Industrial Vehicle Wheel Structure for Impact Flex and Shape Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial vehicle wheels, particularly those on scissor lift and aerial platform vehicles, face challenges in maneuverability, stability, and durability due to abusive conditions such as curb impacts and sudden drops, which conventional wheels fail to withstand effectively.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight, one-piece or multi-piece metal wheel design with a unique structural configuration, including a cylindrical rim, hub aperture, and angled back flange, providing flexibility and strength to absorb impacts without bending or deforming, and allowing for secure tire mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional rigid wheel is used, then the wheel provides structural strength, but it cannot survive abusive situations like curb impacts or drops without bending or deforming
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel changes its structural parameters dynamically by transitioning from a rigid state during normal operation to a flexible state during impact absorption, then returning to its original rigid configuration. This parameter change allows the wheel to adapt between requiring strength for normal use and flexibility for impact survival.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel incorporates dynamic behavior through its ability to flex and deform temporarily under impact loads, then recover to its original shape. This dynamic response contrasts with conventional static rigid wheels, allowing the wheel to absorb impact energy while maintaining structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If the wheel is made lighter for maneuverability, then the wheel improves mobility and positioning accuracy, but it may reduce the ability to withstand heavy impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel employs composite construction combining lightweight aluminum alloy with strategically placed reinforcement features. This composite approach maintains overall light weight for maneuverability while providing localized strength and flexibility where needed to survive impacts without requiring the entire wheel to be heavy.
3Ease of manufacture
If a one-piece wheel design is used, then the wheel structure is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but it may be difficult to repair after damage
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel is divided into separable components including the rim, spokes, and hub that can be detached from one another. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing of individual components and enables easy replacement of damaged sections without requiring replacement of the entire wheel assembly.
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
The wheel design enhances maneuverability, stability, and load transfer capacity while surviving abusive situations like curb impacts and drops, maintaining its shape and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
The wheel provides a light weight structure, having strength to flex on impact and resist bending, allowing it to return to its original shape after impact.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure concerns wheels for industrial vehicles, including scissor lift vehicles and aerial platform vehicles. More particularly, this disclosure concerns a wheel fabricated with a substantially cylindrical wheel rim and a front face surface which includes a center hub section that is inwardly offset from the front edge by an amount and at an angle providing flexibility to recover from incidences that can damage the wheel.