Excavator Lifting Eye Attachment for Safe Crane Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of excavators as makeshift cranes is hindered by the difficulty in removing tools and accessories, leading to potential overloading, reduced visibility of the load, and risk of strop or chain fouling due to the placement of the lifting eye on quick couplers, which can result in equipment damage and safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A dedicated lifting eye attachment for excavators, comprising a main body with spaced-apart sidewalls, parallel bars, and an end wall, allowing easy connection and detachment from quick couplers, providing a clear line-of-sight for the operator and reducing the risk of fouling, with a design that minimizes wear and tear and extends the service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the lifting eye is placed on the quick coupler, then the excavator can be used as a crane without removing tools, but the strop or chain may become fouled by the quick coupler and tool, creating pinch points and excessive strain
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting eye is extracted from the quick coupler body and repositioned to the end wall of the attachment, separating the lifting function from the quick coupler mechanism to eliminate fouling and pinch point risks
2Device complexity
If the lifting eye is located on the far side of the quick coupler, then the quick coupler structure is compact, but the operator cannot directly see the load and the lifting strop may foul with the quick coupler
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting eye position is inverted from the conventional far-side location to the near-side end wall location, reversing the traditional arrangement to improve operator visibility and eliminate fouling while maintaining structural compactness
3Device complexity
If the lifting eye is not aligned horizontally with the distal end of the excavator arm, then the quick coupler can be compact, but the reach is increased beyond the calibrated limit, causing overloading
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal alignment of the lifting eye with the distal end of the excavator arm is established as a preliminary design constraint, ensuring that the attachment geometry pre-determines correct loading conditions and prevents overloading before operation begins
4Reliability
If all tools and accessories are removed from the excavator arm for lifting operations, then the lifting configuration is safe and within weight limits, but the process is difficult, fiddly and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting eye attachment integrates multiple functions: it serves as both a quick coupler for tool attachment and a dedicated lifting point, allowing the excavator to perform both digging and lifting operations without removing accessories, thereby achieving multi-functionality while maintaining safety
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5~7A
AI summary
A dedicated lifting eye attachment (100) for an excavator (10), which has a main body (101) comprising a set of substantially parallel bars or tubes (112) that enable it to be detachably engaged with the claws (52) of a quick coupler-type device (50) mounted to the end of the excavator arm (20). The main body (101) also comprises a lifting eye (102) or D-ring (114) which is used in lieu of a lifting eye (56) forming part of the quick coupler-type connector (50). The configuration of the lifting eye attachment (100) places the lifting eye (102) or D-ring (114) in the line-of-sight (34) of an operator of the excavator (10), helps to ensure that the excavator (10) is kept within its load limits, reduces or avoids fouling of lifting stops/chains (16) with the quick coupler-type connector (50) and helps to avoid unsafe working practices.