Container Handling Vehicle Layout for Precise Stable Lifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container handling vehicles face challenges in achieving stability and precision when lifting containers at increased heights and depths, particularly due to uneven thickness and tension of lifting bands, leading to skewed lifting and reduced lifting capacity.
Innovation Solution
The lifting mechanism is redesigned with the lifting shaft and motor positioned away from the cantilever section, allowing for larger diameter shafts and synchronized lifting bands, ensuring better precision and stability by reducing the number of revolutions and minimizing differences in band lengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the lifting shaft and motor are positioned in the cantilever section, then the vehicle structure is simplified, but lifting precision deteriorates due to uneven band tension and thickness variations
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting shaft and motor are extracted from the cantilever section and repositioned to the vehicle body. This separation removes the source of precision problems (uneven band tension) while maintaining the overall system functionality, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and lifting precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces guiding sheaves as intermediary elements in the lifting mechanism. These sheaves act as mediators to guide the lifting bands and ensure synchronized movement, compensating for band thickness variations and improving lifting precision without requiring the motor to be in the cantilever section.
2Ease of manufacture
If lifting bands have uneven thickness and tension, then the lifting mechanism is easier to manufacture, but lifting stability deteriorates causing skewed lifting
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding sheaves create a mechanical feedback system where the lifting bands are guided through fixed paths. This ensures that even with thickness variations, the bands are tensioned evenly as they wrap around the sheaves, providing visual and mechanical feedback on proper alignment and tension distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the lifting mechanism by introducing sheave diameters and arrangement configurations. This transforms the lifting system from one sensitive to band thickness variations into one where the sheave geometry dominates the tension distribution, making lifting stability less dependent on precise band manufacturing.
3Manufacturing precision
If the lifting shaft diameter is increased for better precision, then lifting precision improves, but the vehicle weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the motor and lifting shaft from the cantilever section, the patent enables the use of smaller diameter shafts that are sufficient for precision control without the additional leverage requirements. This reduces the weight penalty associated with large precision shafts while maintaining lifting precision through the guiding sheave mechanism.
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
This configuration enhances lifting precision and stability, enabling heavier loads to be lifted with reduced errors and increased depth capabilities, while maintaining a lighter vehicle design.
Implementation Method 1
The lifting bands can be spooled onto one or more lifting shafts arranged, preferably with the lifting motor to drive the one or more lifting shafts
Implementation Method 2
guiding sheaves provided in the cantilever section for guiding and supporting the plurality of lifting bands
Data Source
AI summary
A container handling vehicle operates on a two-dimensional rail system. The two-dimensional rail system includes a first set of parallel rails arranged to guide movement of container handling vehicles in a first direction across the top of a frame structure, and a second set of parallel rails arranged perpendicular to the first set of rails to guide movement of the container handling vehicles in a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction. The container handling vehicle includes a wheel base unit, a support section, a cantilever section, a lifting frame, four guiding sheaves, four lifting bands, a lifting shaft, and a lifting device motor. The wheel base unit includes first and second sets of wheels for guiding the container handling vehicle along the rail system in the first and second directions respectively. The support section extends vertically from the wheel base unit. The support section has a footprint with a horizontal extent. The cantilever section extends from the support section. The lifting frame is suspended in a horizontal orientation from the cantilever section by a plurality of lifting bands. The lifting frame includes a releasable connection for connecting to a storage container. The guiding sheaves are provided in the cantilever section. Each of the guiding sheaves are arranged for guiding and supporting one of the four plurality of lifting bands and the lifting frame. The lifting shaft for winding up and unwinding the plurality of lifting bands. The lifting device motor rotates the at least one lifting shaft. A first and second wheel in a first pair of wheels in the first set of wheels are arranged closer to the cantilever section than a third and fourth wheel in a second pair of wheels of the first set of wheels. At least one of the lifting shaft and the lifting device motor are arranged closer to the third and fourth wheel than the first and second wheel in the first set of wheels. At least one of the lifting shaft and the lifting device motor is arranged within the wheel base unit.