Omni Wheel with Rotatable Rollers for Directional Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing omnidirectional wheels lack flexibility in roller arrangement, limiting their directional movement and application in various vehicles and robotic systems.
Innovation Solution
The omnidirectional wheel features two rotating rolling body carriers with rotatable rolling bodies that can be arranged at adjustable angles, allowing for flexible placement and orientation of rollers, enabling movement in all directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional omnidirectional wheels use fixed roller arrangements, then the structure is simple, but the directional capability and versatility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the rolling body carriers rotatable about the wheel axle and the rolling bodies rotatable about their own axes. This dynamic configuration allows the wheel to adapt its roller orientation to achieve movement in multiple directions, transforming a static fixed-roller structure into a dynamic adjustable one that enhances directional capability while maintaining reasonable structural complexity through controlled motion mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the wheel structure into two independent rotatable components: rolling body carriers that can rotate about the wheel axle, and rolling bodies that can rotate about their own axes. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of each component's orientation, enabling flexible directional control without requiring complete redesign of the entire wheel structure, thus improving versatility while managing complexity through modular design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If omnidirectional wheels use adjustable roller angles, then versatility across different applications is improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of manufacturing wheels with fixed roller angles for different applications, the patent implements a dynamic adjustment mechanism where rolling body carriers and rolling bodies can be rotated to different orientations. This allows a single wheel design to be manufactured and then adapted to various applications through simple rotational adjustments, significantly improving application flexibility while avoiding the need for multiple manufacturing processes for different angle configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal omnidirectional wheel design where the rolling body carriers and rolling bodies can be positioned at different angles to suit various applications. This multi-functional capability allows the same wheel structure to serve toy cars, construction kits, real vehicles, and industrial robots, eliminating the need for application-specific manufacturing variants and thereby improving ease of manufacture across different use cases.
3Adaptability or versatility
If rolling bodies are arranged at fixed angles on omnidirectional wheels, then the structure is stable, but the versatility in different vehicle configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the contradiction between stability and versatility by implementing a dynamic system where the rolling body carriers can rotate about the wheel axle and rolling bodies can rotate about their axes. This controlled dynamic arrangement allows the system to maintain stability during operation at any given configuration while enabling versatile reconfiguration between different vehicle applications through deliberate rotational adjustments, combining both stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the wheel into independently rotatable carriers and rolling bodies, the patent enables stable operation at any angular position while allowing reconfiguration between different vehicle configurations. Each segmented component maintains its position stably during use but can be independently adjusted to achieve different overall wheel configurations, thus providing both stability and vehicle configuration flexibility.
Data Source
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Figure 3~5
AI summary
The invention proposes to design an omnidirectional wheel 1 with snap-in receptacles (12) for ball heads (13) of rolling element shafts (14), so that rolling elements (3) can be arranged obliquely in one or the opposite direction on the circumference of the omnidirectional wheel (1).