|
|
Post by Nick and Kevin on Oct 6, 2004 10:24:29 GMT -5
My partner and I are designing an electric suitcase puller for a school project. If anyone has any suggestions as to how we should make it (sizes, load capacities, etc.) and if you would consider buying something like it, we would be very grateful. Since this is just market research, we do not need actual designs or drawings, just your input.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Nick Pleshek and Kevin Burmeister
|
|
|
|
Post by dumbdiety on Oct 6, 2004 10:45:04 GMT -5
What do you mean by an electric suitcase puller? Like a motorized cart? An object you attach the the suitcase? What?
Doug
|
|
|
|
Post by Nick and Kevin on Oct 7, 2004 12:16:49 GMT -5
it is an electric motorized cart that you pull by a handel. the handel is pressure sensative... when you pull harder it goes faster, and when you dont pull at all it stops. you would set your luggage on the cart when you are walking through the airport. it's basic purpose is to make the going easier and take less effort (almost like assisted pulling). it will fold up small enough to fit into an overhead compartment, but will also be able to expand/collapse to accomodate most suitcase sizes.
if you have any other questions about design or input, it would be appreciated.
Nick and Kevin
|
|
|
|
Post by MuvverRussia on Oct 7, 2004 12:56:04 GMT -5
Considering a suitcase could quite easily weigh in at 40kg you'd need a pretty powerful motor. This would introduce other issues such as how to power it (thinking about it the only realistic option would probably be lead acid cells (nicad, nimh and lion/lipol batteries are out of the question due to the current draw), meaning that you couldnt carry it on board an aircraft due to CAA rules- also it would be pretty damn heavy/bulky).
The closest thing I can think of to your project would be a motorised golf cart (to carry clubs). Now, a set of clubs is lighter than a heavy suitcase, so a less powerful motor is required. Even so, these things weigh in around 20kg themselves (excluding batteries).
Personally, I don't think your idea is feasible. The weight and size constraints, added to the probable cost to produce the finished item means that it is uneconomical. That said, from a project point of view I think it could be quite interesting- there are a lot of drawbacks to your idea/approach, meaning that you have a lot to discuss in your problem analysis and final evaluation.
|
|
rexCEBU
Full Travel Member
Posts: 20
|
Post by rexCEBU on Oct 26, 2004 22:38:14 GMT -5
Being an engineer, I completely agree. Instead, find ways to improve the design and placement of rollers/casters of current travel bags.
Good luck!
|
|
|
|
Post by Eagle on Oct 27, 2004 12:48:12 GMT -5
I have to concur with the previous two Posts. For a variety of reasons, I suspect this idea is not practical or feasible. I've been involved with electricity / electronics for 35+ years, and can foresee all kinds of technical difficulties with something of this sort.
Muvver summarized most of the obvious problems -- batteries (usually heavy, although Li-Ion have a good power to weight ratio), charging of batteries, motors (also inherently heavy due to the windings), gearing might be required to "amplify" the power of a small motor, space considerations, etc. Also, when travelling around Europe, it would be quite a pain to be packing a useless piece of kit around, something that would only be used at airports.
Also, space is usually quite limited under seat or in the overhead bins, so having to store another item them in addition to luggage is not too practical.
When I first read this post, a frequently used Jay Leno line occurrred to me -- "how fat are we getting when......". I use a Backpack and don't mind a bit of exercise carrying this around.
Quite often the heaviest luggage is checked, so there's no requirement to carry this. There would be no point in having a motorized device to haul around my carry-on bag. However, I can see this being useful if there's a considerable distance from the baggage carousel to the airport exit. A transport device that could be left at the airport exit might be useful in some cases (would probably eliminate a few Porter jobs).
As mentioned by rexCEBU, a better approach might be to improve the existing roller systems used in luggage.
Hope these comments are of some help. Cheers!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by WillTravel on Oct 27, 2004 13:33:03 GMT -5
For older people or people with mobility problems or other disabilities, I'm sure they'd welcome any method to make it easier to manage luggage, even if most of us are happy with backpacks most of the time. An improved rolling mechanism would help, particularly one that could handle cobblestones and other European street issues. One main problem with any sort of luggage is that it's heavy to hoist to an upper shelf - say you are on a train or something. So you might add a device that makes it easier to move the luggage around, but then it will be heavier when the luggage has to be hoisted.
|
|
