Anti-vibration Knob for the Motorcycle, Customizable on the Basis of the Driver’s Ergonomics

Abstract

Anyone, young or adult who has ridden a motorcycle for several kilometers, will remember an unpleasant tingling sensation in the hand. The vibrations induced on humans while riding a motorcycle cause this tingling and other uncomfortable sensation. Several more or less serious pathologies are caused by exposure to these vibrations, a very common example is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Recent studies on the control of structural vibrations, whose excellent results published in international journals of high impact, have stimulated interest in developing these methods of analysis also for biomechanical structures, such as those of the bone skeleton of the hand. In particular, by analyzing the vibrations induced on humans while driving a motorcycle, it was decided to design and manufacture knobs with anti-vibration material made according to the anthropometric characteristics of the driver’s hand. Experimental investigations assess the efficiency of the anti-vibration knob (Italian Patent Application No. 102021000004691 filed on 01.03.2021), reducing the magnitude of stresses in the most damaging frequency range for the driver.