Composite Telescopic Crane Arm with Metal Guide Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing telescopic arms for cranes are heavy due to their metal construction, which limits their ability to lift heavy loads over long distances and heights, as the weight increases with the load and reach, necessitating a reduction in weight while maintaining or enhancing load-lifting capacity and reach.
Innovation Solution
The telescopic arm is made of composite material with reinforcement fibers and thermosetting resin, combined with metal guide blocks that support transverse loads, allowing for lighter construction while maintaining mechanical resistance and load-bearing capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the telescopic arm is made of metal material to ensure robustness and load-bearing capacity, then the strength and reliability are improved, but the weight of the arm increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining metal guide blocks with plastic or composite material segments. The metal guide blocks provide structural strength and load-bearing capacity at critical interfaces, while the plastic or composite segments reduce overall weight. This hybrid composite structure resolves the contradiction by distributing structural requirements across different materials with complementary properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by placing metal guide blocks only at specific locations where transverse loads and sliding forces occur, rather than making the entire arm structure metal. The guide blocks are positioned at the interfaces between telescopic segments to provide localized strength where needed, while other parts of the structure use lighter materials.
2Length of moving object
If the number of segments and their length are increased to reach greater distances and heights, then the reach and lifting capacity are improved, but the weight of the arm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite construction with lighter plastic or composite material segments combined with metal guide blocks, allowing the arm to be extended over greater distances without proportionally increasing weight. The lightweight segments reduce the cumulative weight penalty of multiple extended sections while the metal guide blocks maintain structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs segmentation by dividing the telescopic arm into multiple removable segments that can slide reciprocally. This allows the arm to achieve greater reach distances by extending segments sequentially, and the segments can be configured to optimize the balance between reach length and total weight.
3Force
If the telescopic segments are made robust to lift heavy loads, then the load-lifting capacity is improved, but the weight of each segment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by using metal guide blocks to handle transverse loads and sliding forces at segment interfaces, while the main segment bodies are made of lighter plastic or composite materials. This distribution of structural functions allows the segments to lift heavy loads without requiring the entire segment mass to be heavy-duty metal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating metal reinforcement only in the guide blocks at segment interfaces where mechanical stresses occur during load lifting and telescopic movement. The main body of each segment can be optimized for weight reduction while the localized metal components ensure adequate load-bearing capacity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A telescopic arm for cranes able to lift a load comprises a plurality of tubular segments (12, 14, 16) which can be extended one with respect to the other. At least one of said segments (12, 14, 16) is made of a composite material. The arm comprises longitudinal guide means (45) disposed between said at least one segment (12, 14, 16) and at least another segment (12, 14, 16) associated consecutively and cooperating directly in extension, outside or inside, with said at least one segment (12, 14, 16), which guide means (45) are applied on corresponding internal surfaces (37, 38) of said at least one segment (12, 14, 16) and external surfaces (36, 38) of said other segment (12, 14, 16) to guide the reciprocal sliding thereof.