Height Reducible Enclosure Platform With Torsion Bar Locking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for height reducible electronics enclosures on military vehicles fail to provide a platform that can fold up for road march and deploy quickly without hydraulic systems, while allowing single-person operation and accommodating a protective entrance, without interfering with the enclosure's operation.
Innovation Solution
A platform with a torsion/bending bar assembly and locking mechanism that allows for independent folding and deployment, featuring a hingedly attached platform with a torsion bar assembly and locking assembly to secure the platform in place, enabling easy access and protection without hydraulic systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a hydraulic system is used to deploy and fold the platform, then the deployment and folding operation becomes easier and more reliable, but the complexity, weight, and cost of the shelter system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the hydraulic system with a spring-assisted mechanical folding mechanism. The spring provides the force to assist in folding and deploying the platform, eliminating the need for complex hydraulic components while maintaining ease of operation through mechanical advantage and spring force assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-assisted mechanism allows the platform to fold and deploy with minimal manual effort. The spring automatically provides the force needed for folding, and the mechanical linkage assists in the deployment process, making the system self-servicing without requiring external hydraulic power sources.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a ladder and platform are added for access to the protective entrance, then access to the protective entrance becomes possible, but the weight and complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The access system is segmented into a platform and a ladder that can be independently folded and stored. The platform folds against the vehicle body, and the ladder can be detached or folded, allowing the system to maintain accessibility functionality while minimizing weight when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform and ladder are designed as dynamic components that can change their configuration. The platform folds from a deployed position to a stored position against the vehicle, and the ladder can be folded or detached, allowing the system to adapt its weight and configuration based on operational needs.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the platform is designed to fold up for road march, then the platform can be stored compactly, but the deployment speed and ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is pre-loaded during manufacturing to provide the necessary folding force. This preliminary action of spring loading eliminates the need for complex deployment mechanisms, allowing the platform to fold quickly and easily by simply releasing the spring constraint, thus reducing deployment time while maintaining compact storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical deployment mechanisms with a spring-assisted system. The spring provides the force needed for rapid folding, and the mechanical linkage guides the platform into its stowed position, enabling quick deployment without time-consuming complex mechanical operations.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the platform folding mechanism is designed to be independent of the enclosure operation, then the platform can be deployed without interfering with the enclosure, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The platform folding mechanism is segmented as an independent subsystem from the enclosure operation mechanism. The spring-assisted folding mechanism operates independently, allowing the platform to be deployed or stowed without affecting the enclosure's height-adjustable operation, thus achieving independent operation without requiring complex integrated control systems.
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
Enables quick and easy deployment and stowage of the platform by a single person, independent of the enclosure's operation, reducing complexity, weight, and cost, while providing a protective entrance and accommodating a ladder for easy access.
Implementation Method 1
A platform with a torsion/bending bar assembly and locking mechanism that allows for independent folding and deployment
Data Source
AI summary
The subject invention features an entrance module for a height adjustable enclosure with a top portion movable with the respect to a bottom portion. The preferred entrance module comprises a hingedly attached platform movable between a stowed folded position and a deployed unfolded position. A locking assembly releasably locks the platform in the folded position independent of the position of the top movable part of the shelter. The preferred locking assembly includes a rail attached to the top movable portion of the shelter, one of a female and a male portion of a lock attached to and slideable along the rail, and the other of the female and the male portion of the lock attached to the platform.