Container Load Handling with Twist-Lock Lifting and Wheel Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in efficiently handling and managing containers stored in stacked arrangements within storage structures, particularly in terms of safe and efficient lifting and movement across complex grid patterns.
Innovation Solution
A load-handling device equipped with container-lifting means, including wheels for navigation on tracks and twist-locking connectors for secure engagement with containers, allows for precise movement and lifting of containers within a storage structure, utilizing a wheel-positioning mechanism for directional control and a container-engaging assembly with twist-locking connectors for stable container handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional lifting mechanisms are used for stacked containers, then lifting capability is achieved, but collision risks increase and operational safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel positioning mechanism proactively prevents collisions by calculating and adjusting wheel positions before lifting operations begin. The controller determines optimal wheel positions based on container stack configuration, preventing potential collisions with adjacent containers or storage structure components before they can occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary positioning of wheels and lifting mechanisms before actual lifting operations. The controller pre-calculates the lifting path and wheel positions to ensure safe operation, preparing the system in advance to avoid collisions during the lifting process.
2Measurement precision
If complex navigation systems are implemented for track movement, then movement precision improves, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The controller acts as an intermediary that simplifies the navigation system. Instead of complex autonomous navigation, the controller receives simple input signals and translates them into precise wheel positioning commands based on pre-stored container stack information, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by using variable resolvers to convert wheel positions into angular position signals, and the controller uses these signals to determine optimal positioning. This parameter transformation approach enables precise movement control through relatively simple sensing mechanisms.
3Stability of the object's composition
If twist-locking connectors are used for container engagement, then container stability improves, but engagement time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The twist-locking connectors are designed to engage containers through a self-service mechanism where the locking action is automatically triggered by the lifting motion itself. As the lifting mechanism rises, the twist-locking connectors automatically engage with the container corners, eliminating the need for separate manual locking operations and reducing engagement time.
4Reliability
If redundant safety mechanisms are implemented for power failure scenarios, then operational safety improves, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements beforehand cushioning by positioning wheels on specific track segments that serve as safety zones before power failures can occur. The controller monitors power status and pre-positions the lifting mechanism on safe track segments where containers can be securely held even if power is lost, preventing dangerous situations without requiring complex emergency systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A load-handling device for lifting and moving containers, the load-handling device including a body configured to house one or more operation components; a container-receiving space configured to accommodate at least part of a container; a container-engaging assembly configured to releasably engage a container; and a raising and lowering assembly configured to raise and lower the container-engaging assembly.