Wheelchair Disk Wheel with Radial Ribs for Weight and Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wheelchair wheels face challenges in reducing weight while maintaining sufficient rigidity, as lightweight spokes are costly and heavy spokes compromise performance, and using light yet rigid materials increases manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
The wheel design incorporates a disk with a planar portion and ribs between the rim and hub, where the ribs are thinner on one side and include grooves on the other, redistributing radial loads and providing uneven rib placement for enhanced rigidity, allowing for reduced spoke weight or omission without compromising structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If spokes are made heavy to ensure sufficient rigidity, then the wheel structure is strong, but the weight of the wheel increases
Solution Approach 1:
The disk is segmented into multiple radial ribs that divide the load-bearing function. Instead of using heavy spokes, the invention uses multiple lighter ribs distributed across the disk to collectively support radial loads, achieving both weight reduction and sufficient rigidity through distributed structural segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a conventional spoke-based radial support structure to a disk-based planar support structure. By adding the disk dimension between the rim and hub, the load-bearing function is distributed across a two-dimensional surface with multiple ribs, rather than relying on discrete three-dimensional spokes, thereby reducing weight while maintaining rigidity.
2Weight of moving object
If spokes are made thin or formed with light material to reduce weight, then the wheel weight decreases, but sufficient rigidity cannot be obtained
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the disk and rib structures into an integrated load-bearing component. The disk provides a continuous planar support surface while the ribs provide localized radial stiffness, combining these functions in a single structure that achieves sufficient rigidity without requiring heavy spokes.
Solution Approach 2:
The ribs are strategically positioned and dimensioned to provide localized stiffness where radial loads are applied. The varying rib heights and positions create non-uniform local properties that optimize rigidity distribution across the disk, ensuring sufficient structural strength while minimizing overall weight.
3Weight of moving object
If light and rigid material is used for spokes to achieve both low weight and high rigidity, then the wheel performance is improved, but the manufacturing cost becomes high
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive specialized spoke components with a more economical disk-rib structure that can be manufactured using conventional processes. The disk with integrated ribs serves as a cost-effective alternative to expensive lightweight spokes, achieving similar performance benefits without the high manufacturing cost.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a wheel which is inexpensive, light, and sufficiently rigid. A wheel 6a includes an annular rim 60 to which a tire 6b is externally fitted, a hub 61 which is arranged at a center portion of the rim 60 and to which an axle is connected, and a disk 62 which is attached with the rim 60 at a periphery portion and which covers one side of the wheel 6a. The disk 62 includes a planar portion 62a and a first rib 62b provided at a surface of one side of the planar portion 62a and extending in the radial direction. The planar portion 62a is provided with a first groove 62d at a surface of the other side at a position corresponding to the first rib 62b.