Utility Vehicle Slide Member for Obstacle Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Utility vehicles face challenges in traveling over uneven terrain as the bottom of the vehicle body can come into contact with obstacles, leading to potential getting stuck, especially between the front and rear wheels.
Innovation Solution
A utility vehicle design featuring a main frame with a bottom plate and a slide member attached to its lower surface, which includes main members, an intermediate member, and outer members extending rearward and obliquely outward, with chamfered outer ends to facilitate obstacle clearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the bottom plate is positioned low to reduce vehicle height, then the vehicle height is reduced, but the bottom plate comes into contact with obstacles on uneven ground
Solution Approach 1:
The slide member acts as an intermediary element between the bottom plate and obstacles. It is attached to the lower surface of the bottom plate and provides a sliding interface that allows the bottom plate to smoothly pass over obstacles without direct contact, thereby maintaining low vehicle height while preventing obstacle entanglement
Solution Approach 2:
The slide member changes the friction parameter at the contact interface between the bottom plate and obstacles. By providing a low-friction sliding surface, it enables the bottom plate to easily slide over obstacles rather than getting caught, thus improving traveling performance on uneven ground
2Reliability
If the bottom plate is positioned high to avoid obstacle contact, then the traveling performance on uneven ground is improved, but the vehicle height increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slide member serves as a mediator that allows the bottom plate to maintain its low position while still achieving obstacle clearance. The sliding mechanism enables the bottom plate to effectively 'rise' over obstacles through lateral sliding motion rather than vertical displacement, avoiding the need to increase vehicle height
3Device complexity
If the slide member has a simple structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to prevent obstacle catching is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The slide member is segmented into multiple components: a pair of left and right main members attached to the bottom plate, and outer members positioned outside the main members. This segmentation allows each component to independently interact with obstacles, providing comprehensive obstacle release capability across the width of the vehicle while maintaining relatively simple individual component structures
Data Source
AI summary
A utility vehicle includes a main frame, and a bottom plate disposed below the main frame and attached to the main frame. A slide member is attached to a lower surface of the bottom plate.