Container Locking with Wedge Slide for Gooseneck Trailers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container locking devices for gooseneck trailers require manual operation for horizontal locks, posing safety risks and inefficiencies, especially when loading and unloading containers, and lack reliable automatic locking mechanisms for both conventional and gooseneck containers.
Innovation Solution
A container locking device with a horizontally displaceable locking bolt and a wedge slide mechanism that allows for both vertical and horizontal locking, driven by a pneumatic cylinder, enabling automatic locking and unlocking, and an emergency release mechanism for manual operation in case of pneumatic system failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual operation is used for horizontal locks, then the device structure can be simpler, but safety risks increase and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a pneumatic cylinder connected to a wedge slide mechanism to automatically actuate both the vertical locking bolt and horizontal locking bolt. Compressed air drives the piston, which through the wedge slide converts linear motion into simultaneous vertical and horizontal bolt movements, eliminating manual operation and improving safety while maintaining manageable system complexity through standardized pneumatic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the actuation of vertical and horizontal locking bolts into a single integrated mechanism. The wedge slide serves as a common driver that simultaneously controls both locking directions through shared pneumatic actuation, reducing the number of independent control systems needed and managing overall device complexity while achieving automatic dual-directional locking.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single locking mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but versatility to handle both conventional and gooseneck containers is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal locking system where a single integrated mechanism with both vertical and horizontal locking bolts can accommodate different container types. The vertical bolt handles conventional containers while the horizontal bolt secures gooseneck containers, allowing one device structure to perform multiple locking functions and adapt to various container configurations without requiring separate specialized mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking system is segmented into two independent but integrated locking functions: vertical locking for conventional containers and horizontal locking for gooseneck containers. Each locking bolt operates independently through the shared wedge slide mechanism, allowing selective engagement based on container type while maintaining a unified overall system architecture that manages complexity through modular functional segments.
3Reliability
If pneumatic drive is continuously monitored, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pneumatic system incorporates self-monitoring capabilities where the existing pneumatic circuitry and actuator feedback provide inherent status information about system operation. The wedge slide mechanism's position and the locking bolt engagement states serve as built-in indicators of system reliability, reducing the need for additional complex external monitoring equipment while maintaining adequate reliability through the system's own operational parameters.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides secure, automatic, and efficient locking and unlocking of both conventional and gooseneck containers, preserving loading space and ensuring safety by eliminating the need for manual operation of horizontal locks, while allowing for emergency manual release if the pneumatic system fails.
Implementation Method 1
The wedge slide (4) has a run-on slope (4a) which engages the locking bolt (2) during the lateral movement of the wedge slide (4) and imparts an axial movement and a rotational movement of 90° to the locking bolt (2)
Implementation Method 2
The locking device (1; 100) can have a pneumatic drive (3; 103)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3b
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to a container locking device on a vehicle (F), for locking a container to be transported on a loading surface of the vehicle and having a corner fitting, comprising a lock housing (1), a locking bolt (2) and a drive (3), said locking bolt (2) having a shaft (20) and a locking head (21) which, in the unlocked state, can be introduced via an opening in the corner fitting of the container and, in the locked state, secures the container via projections engaging behind the opening in the corner fitting, the locking bolt (2) with its shaft (20) being mounted so as to be both axially movable in the lock housing (1) and also rotatable about its axis. A wedge slide (4) is mounted in the lock housing (1) so as to be movable to and fro laterally, that is to say perpendicularly to the axis of the locking bolt (2), and can be driven by the drive (3), and the wedge slide (4) has a lead-in slope which engages with the locking bolt (2) during the lateral movement of the wedge slide (4) and allows the locking bolt (2) an axial movement and a rotary movement about 90°, a horizontal lock bolt (7) being mounted in the lock housing (1) so as to be axially and horizontal movable. The invention also relates to a container locking method for said container locking device.