Rotatable Wheel Catcher for Universal Bicycle Parking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bicycle parking systems are inadequate for accommodating bicycles with varying wheel diameters and widths, leading to incorrect or inefficient parking, which can result in damage and increased theft risks.
Innovation Solution
A bicycle parking system featuring a wheel catcher with rotatable front and bottom wheel clamps that can accommodate different wheel diameters by adjusting its rotational movement, ensuring secure clamping at three points, and allowing for easy insertion and removal of both front and rear wheels, with optional features like a drive gutter and adjustable components for enhanced usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If front wheel supporting brackets are arranged at fixed high or low positions with predetermined dimensions, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but bicycles with varying wheel diameters and tire widths cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel catcher is designed to be rotatable about a horizontal rotational axis, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position and orientation to accommodate wheels of different diameters. The clamps can rotate between a receiving position (open) and a clamping position (closed), enabling the system to adapt to various wheel sizes while maintaining a relatively simple fixed structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameters of the clamps through rotation. By rotating the wheel catcher about the horizontal axis, the clamps move to different positions and orientations, effectively changing the parameters of the clamping mechanism to match different wheel diameters and tire widths without requiring multiple fixed bracket configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the wheel catcher rotates about an axis located outside the wheel's outer circumference, then a broader range of wheel diameters can be accommodated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel catcher assembly serves multiple functions: it receives wheels of various sizes, rotates to accommodate different diameters, and provides clamping force through the clamps. By making the wheel catcher rotatable about an external axis, a single device can handle a universal range of wheel sizes (from small city bikes to larger bicycles) rather than requiring separate fixed brackets for each size category.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamping function is segmented into multiple clamps (front wheel clamp, bottom wheel clamp, and back wheel clamp) that work together. This segmentation allows each clamp to be positioned optimally for different wheel sizes while rotating as a coordinated group, reducing the complexity that would arise from trying to adjust each clamp independently.
3Reliability
If three-point clamping is used to secure wheels firmly, then parking reliability improves, but the ease of insertion and removal decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The three clamps are integrated into a rotatable assembly that moves as a unit. When a wheel is inserted, the wheel catcher rotates to bring all three clamps into the clamping position simultaneously, providing reliable three-point securing. When removal is needed, reversing the rotation automatically opens all clamps at once, maintaining ease of operation despite the multiple clamping points.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
The invention relates to a bicycle parking system for enabling a user to park its bicycle, comprising a bicycle parking support that defines a bicycle parking spot, wherein the bicycle parking support comprises: a wheel catcher configured for catching at least a part of the wheel inserted therein in an insert direction, wherein the wheel catcher comprises a front wheel clamp for clamping the leading part of an inserted wheel, a bottom wheel clamp for clamping the bottom part of the inserted wheel, and a back wheel clamp for clamping a trailing part of the inserted wheel clamp, wherein the front wheel clamp and the bottom wheel clamp are rotatable about a horizontal rotational axis, which extends parallel to the wheel rotation axis of the inserted wheel, between a receiving position, in which a wheel may be inserted into the wheel catcher, and a parking position, in which the wheel is clamped between the front wheel clamp, the bottom wheel clamp and the back wheel clamp, and the back wheel clamp and the rotational axis are fixed, and wherein the bottom wheel clamp, the back wheel clamp and the rotational axis are located at a level below the wheel rotation axis of the inserted wheel, and wherein the rotational axis is located outside the outer circumference of the inserted wheel when seen from aside.