Pivoting Seat Steering for Axle-Free Urban Mobility Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing four-wheeled vehicles for urban and local mobility are often bulky, heavy, uncomfortable, and lack driver protection, with limited accessibility for people in wheelchairs requiring significant structural adaptations or manual intervention.
Innovation Solution
A compact, lightweight vehicle design featuring a chassis with a crosspiece-mounted running gear and a seat assembly that allows rotation, enabling wheel pivoting and inclination for steering without axles or a steering column, facilitating easy access and maneuverability by individuals with reduced mobility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional axles and steering columns are used, then vehicle stability and steering control are improved, but vehicle weight and structural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes traditional axles and steering columns from the vehicle structure, replacing them with a seat-mounted steering mechanism. This extraction of unnecessary components directly reduces vehicle weight while maintaining steering functionality through the innovative seat rotation system that controls wheel orientation without requiring conventional steering hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly serves multiple functions: it provides driver seating, acts as the steering control interface through rotation, and transmits steering forces to the wheels via coupling members. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate steering column and axle assemblies, reducing overall structural complexity and weight while maintaining reliable steering control.
2Ease of operation
If traditional steering mechanisms are used, then steering precision is improved, but device complexity and vehicle bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of controlling wheels through a traditional steering column that rotates the steering wheel, this invention inverts the control mechanism: the driver rotates the seat assembly itself, which directly steers the wheels through coupling members. This inversion simplifies the steering mechanism by eliminating intermediate components like steering columns and gear systems, reducing device complexity while maintaining steering precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The steering control function is merged with the seat assembly. The seat rotation mechanism and steering transmission are combined into a single integrated system where seat rotation directly controls wheel orientation through coupling members. This merging eliminates separate steering components, reducing vehicle bulk and structural complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If heavy structural adaptations are made for wheelchair accessibility, then accessibility is improved, but vehicle weight and structural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The simplified chassis structure and low overall weight make the vehicle universally accessible to various users including wheelchair users, without requiring heavy structural adaptations. The same lightweight design that reduces overall vehicle weight also facilitates accessibility, allowing wheelchair users to transfer into the vehicle more easily without needing reinforced floors or specialized mounting structures.
Data Source
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AI summary
The vehicle (1) comprises: - a chassis (2) comprising a substantially central crossmember (20); - two running gears (4) each comprising a front wheel (5) and a rear wheel (6), an arm (42) connected to the spindle of each wheel being mounted on a connection piece (50) so as to be able to pivot about a vertical or tilted pivot axis (A), the connection piece being mounted on the crossmember; - a seat (3) mounted so as to be able to rotate relative to the chassis about a longitudinal axis (A3), with return to neutral; - four coupling members (70), each connecting the seat and one of the arms connected to a wheel spindle, such that the rotation of the seat relative to the chassis pivots each wheel about the pivot axis (A); the vehicle (1) not having axles.