Work Machine Bucket With Sliding Extension Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing buckets for earth moving machines, such as scrapers, face challenges in varying capacity without increasing weight or limiting movement, especially in narrow spaces, and existing solutions like rock guards do not effectively enhance capacity while maintaining operational flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A bucket design with a variable capacity achieved through an extension plate that slides within the bucket's volume, allowing the capacity to increase without altering the bucket's width, using guide means and cut-out portions to ensure smooth operation and unobstructed movement, and allowing for customization and cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the bucket capacity is increased to handle greater quantities of material, then the productivity is improved, but the weight of the bucket increases making it more difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The bucket incorporates a movable extension plate that can be positioned in different locations along the bucket walls, allowing the bucket capacity to be dynamically adjusted. This enables the operator to increase capacity when needed while maintaining a smaller, more manageable size for routine operations, thus resolving the contradiction between handling large quantities and maintaining control.
Solution Approach 2:
The bucket is divided into a fixed base structure and a separate movable extension plate. This segmentation allows the extension plate to be independently positioned or removed, enabling flexible capacity adjustment without permanently increasing the bucket's base weight or compromising control during normal operations.
2Volume of moving object
If the bucket width is increased to expand capacity, then the volume is improved, but the bucket becomes unsuitable for narrow space operations
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of permanently increasing the bucket width, the extension plate can be moved to different positions along the length of the bucket, dynamically expanding capacity only when needed. When the plate is retracted to its initial position, the bucket maintains its original narrow width profile, allowing it to operate in confined spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension plate utilizes the longitudinal dimension of the bucket (along its length) rather than expanding the transverse width. By sliding the plate along the bucket walls in the longitudinal direction, capacity is increased without increasing the bucket's width, thus maintaining suitability for narrow space operations.
3Volume of moving object
If rock guards or spill guards are attached to increase capacity, then the volume is improved, but the movement of the bucket is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The extension plate is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be positioned optimally for different operations. When not in use, it can be retracted to its initial position where it does not interfere with bucket rotation or movement, maintaining full operational freedom while still providing capacity expansion capability when needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
Bucket (1) for a work machine (100) comprising a plurality of walls (2, 3) defining a volume (4) for handling material, the bucket (1) comprising extension means configured to vary the volume (4) from a first value to a second value while a width (W) of the bucket (1) remains constant.