Bow Pivot Assembly for Side Roll Tarping System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior cover systems for trailers and containers with side roll tarping interfere with the open top when bows and pivot mounts are retracted, posing a challenge for heaped loads.
Innovation Solution
A ridge pole assembly with independent, laterally offset segments and a tether element allows the bows to move freely between deployed and retracted positions, preventing interference with the trailer's open top.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the bows are retracted to provide access to the open top, then material handling access is improved, but the bows and pivot mounts interfere with the open top area
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge pole is divided into two separate segments (first ridge pole segment and second ridge pole segment) that can move independently. This segmentation allows each segment to be positioned separately, enabling one segment to clear the opening while the other maintains cover support, thus resolving the interference problem while preserving access.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge pole segments are positioned at different longitudinal locations along the bows rather than at the same centerline position. This spatial distribution in the longitudinal dimension allows the segments to clear the opening area while maintaining their respective functions of supporting the cover.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the ridge pole is positioned at the centerline to hold bows in unison, then bow synchronization is improved, but interference with the open top increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge pole is segmented into two independent parts positioned at different longitudinal locations. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single centerline position, allowing the segments to be distributed in space to avoid the opening while still providing synchronized bow control through their respective connection points.
Solution Approach 2:
The two ridge pole segments are positioned asymmetrically at different longitudinal locations along the bows. This asymmetric positioning allows the system to maintain bow synchronization functionality while avoiding the symmetric centerline position that causes interference with the open top.
3Strength
If the bows extend across the top to support the cover, then cover support is improved, but the bows interfere with material loading through the open top
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge pole is divided into two segments positioned at different longitudinal locations. This allows the bow system to maintain cover support functionality while the segmented structure can be positioned to clear the opening area, eliminating interference with material loading operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge pole segments are distributed along the longitudinal dimension at different positions rather than concentrated at the centerline. This spatial distribution allows the bows to extend sufficiently to support the cover while clearing the opening area to permit material loading.
Data Source
AI summary
A bow system is provided for an open-topped container body having a cover sized and configured to extend laterally across the body from one side rail to the other side rail. The bow system includes a plurality of curved bows pivotably mounted at one end to one side rail and sized to extend in a curved path over the open-top of the container body to engage the other side rail at an opposite end of the bows. A ridge pole assembly is provided that includes first and second ridge pole segments, each of the segments pivotably engaged to a corresponding number of the plurality of curved bows. A tether element is coupled between the facing ends of the ridge pole segments that permits movement of the segments relative to each other as the bow system is moved between a deployed configuration in which the plurality of curved bows extend across the open-top of the container body and a retracted position in which the curved bows are substantially outside the open-top of the container body.