Steering Device With Rotatable Handgrips For Reducing Arm Stress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional steering wheels require drivers to maintain both hands for control, especially in non-rectilinear paths, leading to arm and shoulder stress, particularly in extreme driving conditions like rallies and road races, due to the intrinsic resistance and unnatural driving positions.
Innovation Solution
A steering device with two mobile handgrips, one of which is rotatable around an axis orthogonal to the support structure, allowing for reduced torsion and stress on the arms and shoulders by enabling independent rotation of the handgrips relative to the support structure, thereby minimizing the effort required for steering control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the driver maintains both hands on the steering wheel during non-rectilinear paths, then the control of the vehicle is improved, but the stress on the arms and shoulders increases
Solution Approach 1:
The steering wheel is segmented into a fixed support structure and mobile handgrips that can rotate independently. This segmentation allows the handgrips to rotate around an axis orthogonal to the support structure plane, enabling the driver to maintain control while reducing torsion stress on the arms and shoulders during non-rectilinear paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The handgrips are made mobile and rotatable rather than fixed, allowing dynamic adjustment during steering operations. This dynamic capability enables the handgrips to rotate independently to accommodate natural arm movements during bends and U-turns, reducing continuous stress while maintaining control.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the steering wheel has intrinsic resistance against rotation, then the steering control is more stable, but the steering response time decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The steering system is divided into the support structure and mobile handgrips. The handgrips can rotate independently with reduced resistance, providing quick steering response, while the support structure maintains overall stability. This segmentation allows different parts to have different rotational characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational resistance parameter is changed for different parts of the steering system. The handgrips are designed with lower rotational resistance for faster response, while the support structure maintains appropriate resistance for stability. This parameter differentiation resolves the contradiction between stability and response speed.
3Reliability
If the driver performs frequent steering corrections, then the vehicle direction control is improved, but the continuous stress on the muscles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile handgrips provide dynamic rotational capability that adapts to frequent steering corrections. The handgrips can rotate independently to accommodate rapid directional changes without requiring the driver's arms to twist continuously, reducing muscle stress duration during frequent corrections.
Solution Approach 2:
The potential harm of frequent steering corrections causing muscle stress is converted into benefit by allowing the handgrips to rotate independently. This independent rotation absorbs the stress that would otherwise be transmitted to the driver's muscles, enabling frequent corrections without continuous stress accumulation.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention discloses a steering device comprising a support structure having a central hole and at least two handgrips, at least one of these being mobile, placed in distal positions compared to the central hole and tied to the support structure by means of pivots. The mobile handgrip is rotatable around an axis substantially orthogonal to the plane of the support structure, so as to manually apply thereto a rotating motion around the axis of the column.