Dock Leveler Spring Anchor Plate Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dock levelers face challenges such as inadequate weight distribution, high material costs, manufacturing complexities, operational difficulties, traction issues, and malfunctions due to their design and materials, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns during loading and unloading operations.
Innovation Solution
The dock leveler system incorporates a deck plate with a lip assembly, a pivot anchor, a counterbalancing assembly, a lift lever system, and a maintenance strut, along with a friction-increasing coating on traction surfaces, to enhance structural rigidity, reduce material costs, simplify manufacturing, improve operational ease, and increase traction and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conical-ended springs are used to facilitate attachment, then attachment is simplified, but material costs increase and spring constant becomes non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conical portion from the spring design, extracting the problematic feature that caused increased material costs and non-uniform spring constant. The spring is redesigned with uniform cylindrical ends that attach to the anchor plate through a hole, eliminating the need for conical shaping while maintaining attachment functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the spring from conical to uniform cylindrical shape. This parameter change ensures uniform spring constant throughout the spring length, reduces material usage, and simplifies manufacturing while maintaining the attachment function through the anchor plate hole.
2Stability of the object's composition
If face plate is extended lower to provide support, then structural stability improves, but material costs and internal loads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new spatial dimension by positioning the anchor plate below the face plate level. This allows support to be provided at a lower elevation without extending the face plate itself, thereby maintaining structural stability while reducing material usage and avoiding increased loads on the face plate attachment points.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor plate serves as an intermediary component that provides the necessary support function without requiring the face plate to extend lower. The anchor plate mediates between the need for lower support and the desire to keep the face plate compact, transferring the support function to a separate element.
3Device complexity
If manual lift mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but operational difficulty and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded anchor plate mechanism provides self-service by automatically engaging and disengaging from the lip assembly during operation. The spring force automatically pushes the anchor plate into the engaged position when the lip assembly is inserted, and automatically releases it when the lip assembly is removed, eliminating the need for manual intervention and improving operational ease while maintaining simplicity.
4Ease of manufacture
If spring has conical portion, then attachment is facilitated, but spring constant varies and decreases across the conical portion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the conical portion from the spring design, eliminating the feature that caused spring constant variation. The spring is redesigned with uniform cylindrical geometry throughout, ensuring consistent spring constant and reliable performance while maintaining attachment capability through the anchor plate hole.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the spring geometry parameters from conical to uniform cylindrical shape, which maintains constant cross-sectional area and thus uniform spring constant throughout the spring length. This parameter change ensures predictable and reliable spring behavior while the anchor plate hole provides the attachment function.
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 effectively distributes forces, reduces material costs, simplifies manufacturing, enhances operational safety, and provides reliable traction and durability, addressing the inefficiencies and safety concerns of traditional dock levelers.
Implementation Method 1
Dock levelers sometimes use springs for assistance in lifting and lowering the lip
Implementation Method 2
a friction-increasing coating on traction surfaces, to enhance structural rigidity, reduce material costs, simplify manufacturing, improve operational ease, and increase traction and reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A dock leveler comprises a counterbalancing assembly comprising a spring and an anchor plate. The anchor plate spans a width of the spring to permit coupling of the counterbalancing assembly and a linkage system. The anchor plate comprises a first end portion wrapped around a first outer surface of a spring of the dock leveler to secure the anchor plate to the spring, a middle portion adjacent the first end portion, and a second end portion adjacent the middle portion, the second end portion wrapped around a second outer surface of the spring to secure the anchor plate to the spring.