Oblique Battery Layout for Tire Buffers in Small Tire Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery-powered tire buffers face challenges when working with smaller tires due to elongated designs along the rotational axis, which reduce effective angles and interfere with tire surfaces, compromising battery size, power, and capacity.
Innovation Solution
The tire buffer tool features an elongated battery positioned at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis, allowing it to fit within smaller tires without sacrificing battery size or power, and includes a gearbox for mechanical advantage and a biased trigger for ergonomic control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the battery is positioned along the longitudinal axis of the tool, then the tool structure is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but the tool length increases which reduces effectiveness on smaller tires
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is repositioned from a longitudinal arrangement (along the tool axis) to a transverse arrangement (perpendicular to the tool axis), changing the dimensional orientation of the battery within the tool housing. This dimensional shift allows the battery to be accommodated in the radial thickness of the tool rather than extending the tool length, thereby resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and tool length for small tire applications
2Power
If the battery is enlarged to increase power and capacity, then energy storage and power output are improved, but the tool length increases which interferes with smaller tire surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
By reorienting the battery from longitudinal to transverse positioning, the design allows larger battery cells to be accommodated within the radial thickness of the tool housing rather than extending the tool length. This dimensional reconfiguration enables increased battery capacity and power output while maintaining a compact tool length suitable for working within smaller tire cavities
Solution Approach 2:
The battery is nested within the transverse cross-section of the tool housing, utilizing the radial space efficiently. This nesting arrangement allows the battery to be housed within the existing tool envelope without increasing the tool length, thereby accommodating larger battery capacity while maintaining compatibility with smaller tire dimensions
3Quantity of substance
If the battery is positioned to maximize capacity, then energy storage is improved, but the battery may structurally interfere with the tire surface during buffing
Solution Approach 1:
Repositioning the battery from a longitudinal to transverse orientation changes the spatial distribution of the battery within the tool. This dimensional change places the battery in a position where it does not extend beyond the tool housing in the radial direction, eliminating structural interference with the tire surface during buffing operations while still maximizing battery capacity within the available transverse space
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
This design enables effective buffing of smaller tires with improved workable angles and enhanced battery capacity, ensuring efficient operation and user comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a battery (132) positioned at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis (108)
Data Source
AI summary
A tire repair tool for buffing an interior surface of a tire, the tire repair tool including an elongated housing that extends along a longitudinal axis, an electric motor disposed within the housing, a gearbox coupled to the electric motor, a chuck coupled to the gearbox and configured rotate about the longitudinal axis and to receive a workpiece tool such as a buffing wheel, a switch that operatively controls the electric motor, a biased trigger operatively coupled to the switch, and a battery for supplying power to the electric motor. The battery has an elongated housing that defines a battery axis, wherein the battery axis forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis.