TRAILER MECHANISM FOR FUTURE (Innovative Mini Project Concept)

ABSTRACT :

               A Four Wheel Turning (4WT) System is also known as “Quadra Turning System”. In this project, both front as well as rear wheels can be turned according to speed of the trailer and space available for turning. Quadra turning is system that gives full size trailers greater ease while driving at low speed, and improves stability, handling and control at higher speed.

               Quadra Turning system works in following three phases Negative phase, Neutral phase, Positive phase. It enables the trailer to be turned into tighter parking spaces. It makes the trailer more stable at speed (less body roll). It makes the trailer more efficient and stable on cornering, easier and safer lanes change when on motorways. The turning system allows the driver to guide the moving trailer on the road and turn it right or left as desired. The main aim is that turning of the trailer should not require greater efforts on the part of the driver.

               The Quadra Turning system offers a 21% reduction in turning radius. So if a trailer is capable of making a U-turn in a 25-foot space, Quadra turn allows the driver to do it in about 20 feet.

KEYWORDS : Quadra, Negative Phase, Neutral Phase, Positive Phase.

1.     INTRODUCTION :

An Automobile is a self–propelled vehicle which is used for the transportation of passengers and goods upon the ground .A vehicle is a machine which is used for the transportation of passengers and goods. A self propelled vehicle is that in which power required for the propulsion is produced from within. Aeroplane  , ship motor  boat ,locomotive ,car bus ,truck, jeep ,tractor ,scooter ,motor  cycle are the example of self propelled  vehicles. Motor vehicle is another name for the self propelled and used for the transportation purposes upon the ground, so it differs from other types of self –propelled vehicles. Like aeroplane, helicopter, rocket, ship, motor boat, locomotive.

Automobile engineering is a branch of engineering in which we study all about the automobile and have practice to propel them. The words “Automotive Engineering” is also used having the same meaning.

Mobile or motive means one which can move. Automobile or automotive means one which itself can move. A railway wagon cannot move itself on the rails if it is not pushed or pulled by external force. A trolley cannot move itself on the road if it is not pulled by external force.  The railway wagon is pulled on the rails by a locomotive. The trolley is pulled on the road by an automobile which may be a jeep or tractor. In automobile engineering we study about the self –propelled vehicles like car, bus, jeep, truck, tractor, scooter, motorcycle. Aeronautical engineering deals with aeroplane, helicopter, rocket, etc., which fly in air. Marine engineering deals with ship, motor, etc which sail in water.

The Turning system allows the driver to guide the moving trailer on the road and turn it right or left as desired. Further such turning of the trailer should not require greater efforts on the part of the driver there are mainly two types of turning system:

1.1       Conventional Turning System

               Usually during the Turning of the trailer, only the front wheels are turned towards right or left according to the requirement and the rear wheels are mere followers of the front wheels in this system.

1.2       Four Wheel Turning Systems

               The direction of turning the rear wheels relative to the front wheels depends on the operating conditions. At low-speed wheel movement is pronounced, so that rear wheels are turned in the opposite direction to that of front wheels. This also simplifies the positioning of the trailer in situations such as parking in a confined space. Since the rear wheels are made to follow the path on the road taken by the front wheels, the rear of a 4WT trailer does not turn in the normal way. Therefore the risk of hitting an obstacle is greatly reduced.

               At high speed, when Turning adjustments are subtle, the front wheels and rear wheels turn in the same direction. As a result, the trailer moves in a crab-like manner rather than in a curved path. This action is advantageous to the trailer while changing lanes on a high-speed road. The elimination of the centrifugal effect and, in consequence the reduction of body roll and cornering force on the tyre, improves the stability of the trailer so that control becomes easier and safer. In a 4WT system, the control of drive angle at front and rear wheels is most essential.

            The four wheels have fully independent Turning and need to turn in an unconventional direction to ensure that the trailer turns around on its own axis. Such a system requires precise calculation from a servo motor with real-time feedback to make certain that all three Turning modes function perfectly. The only major problem posed by this layout is that a conventional rack-and-pinion turning with pitman arms would not be suitable for this mode, since the two front wheels are steered in opposite directions. The Hurricane jeep is having the four wheels turning system. Steer-by-wire systems would work fine, however, since independent control can be achieved.

2.     PHASES OF QUADRA TURNING SYSTEM :

               In this type of turning system, we can steer a front wheel, as well as the rear wheel of the trailers simultaneously. This turning mainly includes two types of Turning:

               Front wheels and rear wheels are steered in the same direction and are parallel to each other. This type of system is very useful during lane changing. Front wheels are steered in the direction opposite to that of the rear wheel. This Turning system reduces the space required by the trailer during turning as compared to that of the two wheels Turning system.

               Quadra Steer is the system that gives full size trailers greater ease or maneuverability while driving or tugging trailer at low speed, and improves stability, handling and control at higher speed. The present “Four Wheel Turning” works mechanically with help of linkages. The system utilizes a manual manipulator to control and direct the articulation (left and right turning) of rear wheels.

               The system operates in three phases: - Negative, Neutral and Positive.

At lower speeds, rear wheel turns in opposite direction from the front wheel. This is negative phase.

At moderate speed, the rear wheel remains straight or neutral.

At higher speed, the rear wheel are in the positive phase turning in the same direction as the front wheels.

2.1       Negative Phase-

               In this drive the axles both the front and the rear move in opposite direction relative to each other. This drive is mainly used during parking of the trailer. As both the axle move in different directions the radius of curvature while turning reduces. This means the trailer will require less space for parking and this will be helpful in places where traffic and parking is a major problem

2.2 Neutral Phase-

               In this drive only the front axle moves either in clockwise or anticlockwise direction and the rear wheel being unmoved. This is the drive that we see in day to day life in all the four wheelers, trailer, cars etc . It is generally used at moderate speed.

2.2 Positive Phase-

   As the name suggest, in this drive both the axle viz. front and rear move in same direction  relative to the each other. This motion of both the front and the rear axle helps Quadra Turning system enabled trailer to change the lane during highway driving [5]. It is generally applied at higher speed.

3.     COMPARED OF PROPOSED TRAILER WITH CONVENTIONAL TRAILER MECHANISM :

1. Trailer more efficient and stable on cornering.
2.  Improved Turning responsiveness and precision [6].
3. High speed straight line stability.
4. Notable improvement in rapid, easier, safer lane changing maneuvers.
5. Smaller turning radius and tight space maneuverability at low speed.
6.  Relative Wheel Angles and their Control.
7. Risk of hitting an obstacle is greatly reduced.

4.     FUTURE ASPECTS :

               An innovative feature of this Turning linkage design is its ability to drive all four Wheels using a single Turning actuator. Its successful implementation will allow for the development of a four-wheel, steered power base with maximum maneuverability, uncompromised static stability, front- and rear wheel tracking, and optimum obstacle climbing capability.

               The advanced system of “Trailer Mechanism” will work electronically with the help or microprocessors.

               The system will utilize an onboard computer to control and direct the turning left and right of the rear wheels.

5.     CONCLUSIONS :

               Thus, the Trailer Turning system has got cornering capability, Turning response, straight-line stability, lane changing and low speed maneuverability. Even though it is advantageous over the convectional trailer turning system, trailer turning is a complex and expensive. Currently the cost of a trailer with trailer turning is more than that of the convectional Trainer turning of trailer. Trailer Turning is growing in popularity and it is likely to come in more and more new trailers. As the system become more common place, the cost of four wheel Turning system will drop down.

An innovative feature of this turning linkage design is its ability to drive all trailers using a single steering actuator. Its successful implementation will allow for the development of a trailer, turning power base with maximum maneuverability, uncompromised static stability, front- and rear-wheel tracking, and optimum obstacle climbing capability.

Thus the trailer mechanism system has got cornering capability, turning response, straight-line stability, lane changing and low-speed maneuverability. Even though it is advantageous over the conventional light trailer, 4WT is complex and expensive. Currently the cost of a trailer with Trailer mechanism is more than that for a vehicle with the conventional trailer. Trailer mechanism is growing in popularity and it is likely to come in more and more new trailers. As the systems become more common place the cost of four wheel steering will drop.

6.     REFERENCES :

1.  “Automotive Technology –A System Approach”, Jack Erjavee
2. “Automotive Suspension and Turning System”, Thomas W Birch.
3.  “Automotive Service-Inspection, maintenance, repair” Tim Gilles
4. http://www.howstuffworks.com
5. http://trucks.about.com/cs/4ws/a/4wheel_Turning.htm
6. http://www.theautochannel.com
7. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/turning-radius-info-on-eighteen-wheelers
8. Design.transportation.org/Documents/TurnRadii,GreenBook2004.pdf‎.

PHOTOS OF PROJECT 

VIDEO OF PROJECT 

Mr. KONAL

Mechanical Engineer
Ph. 09423632068

Director & Founder

ProBotiZ ... Steps Into Virtual Techniz
ProBotiZ Group

Nagpur (M.S), India – 440017

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DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF FOLDABLE SUITCASE ENGINE POWERED THREE WHEELER (Mechanical Project B.E/B Tech./Poly)

ABSTRACT:

The Suitcase car is a type of mini car designed for one person and can carry a load up to 80 kg. Its unloaded weight is up to 30 kg. It can be packed into a suitcase and can be lifted by any person.

For this we learned the fundamentals of Strength of Material for calculation of load, stresses and forces acting on various parts of chassis of our car. To select the type of drive we studied Machine Design and choose chain drive which is best suited for the requirements. For the type of Engine we go through Automobile Engineering and selected two stroke engines due to its small size and good load carrying capacity.

Disassembling is the secondary issue for which we used detachable tires and folded handle. There are so many difficulties arise in placing fuel tank and driver seat. After all we used various ideas used small size fuel tank and driver seat.

The innovation in this project is to produce an economically viable and affordable car for mass so that it can carry load and can travel smoothly on Indian roads.

INTRODUCTION:

As the population is increasing there is also increasing in demand of the automobiles. Due to the increasing number of automobiles they will require space for driving and also for parking. As we know there is limited space available. Due to the increasing number of cars on roads they cause traffic jam and also they acquired a place for parking. As the number of cars is increasing the pollution also increases. The Portable Car (Suitcase Car) is a foldable car which can be folded in a suitcase; hence it does not require the parking place. The size of the Portable Car is 46”x 22” so it is five times smaller than normal car. Due to its compactness it can be used in various big shopping malls, industries, big campus of college etc. Portable car can be used in shopping malls, industries and for covering short distance. It can be used for travelling purpose on the highways.

It was originally designed & built in 1991 as part of a design contest held at Mazda's Engineering department which was created with a simple idea to have a 3-wheeled car inside a suitcase. Instead of waiting in line for a taxi or shuttle, just open your suitcase & drive off.

Powered by a 59.57cc 2 stroke engine, the vehicle holds enough fuel approximately 2 hours of driving. Can be assembled in about 15-20 seconds & comes with functional brake lights & turn signals. Vehicle was rebuilt in a black suitcase in 1994. But as suitcase car is running on the two stroke engine with the 27 mph that suitcase car can run for 2 hours with the fully filled fuel tank due to the use of engine it can cause pollution and noise.

In order to overcome above mentioned disadvantages in the present invention we used the motor and battery instead of engine. Portable Car can be assemble and dissemble whenever necessary and also we can carry suitcase anywhere and if necessary we can assemble it in just less than four minute and drive it. In this portable car we used four wheels out of that the power is given one wheel and other wheels are supporting wheel.

If there is no use of car then we can just simply dissemble the car& put it in to the suitcase. The portable car can carry weight up to 100kg. Maximum speed of portable car is 30 km/hr. fully charged battery can run up to 70km.

OBJECTIVE & SCOPE:

Transforming the car was simple:

·        Open the suitcase

·        Attach rear wheels

·        Raise and lock steering column

·        Flip up the lights

·        Pull to start

Some of the major advantages of Mini cars are as follows:

·        The cost of maintenance is affordable.

·        The small size and light-weight make it easy to park Mini cars.

·        Mini cars are so light that they can be lifted by hand for parking.

·        Mini cars possessed forward entry which helped in perpendicular parking.

Suitcase car is something different to the above concept. It is suitable only for the clean and smooth roads. We can use this car in college campus, school campus, office campus, at airports, on cruise etc. Beside this, Suitcase car also have a bigger advantage that it can be folded and packed into a suitcase. These advantages facilitate a person to carry the car through his journey. Suitcase car is designed for a single person that can sustain the load of an average person. It is a light- weight vehicle. All the parts of the suitcase car are mounted inside a suitcase.

Technically

·        A suitcase of large height can be used to increase the space.

·        Large tire can be used.

·        Weight of the suitcase can be reduced by using fiber body suitcase.

·        It can be powered by a high capacity engine having the same size.

·        A CVT can be used to optimize its speed.

·        Differential can be used for high speed and better control.

·        Secondary systems like lighting, horn, speedometer etc. can be attached.

·        An option of self start can be installed.

According to its usage

·        It can be used as a racing car.

·        It can be used on cruise to travel from one point to other.

·        It can be carried while traveling by train, bus, plane etc.

·        It can be used in college campus, school campus, university campus, etc.

·        It can be used in a society.

·       It can be used for entertainment purpose.

DESIGN :

Parts to design are as follows:-

·        Body casing

·        Chassis

·        Front wheel (Directly purchased from market)

·        Rear wheel (Directly purchased from market).

·        Handle with Accelerator arrangement.

·        ROD Pinion arrangement for driving power from Engine to wheels.

BODY CASING:

It is the main part of our project. It consist of a large Suitcase made up of ballistic nylon material.

 BODY CHASSIS:

A chassis is the physical frame or structure of Briefcase car. This is design in such a way to sustain and carry all components.

FRONT WHEEL:

In this suitcase car, we have made it rear wheel drive as it is a three wheeler. We have provided a tubeless tire which is used in children’s bicycles.    

REAR WHEEL:

There can be two possibility first it would be unbalancing had it been simply one tire each on either side, front and rear, so basically it is to balance the weight of passengers and that of driver and at the same time the mass of the tires (that of two rear and one frontal) should be nearly equal as this will also work towards or help in balancing process.

      

HANDLE WITH ACCELERATOR ARRANGEMENT:

The handle of this car id designed in such a way that it is detachable and it can be folded and fitted inside the casing of suitcase

ROD PINION ARRANGEMENT:

WIRING AND LIGHTING:

An open circuit is simply a switch that is off, a break in a wire, or a burned-out bulb. Open circuits are usually caused by breaks in the wiring, faulty connections, or mechanical failure in a switch or component. They cause components to fail, but they do not cause fuses to "blow." 

Fuses act as safety valves for electricity by pre- venting damage caused by short circuits and over- loads. If a short or overload causes the circuit's current drain to exceed the amp rating of the fuse, the fuse "blows" and switches off the current to that circuit. All fuses are contained in the fuse block, which is located on the inside of the fire wall, usually on the driver's side. It is labeled with the name of the circuit (s) each fuse protects and, in most cases, the amp rating of the correct fuse.

A short circuit occurs when electricity finds a short cut" from positive to negative; it is the result of a bare spot on the wire contacting part of the metal car body. The windings in electric motors can also short. Short circuits are hazardous be- cause they create sparks, burned wires, and blown fuses

Two-light systems have one headlight on each side, each of which has a high-beam and a low- beam filament. Four-light systems have two lights on each side; two of them should be lit for low beam and all four for high beam

CONCLUSION: 

Suitcase car is our main project that is presented in front of you. In present day we are studying the chases and load analysis that is use in it. On the first stage of my project, we are going to show to you theoretically portion of it.

We are very glad to show to you some fraction of our live work in this project. There are some issue that arise during live work but we have shoot it out by discussing to each other and with fraction of effort of my faculty members

BIBLOGRAPHY:  

·           R.S.Khurmi, J.K.Gupta “Machine Design”, S.Chand and company limited, 2007

·           Gere and Timoshenko, “Mechanics of Materials”, CBS Publishers and Distributors, second edition – 2004.

·           Dr. Kirpal Singh, “Automobile engineering”, Standard Publication Distributors, Delhi, Vol.1, 8^th edition – 1999.

·           Dr. Kirpal Singh, “Automobile engineering”, Standard Publication Distributors, Delhi, Vol.2, 8^th edition – 2001.

·           www.carbodydesign.com   

·           www.roadraceengineering.com   

GALLERY:

Mr. KONAL

Mechanical Engineer
Ph. 09423632068

Director & Founder

ProBotiZ ... Steps Into Virtual Techniz
ProBotiZ Group

Nagpur (M.S), India – 440017

                Website - www.probotiz.com 
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