Foldable Vehicle With Nested Rear Wheels for Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable micro-mobility vehicles are difficult to carry, store, and often lack handles, leading to imbalance and bulkiness.
Innovation Solution
A compact foldable vehicle design with a frame that nests rear wheels within openings, a hinge cassette with a tumbler and spring mechanism for folding/unfolding, and a rear wheel brake assembly with a fender and linkage arm for actuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle is designed to be foldable, then it can be collapsed for storage, but it becomes bulky and difficult to store
Solution Approach 1:
The rear wheel assembly is designed to nest within the frame structure when folded. The frame includes recesses that receive the rear wheel, allowing the wheel to be positioned inside the frame's hollow sections. This nesting arrangement significantly reduces the overall volume of the folded vehicle, making it compact and easy to store.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle is designed to be foldable, then it can be collapsed for transport, but it becomes difficult to carry due to lack of handles and imbalance
Solution Approach 1:
The handlebar assembly serves multiple functions: it provides steering control during operation and transforms into a carrying handle when the vehicle is folded. The handlebar is designed with ergonomic grips that become the carrying handles, and its position is optimized to provide balance support during both riding and carrying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle includes additional structural elements such as reinforced frame sections and integrated carrying handles that provide extra functionality beyond basic foldability. These elements ensure the vehicle remains balanced and easy to carry when folded, addressing the carrying difficulty issue.
3Volume of moving object
If the vehicle is designed to be compact when folded, then it is easier to store, but the folding mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge cassette integrates multiple functions into a single compact unit. It combines the folding hinge, locking mechanism, and alignment features into one integrated component that connects the deck to the handlebar assembly. This merging of functions reduces the overall complexity of the folding mechanism while achieving compact folded dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle is divided into modular segments (front wheel assembly, handlebar assembly, deck, rear wheel assembly) that can independently fold and nest. Each segment is designed with standardized connection points and folding articulations, simplifying the overall folding mechanism while enabling compact configuration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy folding and unfolding, provides a handle for carrying, and reduces bulkiness, making the vehicle easier to transport and store.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one spring is configured to expand and compress, thereby activating the hinge cassette
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a foldable vehicle and to several exemplary components thereof, which may comprise a hinge cassette and a rear wheel brake assembly among other components. In some examples, the vehicle has a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration, where in the folded configuration, the at least one rear wheel nests within the at least one opening.