Wheel-Leg Vehicle Locomotion for Rolling-Walking Terrain Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ground-based vehicles are limited in their ability to traverse difficult terrain and are unable to efficiently switch between rolling and walking locomotion modes.
Innovation Solution
The development of vehicles equipped with wheel-leg components that provide both wheeled and walking locomotion, featuring multiple degrees of freedom, allowing for omnidirectional movement and the ability to switch between rolling and walking modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional ground-based vehicles use only wheels, then they can travel efficiently on roads, but they are unable to traverse difficult terrain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines wheels and legs into a single hybrid wheel-leg component that can operate in both rolling and walking modes. This merging allows the vehicle to traverse difficult terrain while maintaining a relatively compact and manageable structure, rather than requiring completely separate wheel and leg systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel-leg components are designed with multiple degrees of freedom that allow dynamic switching between rolling and walking modes. The components can adapt their configuration based on terrain requirements, providing dynamic versatility without requiring the vehicle to be permanently configured for both modes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If vehicles use wheel-leg components with multiple degrees of freedom, then they can achieve omnidirectional movement and traverse difficult terrain, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each wheel-leg component is designed as a universal unit that can perform multiple functions: rolling locomotion, walking locomotion, steering, and support. By making each component multi-functional, the patent achieves omnidirectional movement capability without requiring separate specialized components for each function, thereby managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle is divided into multiple independent wheel-leg components, each with its own degrees of freedom. This segmentation allows each component to be relatively simple in structure while the collective system achieves complex omnidirectional movement capabilities through coordinated operation of multiple units.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle switches between rolling and walking modes, then it can adapt to different terrains, but the operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel-leg components are designed to automatically switch between rolling and walking modes based on terrain conditions without requiring complex manual control. The system serves itself by sensing terrain requirements and autonomously selecting the appropriate locomotion mode, thereby maintaining ease of operation while achieving high adaptability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional vehicles are designed for road travel, then they are efficient on paved surfaces, but they cannot traverse obstructed or uneven terrain
Solution Approach 1:
By merging wheel and leg functions into hybrid components, the patent enables vehicles to be manufactured with a unified design that handles both paved roads and obstructed terrain, rather than requiring separate manufacturing processes for different vehicle types.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic capability of switching between rolling and walking modes is built into the standard vehicle design, allowing a single manufacturing process to produce vehicles that can adapt to various terrains through operational mode changes rather than physical reconfiguration.
Data Source
AI summary
A walking vehicle including a chassis and a plurality of wheel-leg components is described. The plurality of wheel-leg components are collectively operable to provide wheeled locomotion and walking locomotion.