Sliding-Frame Container Carrier for Rear Loading Long Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container carriers face challenges in efficiently loading and unloading longer containers, as they often require additional lifting arrangements or space that may not be available, and existing solutions are either complex or heavy.
Innovation Solution
A container carrier with an articulating lifting apparatus featuring a slidably connected elongate main frame and a pivot frame with a jib arm, allowing for the loading of longer containers from the rear without additional lifting equipment, and optionally equipped with continuous tracks or a hydraulic system for stable and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a separate lifting arrangement is used to load longer containers, then loading capability is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lifting function with the carrier frame by integrating a lifting apparatus directly into the carrier structure. The lifting apparatus includes a lifting frame with lifting arms that can lift containers from the ground level, merging what would traditionally be separate lifting equipment with the carrier itself, thereby improving loading capability without adding separate complex lifting arrangements
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting apparatus is designed to be movable along the carrier frame, with the lifting frame capable of moving between different positions. This dynamic configuration allows the lifting apparatus to adapt to different loading scenarios and container lengths, providing versatility while maintaining a relatively simple structure that doesn't require a permanently complex movable lifting system
2Ease of operation
If a lifting arrangement lifts the container sideways, then loading is enabled, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of lifting the container sideways from the side of the carrier, the patent inverts the approach by lifting the container from the rear end in a longitudinal direction. The lifting arms extend from the lifting frame to engage the container at its rear end, pulling it onto the carrier from behind rather than from the side, thereby eliminating the need for additional lateral space
3Adaptability or versatility
If a pivot frame movable along the carrier is used, then loading capability is improved, but weight increases considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting apparatus is segmented into distinct functional components: a lifting frame with lifting arms, a movable frame that can slide along the carrier, and a fixing mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables the use of simpler, lighter materials and structures while maintaining the overall functionality of a movable lifting system
Data Source
AI summary
A container carrier (1) comprises an elongate main frame (2). The main frame (2) comprises an articulating lifting apparatus (3). The carrier (1) further comprises a second elongate frame (10) slidably connected to the main frame (2) arranged such that one of the frames is slidably arranged within the other frame in the longitudinal direction. The relative position of the two frames (2, 10) is changeable between a retracted position and an extracted position.