Tilting Access Ramp With Resilient Bars For Obstacle Negotiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ramps for overcoming steps or thresholds, especially for individuals with reduced mobility, face challenges such as complex mechanics, instability, and high space requirements, which limit their usability and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a stationary frame with a movable plate and a drive assembly that includes an actuator, side railings with control profiles, and resilient bars, allowing the plate to transition between high and low positions efficiently, ensuring stability and simplicity while minimizing space occupation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If extendable and retractable ramps are used to allow wheeled vehicles to pass over steps, then accessibility is improved, but the mechanism becomes complex and requires significant free distance for deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The ramp is designed to be tiltable between a horizontal position (for normal passage) and an oblique position (for overcoming steps). This dynamic repositioning allows the same structure to serve multiple functions: providing accessibility when needed while maintaining a compact, space-efficient configuration during normal use, thereby avoiding the complexity of extendable/retractable mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the ramp horizontally (requiring significant free distance), the invention tilts the ramp vertically by pivoting it around an axis. This dimensional change from horizontal extension to vertical tilting allows the ramp to overcome steps without requiring additional horizontal space or complex deployment mechanisms
2Volume of moving object
If tilting ramps are used to occupy small spaces, then space efficiency is improved, but the drive mechanism becomes complex and reliability decreases under high mechanical loads
Solution Approach 1:
A resilient bar (spring) is integrated into the drive mechanism to provide a counterbalancing force that assists in lifting the ramp during tilting. This reduces the mechanical load on the drive assembly, improving reliability under high loads while maintaining the compact tilting structure
Solution Approach 2:
A resilient bar (spring) is introduced as an intermediary element between the drive mechanism and the ramp. This spring acts as a mediator that stores and releases mechanical energy, smoothing out load variations and reducing stress on the drive components, thereby enhancing reliability without compromising the compact design
3Volume of moving object
If tilting ramps with complex drive mechanisms are used, then space occupation is reduced, but the risk of blockade during movement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient bar (spring) is pre-loaded to provide cushioning force during the tilting operation. This beforehand cushioning ensures that potential blockages or friction resistance are compensated for in advance, allowing smooth movement through the tilting range without sudden stops or blockades
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
The solution provides a robust, reliable, and space-efficient mechanism for enabling wheeled vehicles to pass over obstacles, reducing the risk of blockages and maintaining stability under high loads, thus enhancing accessibility for individuals with reduced mobility.
Implementation Method 1
a pair of resilient bars disposed between said flap and the ramps such that in the high position, the resilient bars exert traction on the flap in the closed position and in the low position the resilient bars press against the flap in the open position
Data Source
AI summary
A device for helping a wheeled vehicle to negotiate an obstacle includes: a frame; a plate having two ends, a first end being movable between a high position and a low position in which the plate constitutes an access ramp; a flap constituting a front surface of the device when the plate is in the high position and provides ramp access when the plate is in the low position; and a drive assembly for driving the first end between the low position and the high position. The drive assembly includes an actuator and a carriage movable along a longitudinal axis. The device further includes a pair of side railings rigidly connected to the carriage, each having a control profile controlling the position of the plate, and a pair of resilient bars arranged between the flap and side railings.