Omnidirectional Vehicle Sub Wheel Stabilization via Dynamic Arm
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Omnidirectional vehicles experience unstable traction of sub wheels, particularly when the vehicle body inclines, leading to potential erroneous manipulation and instability during intended movements.
Innovation Solution
The sub wheel is attached to circularly move about the center of rotation of the main wheel, reducing changes in traction and stabilizing its grounding, while a bifurcated arm member with reduced friction ensures reliable following of vehicle body frame inclinations, and stoppers limit the maximum inclination angle to enhance stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the sub wheel is fixed to the vehicle body frame, then the structure is simple, but the traction becomes unstable when the vehicle body inclines
Solution Approach 1:
The sub wheel is made dynamically adjustable through an arm member that allows the sub wheel to circularly move about the center of rotation of the main wheel. This dynamic configuration enables the sub wheel to maintain stable traction by adapting its position relative to the ground contact point as the vehicle body inclines, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and traction stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the sub wheel is positioned at a distance from the main wheel ground contact point, then turning capability is improved, but traction stability deteriorates when the vehicle body inclines
Solution Approach 1:
The sub wheel is positioned at a distance from the main wheel ground contact point to enable turning, while simultaneously being equipped with an arm member that allows it to circularly move about the center of rotation of the main wheel. This dynamic positioning maintains optimal traction stability during vehicle body inclination while preserving the turning capability provided by the offset position.
3Strength
If the arm member has high friction, then the attachment is secure, but the arm member cannot reliably follow vehicle body frame inclination changes
Solution Approach 1:
The friction characteristics of the arm member are optimized to achieve a balance between attachment security and movement freedom. The arm member is designed with appropriate friction parameters that allow it to securely attach to the vehicle body frame while simultaneously enabling it to reliably follow inclination changes of the vehicle body frame, resolving the contradiction between strong attachment and responsive movement.
Data Source
AI summary
An omnidirectional vehicle 1 includes: a main wheel 3 which is able to be driven in all directions; a base 2 which supports the main wheel 3; and a sub wheel 4 which is connected to the base 2 via an arm 15 and is grounded at a position apart from the ground contact point of the main wheel 3. The sub wheel 4 is attached so as to circularly move about the center of rotation of the main wheel 3.