Three-Wheel Lean Control Shaft for Stable High-Speed Cornering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Three-wheel vehicles, or trikes, are notoriously unstable and have poor turning capabilities due to their inability to lean into turns, leading to dangerous situations when cornering at high speeds.
Innovation Solution
A three-wheel vehicle design featuring a chassis with a rotational control shaft oriented along a path from the front to the rear, equipped with a front wheel assembly that includes lean control motors and a worm drive gear assembly, allowing the chassis to lean from side to side, and a lean control system that adjusts the vehicle's orientation based on detected forces to improve handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a traditional three-wheel vehicle design is used, then the structure is simple, but the vehicle is unstable and has poor turning capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic lean control system that actively adjusts the vehicle's lean angle during turns using motors and control mechanisms. This transforms the static, unstable three-wheel configuration into a dynamically stable system that can adapt its posture to maintain stability during cornering maneuvers.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system incorporates sensors and feedback mechanisms that detect vehicle state parameters (such as lean angle, wheel position, and turn rate) and use this information to automatically adjust the lean control motors. This closed-loop feedback enables the vehicle to maintain optimal stability without requiring complex mechanical structures.
2Ease of operation
If the vehicle is designed to lean into turns, then turning capability is improved, but the system becomes overly complex
Solution Approach 1:
The lean control system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it enables turning capability, maintains vehicle stability, and works across various operating conditions (different speeds, turn rates, and road surfaces). This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized mechanisms for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters (motor torque, lean angle, response timing) based on detected vehicle state and turn conditions. This parametric control allows the vehicle to achieve optimal turning performance across a range of scenarios without requiring complex mechanical reconfiguration.
3Ease of operation
If the vehicle leans at high angles during turns, then cornering ability is improved, but the risk of flipping increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors vehicle state parameters including lean angle, turn rate, and wheel contact status. When approaching critical lean angles that could lead to flipping, the feedback mechanism automatically reduces the lean angle or adjusts other parameters to maintain safety margins, preventing dangerous situations before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system takes preliminary protective action by detecting conditions that could lead to flipping and counteracting them before they become dangerous. The control algorithms predict potential instability scenarios and preemptively adjust the lean angle or apply corrective torques to prevent the vehicle from reaching critical flip-prone states.
Data Source
AI summary
A three-wheeled vehicle having a front wheel assembly attached to a chassis. The chassis includes a rotational control shaft having a rotational axis that is generally directed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The rotational control shaft is integrated with or secured to the chassis in a non-rotational manner and passes through the front wheel assembly in a rotationally-free manner, such that the rotational control shaft can rotate about its rotational axis. The front wheel assembly includes one or more lean control motors, which are operably configured to rotate the rotational control shaft about its rotational axis thereby causing the chassis to lean from side to side to improve the handling ability of the vehicle. Some embodiments include a lean control system configured to automatically control the degree of rotation of the chassis.