Method for designing low-vibration omni-directional wheels
AssigneeAirtrax Corporation
InventorDonald Barnett Harris
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An omni-directional wheel for an omni-directional vehicle that exhibits constant ride height, low vibration, and reduced maximum ground contact pressure is disclosed. The invention consists of a wheel assembly rotatably connected to the omni-directional vehicle chassis. The wheel assembly comprises a hub on which free spinning rollers are rotatably mounted at an angle to the wheel axis. Constant ride height and low vibration operation are accomplished by configuring the rollers with an exterior profile, thickness, material properties and surface grooving to achieve constant deflection of the roller contact surface at all wheel rotation angles.
Claims4
A method for designing an omni-directional wheel that will result in low vibration when rotated under load, comprising the steps:
- determining the shape of the rollers that will result in a circular profile of an omni-directional wheel when viewed from a perspective removed from and coincident with the axis of rotation of said omni-directional wheel;
- mathematically modeling the rollers as an assemblage of thin prismatic wheels aligned orthogonal to the centerline of the roller to estimate its compliance when contacting a flat running surface under load and at all angles of rotation;
- determining the coating thickness and exterior dimensions, surface grooves, and material properties required for each roller such that the wheel exhibits the same compliance at all angles of wheel rotation when loaded;
- and
- adjusting the roller design to incorporate said changes in shape, surface grooving and material properties resulting in said omni-directional wheel having a non-circular profiled when viewed from a perspective laterally removed from and coincident with the axis of rotation of said omni-directional wheel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.