Movable Bottom Seal Assembly for Dock Ramp Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dock ramps struggle to create a full seal around transport vehicles of varying heights due to the difficulty in designing a bottom seal that accommodates different floor heights, leading to heat loss and contamination issues during loading/unloading processes.
Innovation Solution
A bottom seal assembly with a drive mechanism that biases the seal upwards towards the dock leveller, allowing it to move vertically along guide rails between a lowered and raised position, creating a complete seal when combined with top and side seals, and can be retro-fitted to existing dock ramps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a bottom seal is designed to accommodate varying floor heights of different transport vehicles, then the seal can work with multiple vehicle types, but the seal design becomes complex and difficult to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom seal is designed as a movable component that can dynamically adjust its vertical position along guide rails. The seal moves between a lowered position (when not in use) and a raised position (when docking), allowing it to accommodate different vehicle floor heights without requiring a complex custom design for each height variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable bottom seal assembly serves multiple functions: it provides sealing for various vehicle types, guides the docking process, and can be retro-fitted to existing dock ramps. This universal design eliminates the need for separate sealing solutions for different vehicle heights.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a bottom seal is added to create a complete seal around the transport vehicle, then heat loss is reduced and contamination is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom seal assembly merges multiple functions into a single integrated component: sealing, guiding, and positioning. By combining these functions, the design avoids the need for separate sealing mechanisms, thereby reducing overall system complexity while achieving complete sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom seal is designed to be self-adjusting through its movable construction on guide rails. The seal automatically positions itself at the appropriate height during docking without requiring external control systems or complex adjustment mechanisms, simplifying the overall structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If a movable bottom seal assembly is retro-fitted to existing dock ramps, then complete sealing is achieved without replacing the entire dock ramp, but the installation process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into modular components: the movable bottom seal assembly, guide rails, and existing dock ramp structure. This segmentation allows the seal assembly to be independently manufactured and retro-fitted to existing ramps without requiring replacement of the entire dock ramp system.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rails serve as an intermediary element that interfaces the movable bottom seal with the existing dock ramp structure. This intermediary component simplifies the retro-fit process by providing a standardized mounting interface that can be attached to various existing ramp configurations.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
A bottom seal assembly (200, 300, 400, 600) for use with a dock ramp (100, 500) comprising a docking opening (110) defined by a moveable dock leveller (304, 404, 504) at a lower peripheral edge of the docking opening; the bottom seal assembly comprising a bottom seal which is mounted substantially horizontally and moveable vertically with the dock leveller between a lowered position and a raised, in-use position at the lower peripheral edge of the docking opening.