeled mobility vehicle is used, then the vehicle structure is simple, but the turning radius is large and stability is poor when entering or exiting tight turns
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle is divided into four independent steerable wheels instead of using a conventional two-wheeled configuration. Each wheel can be independently controlled by its own motor, allowing the vehicle to segment the steering function across multiple contact points with the ground, thereby improving stability and reducing turning radius.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle employs dynamic control of wheel speeds and steering angles based on real-time sensor feedback. The controller continuously adjusts the speed and direction of each wheel independently to maintain stability during turning maneuvers, especially when entering or exiting tight turns, preventing understeering and oversteering conditions.
2Ease of operation
If independent motor control for each drive wheel is implemented, then the turning radius is reduced and maneuverability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical differential mechanisms with electronic control systems. Each wheel has its own motor with electronic speed and steering control, eliminating the need for mechanical differentials and complex linkages while achieving superior maneuverability and tight turning radius.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle incorporates sensors that provide real-time feedback to the controller about wheel positions, speeds, and vehicle orientation. This feedback loop allows the controller to dynamically adjust each wheel's control parameters to optimize maneuverability while maintaining stability, reducing the need for overly complex mechanical control mechanisms.
3Speed
If differential wheel speeds are used to manage turning radius, then the turning performance is improved, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the speed of each wheel based on the desired turning radius and vehicle state. During tight turns, the inner wheels rotate slower than the outer wheels, and the controller continuously modulates these speeds to achieve the optimal turning path, enabling tight turning radius without complex mechanical differential mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Speed sensors on each wheel provide real-time feedback to the controller about actual wheel speeds. The controller compares these with desired speeds and makes continuous adjustments to maintain the correct differential speed ratio for the current maneuver, enabling precise control of turning radius through electronic feedback rather than complex mechanical mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a vehicle may include a frame having longitudinal axis. The vehicle may include a steering assembly having a steering input and at least one wheel. The steering assembly may be coupled to the frame and configured to steer the vehicle based on input from a steering input. The vehicle may include a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel. The vehicle may include a steering position sensor configured to detect steering input including a position of the steering input and at least one of i) a rate of change of position of steering input and ii) steering position time. The vehicle may include at least one controller configured to process a signal from the steering position sensor and, in response to the processed signal, drive the first drive wheel and the second drive wheel, the first drive wheel being driven independent of the second drive wheel.