Counterweight Device Guide Mechanism for Construction Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing counterweight devices for construction machines, such as crawler cranes, face challenges in efficiently attaching and detaching counterweights, leading to potential interference between guide pins and frames, which increases weight and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A counterweight device featuring a mounting table, hydraulic cylinder, pivoting spindle, guide coupling portion, and guide member that allows the counterweight to be attached and detached while maintaining a front-side center of gravity, reducing weight and complexity by preventing frame interference through strategically placed guide rollers and pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If guide pins are used to guide the counterweight attachment, then attachment precision is improved, but interference between guide pins and frames occurs increasing weight and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guide rollers as intermediary elements between the counterweight and the frame. These guide rollers serve as mediators that guide the counterweight attachment without direct contact between rigid guide pins and frames, thereby preventing interference while maintaining attachment precision. The guide rollers roll along guide surfaces, providing smooth guidance without the binding issues of fixed guide pins.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a hydraulic cylinder to provide the lifting force for counterweight attachment and detachment. The hydraulic system enables controlled movement and positioning of the heavy counterweight, achieving precise attachment without requiring complex mechanical guide pin mechanisms that would cause frame interference.
2Stability of the object's composition
If counterweight is attached to machine body frame, then machine stability is improved, but transport weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the counterweight system into separable components: the counterweight itself and the mounting table with attachment mechanism. The mounting table includes engagement grooves and engagement members that allow the counterweight to be attached to or detached from the machine body frame. This segmentation enables the counterweight to be removed during transport, reducing weight, while being attachable during operation for stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a dynamic attachment system where the counterweight can be attached or detached based on operational requirements. The mounting table with its engagement mechanism provides a dynamic configuration that transitions between attached state (for stability during work) and detached state (for transport), rather than a fixed static arrangement.
3Ease of operation
If hydraulic actuator raises second frame for counterweight attachment, then attachment ease is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic cylinder serves multiple functions: it lifts the mounting table, positions the engagement members, and controls the overall attachment process. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanical lifting mechanisms and complex linkage systems, thereby simplifying the overall device while maintaining ease of operation.
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 enables efficient attachment and detachment of counterweights, reducing the overall weight of the device and improving operational simplicity by maintaining the center of gravity at the front side, thus minimizing interference and enhancing handling and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic cylinder that raises and lowers the mounting table
Data Source
AI summary
A counterweight device including a base plate having a mounted counterweight, a hydraulic cylinder that raises/lowers the counterweight mounted on the base plate, a detachable frame connecting the base plate and a cylinder rod of the hydraulic cylinder, a first pin pivotably supporting the detachable frame with respect to the cylinder rod, a guide coupling portion guiding a free end side of the detachable frame to the rear end portion side of a turning frame in response to a stretching/shrinking state of the cylinder rod, and coupled to the turning frame below an upper end of the rear end portion, and a rail (guide member) guiding the free end side of the detachable frame in a direction parallel to a stretching/shrinking direction of the cylinder rod. The mounting table and the hydraulic cylinder may be supported by a rear end portion of a machine body frame of a construction machine.