Rotating Forked Assembly for Uneven Terrain Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric mobility vehicles face limitations in traversing uneven terrain, necessitating an improvement in their ability to navigate unconventional surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a main support with a curved front end and a flat rear end, featuring rotating forked assembly units with concentric drive shafts and electric motors, along with a control assembly that includes sensors for enhanced maneuverability and terrain adaptation, allowing the vehicle to effectively move on various terrains by synchronizing the motion of wheels and forked assembly units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional mobility devices are used, then they are simple in structure and easy to operate, but they cannot effectively traverse uneven terrain
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility device is divided into multiple rotating forked assembly units, each capable of independent rotation and wheel movement. This segmentation allows each unit to adapt to different terrain conditions independently, enabling the device to traverse uneven surfaces while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The forked assembly units are designed to be dynamically adjustable, with the ability to rotate and change orientation in response to terrain variations. The control assembly continuously adjusts the position and orientation of each forked unit to maintain optimal contact with uneven surfaces, providing adaptability without requiring a completely complex reconfiguration of the entire device
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple rotating forked assembly units are added to improve terrain traversal, then the ability to navigate unconventional surfaces improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each rotating forked assembly unit is designed as a multi-functional component that can perform multiple functions: supporting the device weight, providing propulsion through wheel rotation, and adapting to terrain variations through rotation. This universality reduces the need for separate specialized components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity while maintaining enhanced terrain navigation capability
3Ease of operation
If concentric drive shafts and electric motors are integrated into each forked assembly unit, then control and maneuverability improve, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The concentric drive shafts are nested within each other, with the inner drive shaft positioned inside the outer drive shaft. This nesting arrangement allows both drive shafts to be integrated into a compact space within each forked assembly unit, improving maneuverability through independent rotation control while limiting manufacturing complexity by reducing the overall space and component count required for the drive system
Data Source
AI summary
An electric powered mobility vehicle includes a main support having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the main support also includes a front end and a rear end. The mobility vehicle also includes a seat assembly secured to the upper surface of the main support adjacent the rear end and a steering assembly extends upwardly from the upper surface of the main support along the front end thereof. A control assembly and a power drive transmission assembly are linked to a plurality of rotating forked assembly units secured to the main support for creating the forces necessary to move and maneuver the present mobility vehicle. Each of the plurality of rotating forked assembly units includes a plurality of fork arms extending outwardly from a central hub and wheels coupled to free ends of the plurality of fork arms.