Cast Cassette Coupling Device for Tractor Trailer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coupling devices for tractors, particularly those used for attaching trailers and agricultural implements, face challenges in achieving robustness, reliability, and user-friendliness, especially when handling heavy loads and long-term usage.
Innovation Solution
A coupling device with a cast construction featuring rigid U or double-T profiles and slide rails, along with a remotely operable locking mechanism, is designed to enhance rigidity, guide surface quality, and operational safety, eliminating the need for welding and reducing distortion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a welded construction is used for the coupling device, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but structural rigidity and reliability deteriorate due to welding distortion and potential jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing method from welding to casting, fundamentally altering the production parameter to achieve both rigidity and manufacturing efficiency. The cast construction eliminates welding distortion while maintaining structural integrity under heavy loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite approach by combining the cast cassette body with machined guide surfaces and integrated slide rails. This hybrid construction method leverages the advantages of casting (rigidity, complexity) with precision machining (surface quality, dimensional accuracy) to resolve the contradiction between manufacturing ease and structural reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If a cast construction is used for the sliding cassette, then structural rigidity and dimensional accuracy are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple components (cassette body, guide surfaces, slide rails, reinforcement profiles) into a single integrated cast construction. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while achieving high dimensional accuracy and structural rigidity.
3Manufacturing precision
If guide surfaces are machined on the cast part, then surface quality and dimensional accuracy are improved, but manufacturing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates guide surfaces and slide rails directly into the casting process itself, performing the guidance function preparation in advance during manufacturing. This preliminary integration eliminates the need for separate machining operations during assembly, reducing manufacturing time while ensuring high surface quality through controlled casting processes.
4Force
If the coupling device is designed for heavy loads, then load capacity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to increased weight and difficulty in attachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sliding cassette mechanism with guide surfaces and slide rails that enables dynamic, smooth movement during attachment and detachment. This dynamic design allows heavy-load coupling devices to be operated easily by facilitating controlled sliding motion, reducing the effort required despite increased load capacity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a coupling device for tractors for attaching trailers and in particular agricultural implements, which has a hook (1) which is connected to a movable cassette (2) for extending and retracting the hook (1), wherein the cassette (2) is mounted in a lower part (3) and the hook (1) can be locked to the cassette (2) in the retracted state by means of a locking mechanism, wherein the cassette (2) has two spaced-apart rigid profiles (10) which are connected by means of a connecting part (11) which receives the hook (1), wherein the profiles (10) and the connecting part (11) are formed in one piece as a cast part.