Movable Base Pin Mechanism for Wheel Deployment Under Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing load-supporting bases with retractable wheels are inconvenient due to difficult screw rotation under heavy loads, making it challenging to easily move between deployed and retracted configurations.
Innovation Solution
A movable base assembly with rotatably mounted wheels that can be actuated between deployed and retracted positions using a transmission rod and pin mechanism, facilitated by an actuating member and control plate, allowing easy deployment and retraction of wheels with minimal effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screw mechanism is used to lift the wheel from the ground, then the wheel can be immobilized or deployed, but the rotation of the screw becomes difficult when the apparatus bears a heavy load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the screw mechanism with a pin and control element system. The pin moves along a contoured surface with angled, holding, and offset portions, converting rotational control into linear pin movement that directly actuates the wheel assembly. This substitution eliminates the high-friction screw rotation problem while maintaining reliable wheel immobilization and deployment under heavy loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin serves as an intermediary element between the control element and the wheel assembly. It translates the control element's motion along its contoured surface into the appropriate wheel deployment and retraction movements, providing mechanical advantage and reducing the effort required to operate the system under heavy loads.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the wheel is lifted from the ground by a foot raised and lowered by turning a small screw, then the apparatus can move on and off the wheels, but the mechanism becomes inconvenient under heavy load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the screw-based foot mechanism with a pin and control element system that directly actuates the wheel assembly. The pin moves along a contoured surface with angled, holding, and offset portions, providing mechanical advantage that makes the mechanism convenient to operate even under heavy loads while maintaining the ability to move on and off the wheels.
3Ease of operation
If a pin moves along a contoured surface with angled, holding, and offset portions, then the wheel deployment and retraction become easier, but the control mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into the single contoured surface of the control element. The angled, holding, and offset portions are all part of one continuous surface that guides the pin's movement, combining what could have been separate mechanisms into a unified structure. This merging reduces the number of separate components while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The contoured surface uses curved geometry with angled, holding, and offset portions to guide the pin's movement path. This curved surface design allows smooth transitions between different operational phases (deployment, holding, retraction) while providing mechanical advantage, making the mechanism easier to operate without requiring complex separate components.
Data Source
AI summary
In a further embodiment, a method of controlling a base assembly can be provided. An actuation member can be pumped to deploy one or more wheels to lift a base assembly on said wheels. Further, a pin can be received in a holding portion on a semi-planar contoured surface in response to the pumping of the actuation member. The wheels can be held in a deployed position via the pin being held in the holding portion. Further pumping of the actuation member can separate the pin from the holding portion and retract the wheels from the deployed position.