Rover
Faster and cheaper travel with more luggage
Brief:
To design a 32 - 45kg suitcase which conforms to mangeable mobility and transport
Product research
To combat issues with mobility I conducted product research into suitcase dimensions. The lower end of my research area is considered an XL bag and the dimensions are quite challenging to manouvre.
Traversing with a large difficulties can provide many physical challenges
The size of 32 - 45 kg suitcase sizes often make it impractical for bringing on public transport
The weight can make a suitcase hard to move, in particular up inclines, different terrains and stairs
Because of the size users may have to pay more money for travel or accommodation to accommodate for size
Conclusion:
I must design a suitcase which can compact items into a smaller space while making it easy to travel through different environments
Developing mechanical concepts
Motor powered movement
Space compaction
Difficult movement solutions
Focused prototyping
Prototypes were built from 3d prints, spare materials for quick prototypes and bread board testing. This allowed me to quickly understand how each component of my design would work and gave me better understanding of how someone would interact with this suitcase
Iterating on the suitcase form
To explore form for the suitcase I began sketching different forms to try and combined blender models to quickly explore form further. I wanted to achieve a simple yet robust shape giving it a practical elegance
Design concept
Presenting Rover
A smoother way to move your heavy luggage
Part name: Lid
Material: Polypropylene
Finish: Matte black
Part name: Zip
Material: Aluminium alloy
Finish: Glossy red
Part name: Wheels
Material: Polyurethane
Finish: Matt black
Part name: Padding
Material: Polyurethane
Finish: Matt red
Part name: Rail
Material: Aluminium alloy
Finish: Glossy
Part name: Handle
Material: Polypropylene
Finish: Matt black
Electronic vacuum suction
The vacuum will take out all the air from a mouth at the bottom to then expel through the fan at the top. This reduces the time to extract air significantly than a hand pump
Vacuum Pack
The vacuum pack is attached to the suitcase allowing 120L of packing space (32 - 45kg) and when the air is extracted the vacuum pack will reduce 75 - 80% fitting into a 87L suitcase (15 - 23kg sized)
Power Button
By pressing the button at the top of the handle the DC motor is turned on which turns the wheels via the differential but the suitcase can still be moved manually
Differential
The differential is powered by a motor but also allows the back wheels to turn without skidding for easy transport
Button escape
When this button is pressed the battery is ejected from underneath the suitcase in front of the motor
Lock slide
This physical mechanism at the back helps the battery lock in place when it is in use and helps prevent any damage
Larger wheels
Larger wheel diameters reduce the impact of rocky terrain and have a larger spacing between the two wheels for more stability
360 degree rotation
The front wheels have 360 degree movement making it easy to guid the suitcase through and around obstacles
Full body sliding
The middle padding goes all the way up to protect the top in case of leaning the suitcase against a surface to push up from
Full width
The whole width is protected for cases where a user has to pull a suitcase up stairs due to lifting the suitcase up for each one is very physically demanding
Wiring
Wiring from the button sneaks down the centre padding towards the PCB which controls the DC motor
