Adjustable Cooler Platform Assembly for Safe Discharge Region Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial cooling systems, particularly large vertical discharge coolers, pose difficulties in maintenance, repair, and cleaning due to limited mobility and safety hazards associated with traditional ladder and harness use, and platform assemblies that interfere with air discharge, reducing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A cooler platform assembly with a sloped interior section and vertical wall, allowing for an adjustable cooler platform that can be deployed perpendicular to the vertical wall, enabling safer and more efficient maintenance and cleaning within the discharge region while maintaining operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a platform assembly is placed within the cooler to facilitate maintenance and cleaning, then ease of operation and safety are improved, but the platform may interfere with air discharge and decrease cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The platform assembly is designed to be movable between a retracted position (parallel to the vertical wall) and a deployed position (perpendicular to the vertical wall). This dynamic configuration allows the platform to be moved out of the air discharge path when not in use, preventing interference with cooling efficiency while providing accessibility when needed for maintenance and cleaning operations.
2Device complexity
If traditional ladders and harnesses are used for maintenance and cleaning, then device complexity is reduced, but mobility and safety are limited and safety hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The platform assembly integrates multiple functions into a single unit: it combines a working platform for standing, ladder structures for access to the discharge region, and handrails for safety. This merged design provides enhanced safety and mobility compared to separate ladders and harnesses while maintaining relative simplicity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If known platform assemblies are welded to cooler structures and extend around the outside, then structural stability is improved, but maintenance and cleaning of the discharge region become difficult and unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The platform assembly is designed as a segmented, modular structure that can be divided into distinct components (platform section, ladder sections, handrails). This segmentation allows the assembly to be configured to extend into the discharge region without requiring external welding, providing both stability and accessibility while maintaining the ability to retract when not in use.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooler, a cooler platform assembly, and a process of adjusting a cooler platform are disclosed. The cooler includes a cooling region, a discharge region, and a cooler platform positioned in the discharge region and proximal to a sloped interior section of the cooler. The cooler platform assembly includes a cooler platform, a sloped interior section of a cooler proximal to a first end of the cooler platform, and a vertical wall proximal to a second end of the cooler platform. The process includes adjusting a cooler platform from a retracted position substantially parallel to a vertical wall of a cooler to a deployed position substantially perpendicular to the vertical wall.