Dual Tow Ring Tongue Coupler for Height-Adaptive Towing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing trailer hitch couplers fail to protect the tongue of towed vehicles from damage due to movements and impacts, and they do not allow for easy adjustment to align with towing vehicles at different heights, leading to potential damage during transportation of heavy equipment over varying surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A tongue coupler with vertically aligned steel elongated tongue tubes, featuring upper and lower rings for attachment to a tow hook, along with adjustable jacks and additional gussets to manage forces and elevation changes, ensuring axial alignment and resistance to impacts, and optionally including storage compartments and cable management features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed hook coupler is used, then the structure is simple, but the towed vehicle cannot adapt to different heights of towing vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler is divided into multiple segments including upper and lower rings at different heights, allowing selective attachment to accommodate varying towing vehicle heights while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure
Solution Approach 2:
The coupler incorporates adjustable elements such as the lower ring that can be positioned at different heights, enabling dynamic adaptation to different towing scenarios without requiring a completely complex reconfigurable structure
2Reliability
If the tongue is directly connected to the towing vehicle, then the connection is direct, but the tongue is vulnerable to damage from impacts and movements
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler structure includes upper and lower rings that can absorb and distribute impact forces before they reach the tongue, providing protective cushioning in advance against potential damage from impacts and movements during towing
Solution Approach 2:
The coupler acts as an intermediary component between the tongue and towing vehicle, with the ring structure serving as a mediator that distributes and manages forces, protecting the tongue while maintaining the connection
3Ease of operation
If the tow hook is positioned at a fixed height, then the alignment is simple, but the towed vehicle cannot be properly aligned when the towing vehicle is at different elevations
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler features segmented vertical positioning with distinct upper and lower rings, enabling selective height selection to align the towed vehicle properly with towing vehicles at different elevations while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds vertical dimensionality to the coupler design by positioning rings at different heights, allowing alignment adjustment in the vertical dimension without complicating the horizontal alignment operation
Data Source
AI summary
An improved coupler for a tongue on a towed vehicle that attaches to a tow hook mounted on a towing vehicle to either pull the towed vehicle over a road or to pull the towed vehicle located on an elevated surface. The coupler includes an elongated tongue tube attached to the end of the tongue attached to the towed vehicle. Upper and lower rings are axially aligned and mounted or attached to the front surface of the tongue tube. The rings are spaced apart on the tongue tube to allow the towing vehicle to pull or push the towed vehicle over the same roadway or an elevated surface. Brackets are used between the tongue tube and the trailer tongue to prevent compression, collapse, and fore to aft or aft to fore movements. An adjustable jack is attached to the side of the tongue tube. An optional lid is provided over the top opening of the tongue tube that covers a storage compartment inside the tongue tube. An optional chock holder plate and a pair of compatible chocks may be placed inside the storage compartment.