2P1-C02 Open Type Variably Configured Segmented Wheel for Snow Travel

Abstract

A Variably Configured Segmented Wheel (VCSW) seems to be useful for traveling on a snowy road. It can prevent slips and can remove covered snow. But a lump of snow is remaining in ordinal VCSW which disturbs the flow of removed snow. The newly designed VCSW is developed. The vane control mechanism is relocated from the center position to one side of the wheel. The other side of the wheel is vacant and the removed snow is discharged easily. We proposed two types of mechanical design. The effects of these new VCSWs are tested by some experiments.