Adjustable Outboard Upright Fall Protection Cage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fall protection equipment for accessing the tops of rolling stock faces challenges in maintaining adequate clearance due to the increased size and weight of enclosures, leading to potential contact with rolling stock or equipment, which is costly and impractical to compensate for using shims or design adjustments.
Innovation Solution
The equipment features a mechanism with adjustable stanchions and abutments that allow for selective adjustment of the outboard side of the fall protection cage, using elongated length-adjusting members and double-acting linear motors to maintain clearance, enabling compensation for sagging and accommodating varying tank widths and orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the size and weight of the enclosure are increased to provide enhanced fall protection, then worker safety is improved, but the enclosure begins to lean or deflect, causing inadequate clearance above the rolling stock
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the outboard upright adjustable rather than fixed. The upright can be selectively positioned in different vertical locations along the cantilever to compensate for deflection. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the system to maintain adequate clearance while supporting the increased weight of larger enclosures, resolving the contradiction between enhanced safety and maintained clearance.
2Length of stationary object
If traditional compensation methods using shims or design adjustments are used to account for anticipated deflection, then clearance can be maintained, but the cost and complexity of the design increases greatly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex rigid design compensations or shims, the patent employs a simple dynamic adjustment mechanism. The outboard upright can be selectively repositioned along the cantilever to accommodate deflection, providing a cost-effective and simpler alternative to traditional compensation methods while maintaining the required clearance.
3Length of stationary object
If the enclosure is designed to compensate for anticipated leaning, then clearance is maintained, but the design becomes costly and impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the manufacturing practicality issue by using a simple adjustable upright mechanism rather than complex pre-compensated designs. The upright can be easily repositioned along the cantilever to account for deflection, providing a practical and cost-effective solution that maintains clearance without requiring expensive or complex manufacturing processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures adequate clearance above rolling stock hatches, safely enveloping tanks of different widths and orientations, while allowing for remote adjustments to maintain operational efficiency and reduce costs associated with design compensations.
Implementation Method 1
double-acting linear motors to maintain clearance
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus that provides selectively deployable worker access with fall protection to at least a portion of the top of a container has a gangway that is configured to be retrofitted to an elevated platform from which the gangway and a fall protection cage is selectively deployable over the top of the container. The fall protection cage is connected to the gangway via a fixed stanchion and an abutment that is adjustably disposed outboard of the fixed stanchion and connected thereto via at least one selectively length adjustable screw member.