Spherical Wheel Drive Biasing Mechanism for Impact Resistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing moving bodies with spherical wheels face challenges in transmitting driving force effectively due to separation between the spherical wheel and the drive unit, especially when encountering road surface impacts or roughness.
Innovation Solution
A biasing mechanism is employed to maintain contact between the spherical wheel and the drive unit, utilizing an annular enclosing member with abutting portions and a biasing member that biases the spherical wheel towards the support, ensuring continuous force transmission and alignment, even under impact conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a spherical wheel is used for movement, then the moving body can achieve omnidirectional mobility, but the spherical wheel may separate from the drive unit when receiving impact from road surface roughness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic suspension mechanism with a biasing member that allows the drive unit to move relative to the support structure. This dynamic arrangement enables the drive unit to maintain continuous contact with the spherical wheel even when the moving body receives impact from road surface roughness, resolving the contradiction between omnidirectional mobility and reliable continuous contact.
2Reliability
If the spherical wheel is biased strongly toward the support to prevent separation, then continuous driving force transmission is improved, but the weight of the moving body increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a biasing member (spring) that provides continuous contact force between the drive unit and spherical wheel through elastic deformation. By changing the physical state from rigid connection to elastic suspension, the system maintains reliable driving force transmission without requiring excessive weight, as the spring naturally adjusts its force based on displacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing member acts as an intermediary element between the support structure and the drive unit. It transmits the necessary contact force to maintain continuous driving force transmission while its elastic properties allow it to absorb impact energy, preventing the need for a heavy rigid connection.
3Reliability
If the drive unit is pressed against the spherical wheel with high force to prevent separation, then driving force transmission is improved, but the complexity of the support structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing member is configured to automatically maintain contact between the drive unit and spherical wheel through its inherent elastic restoring force. The suspension mechanism self-adjusts to changes in position and impact, eliminating the need for complex active control systems or multiple adjustment mechanisms, thereby maintaining reliability without increasing structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures uninterrupted driving force transmission to the spherical wheel, reduces the need for increased wheel or drive unit strength, and allows for weight reduction in the moving body, while maintaining alignment and preventing separation during movement.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing mechanism (41) which is suspended from the support (31) and abuts on the spherical wheel (21) to bias the spherical wheel (21) in a direction toward the support (31)
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a moving body capable of transmitting driving force of a drive unit to a spherical wheel without a separation between the spherical wheel and the drive unit even in the case where the moving body receives impact due to the road surface condition or the like. The moving body (10) is a self-sustained mobile robot. The moving body (10) includes a spherical wheel (21), a drive unit (22) which is in contact with the spherical wheel (21) to give a rotational driving force to the spherical wheel (21), a support (31) which supports the drive unit (22), and a biasing mechanism (41) which is suspended from the support (31) and abuts on the spherical wheel (21) to bias the spherical wheel (21) in a direction toward the support (31).