Patent Application
20100178844
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and particularly to an electronic device with wheels.
2. Description of Related Art
Some motor driven electronic devices, such as toy cars, usually have wheels that are driven synchronously, as such, maneuvering of the electronic device is difficult. To solve this problem, each wheel can be independently driven by a corresponding motor. However, the cost of the electronic device would be greatly increased.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electronic device having wheels which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.
The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments of an electronic device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Referring to
Each of the wheels 11 includes a rim 111, a tire 112 sleeved on the rim 111, a hub 113 located in a center of the rim 111, and a number of spokes 114 connecting the rim 111 and the hub 113. The rim 111, the hub 113, and the spokes 114 constitute a main body 110 of the wheel 11. The rim 111 is circular and has a concave outer surface. The tire 112 is circular and sleeved on the outer surface of the rim 111. The tire 112 defines a fixing hole 115 facing the outer periphery of the rim 111. The hub 113 is a hollow cylinder. One end of each spokes 114 is perpendicularly fixed on the hub 113, and the other end is fixed on an inner surface of the rim 111 opposite to the outer surface.
Each of the wheels 11 further defines a through hole 116 through the hub 113, one of the spokes 114, and the rim 111. Each of the wheel 11 further includes an electromagnet 117, an elastic member 118, and a fixing pin 119. The electromagnet 117, the elastic member 118, and the fixing pin 119 are received in the through hole 116. One end of the electromagnet 117 is fixed on the hub 113. The elastic member 118 is disposed between the electromagnet 117 and the fixing pin 119. The fixing pin 119 is a magnet or can be made of a ferromagnetic material such as iron. When the electromagnet 117 is powered on, the electromagnet 117 attracts the fixing pin 119. Accordingly, the fixing pin 119 moves toward the electromagnet 117, and therefore the elastic member 118 is compressed. When the electromagnet 117 is powered off, the electromagnet 117 does not apply an attracting force to the fixing pin 119, such that the fixing pin 119 is pushed into the fixing hole 115 by the compressed elastic member 118. As a result, the tire 112 cannot rotate relative to the rim 111.
The axle 13 is tubular. Opposite ends of the axle 13 are fixed in the two hubs 113 correspondingly. The driver 14 is connected to the axle 13 for driving the axle 13 to rotate. In practice, the driver 14 is fixed to a main body (not shown) of the electronic device 10, and the axle 13 can rotate relative to the driver 14. The power supply module 15 is received in the axle 13 and electrically connected to the two electromagnets 117 via wires 151. The power supply module 15 is operable to supply power to the electromagnets 117 to power on the electromagnets 117. The processor 16 is also disposed in the axle 13 and electrically connected to the power supply module 15. The processor 16 is operable to control the power supply module 15 to supply power to the electromagnets 117.
When the electronic device 10 moves in a straight line, the processor 16 controls the power supply module 15 to stop supplying power to the two electromagnets 117, such that the two electromagnets 117 are powered off. Accordingly, the two fixing pins 119 are pushed into the fixing holes 115 by the compressed elastic member 118 so as to fix the tires 112 to the rims 111. Thereby, the tires 112 rotate with the rims 111 and the axle 13 synchronously, and the two wheels 11 have the same speed.
Also referring to
To stop the electronic device 10, the processor 16 controls the power supply module 15 to supply power to both of the two electromagnets 117. Thereby, the two fixing pins 119 separate from the two fixing holes 115. The rims 111 and the axle 13 rotate relative to the tires 112 correspondingly, and the rotational speed of the two wheels 11 decreases to about zero accordingly.
It should be mentioned that the electromagnet 117 also can be fixed on the spoke 114 where the electromagnet 117 is received in an alternative embodiment.
While various exemplary and preferred embodiments have been described, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. To the contrary, various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art) are intended to also be covered. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200910300169.8 | Jan 2009 | CN | national |
