What it does
It's a detachable, multi-size compatible lightweight luggage stair-climbing aid. It solves the problem of carrying heavy luggage up and down stairs in places without elevators such as subway stations and residential buildings
Your inspiration
I am a girl with relatively little strength but a passion for travel. When traveling, I always bring a lot of clothes for taking photos, so my suitcase is always very heavy. However, when I travel to places with scarce land resources like Hong Kong and Japan, or in some old subway stations, there are often no elevators, which causes a very bad travel experience for me. In daily life, it is also very difficult to carry luggage in scenarios without elevators such as dormitories.
How it works
The device adopts engineering plastics as the support frame, which features strong bending and compression resistance as well as light weight. A row of continuous small rollers with hollow structures realizes rolling while reducing weight, and the small wheels with rubber structures on the rollers absorb vibrations to ensure smooth stair climbing. It is folded by hanging on the luggage rod with a rope, requiring small storage space without damaging the original functions of the luggage, and fixed on suitcases of different sizes with an adjustable elastic rope. The ergonomic design based on the standard 160*280 stairs avoids bending over, allowing users to walk naturally. The detachable and multi-size design eliminates the need for a special suitcase, making it suitable for various scenarios.
Design process
The design started with the goal of making it compatible with different suitcase sizes—from my perspective, I didn’t want users to buy a special suitcase just for stair climbing. Initially referencing existing stair-climbing devices, most were large, heavy, featured complex mechanical designs with motor drives, and used traditional three-wheel coaxial rotation, which didn’t save effort but only looked smoother. I first considered Reuleaux triangles for the climbing wheels, expecting them to combine the advantages of circles and triangles, but they proved too bumpy and were discarded. Later, caterpillar track devices showed high flexibility but lacked support due to insufficient rigidity. Inspired by Tibetan prayer walls, I realized that seamlessly arranging hollow-structured rollers could balance hardness and rolling functionality. For fixing, I drew inspiration from luggage straps (which secure suitcases) to attach the device, and designed a two-piece foldable structure to ensure portability.
How it is different
Other products are fixed to suitcases, requiring users to buy special models, and remain in the prototype stage without mass production. Their designs have significant flaws: some force users to bend over when dragging luggage, violating ergonomic standards, while mine allows natural walking. Another uses triangular caterpillar-track wheels, restricting suitcase turning, whereas my device preserves all original luggage functions. Most existing stair-climbing aids are heavy, but mine features a lightweight, foldable design for easy portability, adapting to multiple suitcase sizes.
Future plans
In the future, I intend to carry out more practical material trials to ensure that the material maintains its compressive and bending resistance while being lightweight, easy to produce, and cost-effective. Additionally, I hope to incorporate a small motor design to make the roller row rotate autonomously, thereby reducing the effort required by users.
Awards
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