Actuated Wheel Assembly for Trailer Chassis Kneeling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional trailers and vehicles with pivoting wheels face challenges in efficiently lowering and raising the chassis for loading and unloading heavy or disabled vehicles, requiring manual lifting or inclined ramps, which can be cumbersome and unsafe.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus features wheel assemblies with ground-engaging wheels, control arms, and actuators that pivotally connect to the chassis, allowing the wheels to pitch down into a facedown position for lowering and pitch up into an upright position for raising, using a closed chain linkage mechanism to maintain contact with the ground and adjust the chassis height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional pivoting wheels are used to lower and raise the chassis, then the wheels can swing from vertical to flat position, but manual lifting or inclined ramps are still required which are cumbersome and unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the wheel mounting mechanism with the chassis height adjustment function into a single integrated system. The control arm and actuator work together to simultaneously position the wheel and adjust chassis height, eliminating the need for separate manual lifting operations or ramps.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel assembly automatically performs the chassis lowering and raising function through the actuator-driven control arm mechanism. The system serves itself by using the wheel assembly's own components to adjust chassis height without requiring external manual intervention or additional equipment.
2Productivity
If the wheel pitches down into facedown position to lower the chassis, then the chassis can be lowered efficiently, but the wheel assembly mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is designed with dynamic capability to pitch the wheel between upright and facedown positions. The control arm and actuator create a movable mechanism that adapts the wheel orientation according to operational needs, enabling efficient chassis height adjustment while managing mechanical complexity through controlled motion.
3Reliability
If the wheel maintains ground contact during pitching, then operator safety and comfort are enhanced, but the mechanism requires precise control
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains wheel ground contact through controlled pitching motion where the actuator regulates the wheel's movement between upright and facedown positions. This controlled feedback mechanism ensures the wheel remains grounded during operation, providing safety and stability while managing the precision requirements through regulated actuator movement.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus has: a chassis; wheel assemblies at opposed sides of the chassis, each wheel assembly having: a ground engaging wheel; a wheel mount; a control arm pivotally connected between the wheel mount and the chassis; and an actuator pivotally connected between the wheel mount of the ground engaging wheel and the chassis; in which the actuator is operable to, in use, cause the ground engaging wheel to: pitch down with increasing camber from an upright position into a facedown position to lower the chassis; and pitch up with decreasing camber from the facedown position into the upright position to raise the chassis. A method involves lowering the chassis by operating the actuators to pitch the ground engaging wheels down into the facedown position; and raising the chassis by operating the actuators to pitch the ground engaging wheels up into the upright position.