Variable Wheel Base Traveling Apparatus for Spot Turning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Personal mobility vehicles face instability at high speeds and require complex operations to turn on the spot, involving adjustments in wheel base length and steering, which complicates maneuverability in tight spaces.
Innovation Solution
A traveling apparatus with a variable wheel base length, where the front and rear wheels are supported by members coupled with a pivot axis, allowing the wheel base to adjust by rotating the front wheel, enabling the vehicle to speed up and turn on the spot without needing to increase the wheel base length or rotate the steering wheel, thus simplifying the turning operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the wheel base length is increased to improve travel stability at high speed, then the vehicle can achieve higher speeds, but the vehicle cannot turn on the spot and requires complicated operations
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel base length is made dynamically adjustable through a variable wheel base mechanism that can change the distance between front and rear wheels. This allows the vehicle to have a long wheel base for stable high-speed travel and a short wheel base for easy on-the-spot turning, resolving the contradiction between speed capability and maneuverability
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of wheel base length is changed based on operational requirements. The control unit adjusts the wheel base length parameter to be long when forward speed is needed and short when turning maneuverability is needed, thereby resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements
2Ease of operation
If the wheel base length is kept short to enable on-the-spot turning, then the vehicle can maneuver in small spaces, but the vehicle cannot achieve high speeds and lacks travel stability
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel base length is made dynamically adjustable through a variable wheel base mechanism that can change the distance between front and rear wheels. This allows the vehicle to have a long wheel base for stable high-speed travel and a short wheel base for easy on-the-spot turning, resolving the contradiction between speed capability and maneuverability
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of wheel base length is changed based on operational requirements. The control unit adjusts the wheel base length parameter to be long when forward speed is needed and short when turning maneuverability is needed, thereby resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements
3Adaptability or versatility
If the wheel base length is made adjustable, then the vehicle can adapt to different travel conditions, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The variable wheel base mechanism serves multiple functions: it enables both high-speed stable travel and on-the-spot turning capability. By making the wheel base adjustable, a single mechanism provides adaptability for different travel conditions without requiring separate systems for different operations
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit automatically adjusts the wheel base length based on detected operational conditions without requiring manual intervention. The system self-regulates the wheel base parameter according to whether forward speed or turning maneuverability is needed, reducing operational complexity
Data Source
AI summary
In a traveling apparatus, a front wheel supporting member is coupled to a rear wheel supporting member rotatably around a pivot axis and with a support shaft in such a way that a wheel base length will become variable according to a relative posture of the front wheel supporting member and the rear wheel supporting member. Control is performed so that the greater the wheel base length, the greater a speed of the traveling apparatus in a forward direction will become. When the wheel base length is one at which the speed in the forward direction becomes substantially zero, while the front wheel is oriented in a straight traveling direction, an intersection point where the pivot axis crosses a road surface is located at a position offset from a grounding point where the front wheel is grounded on the road surface toward a side of the rear wheel.