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Scrunchy Car
Car whose form can be altered by dashboard controls which ease parking and manoeuvring | |
I can't drive, or rather I can but I haven't reached the stage
where I'm allowed to. Nonetheless two of the hardest
things about driving seem to be parking and the likes of
three-point turns. In such circumstances it often seems it
would be a major advantage if the shape of the vehicle
were
to be modified temporarily in order that it or other
vehicles not be altered less temporarily.
To this end I envisage a scrunchy car. The main body of the
car consists of a mesh not unlike a fingertrap. This mesh
means that the car can be lengthened and thinned,
shortened and fattened or possibly shortened, thinned and
talled. It consists of a series of helical strips running
clockwise and anticlockwise around the car, shielded by
flexible plastic on the exterior and interior, joined to rings
which slide along rails and can be altered in shape by
diametric struts arranged in a cross which can be pulled
together and separated. The axles can also be shortened
and lengthened, as can the drive shaft (I'm a bit vague
about this). For particularly tight squeezes the wheels can
be folded under the chassis and an air cushion can be used
briefly to move the vehicle instead of wheels. Since this is
noisy and not fuel efficient, this feature should seldom be
used.
This enables the motorist to parallel park more easily, to
compact the car in situations where there's little room,
and to execute three-point turns and others which would
otherwise be impossible.
Oh, and you get in and out of the car by means of a
quantum entangled key but that's another idea I haven't
posted yet.
Or Like this
https://www.google....UoYCFuTbFnx1tvAw4wg Rinspeed Presto (Fast forward to 2min in) [wjt, Aug 15 2017]
Red Green's variable wheelbase car
https://www.youtube...watch?v=e7LuHW4BIlU Prior art [notexactly, Dec 18 2017]
[link]
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So, do you fold up at the knees to make this work? |
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The business is happening away from the driver's seat, I was
thinking, but now you come to mention it, yes. |
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Seeing as how the front wheels are not terribly far from
your legs, I'm thinking it's going to get crowded. |
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Honestly, in automotive, we fight for every millimeter of
packaging space. |
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are you gaming the disappearance of the steering wheel
already? |
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are you gaming the disappearance of the steering wheel
already? |
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[RayfordSteele], folding the wheels under and hovering
would address that to some extent. Maybe it could double
as a trash compactor? |
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[theircompetitor], I'm now thinking centrally-placed steering
wheel but that might make it harder to see what's what. |
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I'm gaming for the disappearance of one of these annos. |
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I'm gaming for the disappearance of one of these annos. |
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//The Honda Accordion.// [+] |
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how on earth did you come up with this? |
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It did end up taking quite a bit more thought than just the
basic idea [po], because I realised there was an issue with
wheels and axles etc. |
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