Mobile Crane Counterweight Plate Pivoting Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile cranes face challenges in securely fastening counterweight plates during operation and transportation, requiring additional securing elements like bolts or chains, which complicates the ballasting process.
Innovation Solution
A counterweight plate is designed to pivot and secure onto a counterweight receptacle using two parallel bolts, one of which engages into a curve-shaped recess, eliminating the need for additional securing elements during operation and allowing easy assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional securing elements like bolts or chains are used to secure counterweight plates, then the counterweight plate is secured against slipping and falling, but the ballasting process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The counterweight plate is designed to secure itself automatically through its own weight. When the plate is swung down into the deposited position, gravity causes it to engage with the retaining lugs on the swivel arms, eliminating the need for separate securing elements. The system uses the counterweight plate's own weight to perform the securing function that would otherwise require additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using additional securing elements to prevent the counterweight plate from falling, the design inverts the approach by allowing the plate to fall into position and use its own weight to lock itself securely. The retaining lugs are positioned such that the plate's downward movement into the deposited position automatically engages these lugs, transforming the potential harmful effect (falling) into a useful securing mechanism.
2Reliability
If manual bolting or securement is required for counterweight plates, then the counterweight plate is secured during crane operation, but the ballasting process becomes more time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The automatic securing mechanism eliminates manual intervention entirely. The counterweight plate secures itself through gravitational engagement with the retaining lugs when swung into position, removing the time-consuming manual bolting or chaining operations that would otherwise be required.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining lugs are pre-positioned on the swivel arms in such a way that they automatically engage with the counterweight plate during the swinging motion. This preliminary arrangement of the securing structure ensures that securing occurs automatically as part of the placement process, rather than requiring separate manual securing steps after placement.
3Productivity
If counterweight plates are designed to be pivotable and automatically secured, then the ballasting process is simplified and accelerated, but the structural complexity of the receptacle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The counterweight receptacle is segmented into multiple swivel arms, each equipped with retaining lugs. This segmentation allows independent placement and securing of multiple counterweight plates, enabling parallel operations and improving overall ballasting productivity while distributing the structural complexity across modular components.
Solution Approach 2:
The swivel arms and retaining lugs are designed with curved surfaces that facilitate smooth rotational movement and automatic engagement. The curved geometry of the lugs and pivot points enables the counterweight plates to swing down and lock into position automatically, simplifying the ballasting operation while the curvature adds functional elegance to the structural design.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a mobile crane with a traveling undercarriage and an uppercarriage rotatably mounted on the same, to which on the one hand a boom is luffably articulated and on which on the other hand a counterweight assembly is arranged on the uppercarriage, in which a counterweight plate is connectable via a counterweight receptacle, in that the same is pivotable from a pick-up position into a deposited position about at least one bolt arranged on the counterweight receptacle. According to the invention, at least one further bolt is arranged on the counterweight receptacle parallel to the at least one bolt, which while swinging down the counterweight plate engages into a corresponding curve-shaped recess of the counterweight plate for securing the same.