Excavator Tool Box Door Opening Direction and Access Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heavy equipment tool boxes require auxiliary structures like handrails and anti-slip plates for operator access to the engine room, increasing manufacturing costs and restricting the size and shape of the tool box door, which can lead to damage and limited storage space.
Innovation Solution
A tool box door on heavy equipment that opens from the rear to the front using a gas spring and button operation, eliminating the need for auxiliary structures, with a damping elastic member for controlled opening and a foothold with embossing for safe ascent, allowing the tool box door to be freely designed for enhanced storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the tool box door opens from front to rear and is used as a stepping surface, then operators can access the engine room, but the door requires auxiliary structures (handrails, anti-slip plates) increasing manufacturing cost and the door size and shape are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the stepping function from the tool box door by providing separate footholds on the upper frame. This allows the door to be designed freely for storage optimization while operators use dedicated footholds for access, eliminating the need for handrails and anti-slip plates on the door itself.
2Ease of operation
If the tool box door opens from front to rear, then operators can access the engine room, but the door size and shape are restricted reducing storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the access function from the door and assigns it to separate footholds and handrails mounted on the upper frame. This allows the tool box door to be optimized purely for storage capacity with unrestricted size and shape, while maintaining operator access capability through the separated access structures.
3Ease of operation
If the tool box door is used as a movement path for operators, then operators can ascend to the engine room, but the door may be damaged or deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the load-bearing function from the tool box door by providing dedicated footholds and handrails on the upper frame. Operators now use these separate structures for ascent, preventing damage to the door while maintaining safe access to the engine room.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate structures (footholds and handrails) between the operator and the tool box door. These intermediaries bear the mechanical load of operator weight, protecting the door from damage while enabling safe ascent.
4Ease of manufacture
If the tool box door opens from bottom to upside (front to rear), then the door can be mounted on the upper frame, but the door structure is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the access function from the door structure itself and assigns it to separate mounted structures on the upper frame. This separation allows the door to be designed with optimal shape and size for storage purposes without being constrained by access requirements.
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 convenient operation with reduced manufacturing costs, prevents tool box door damage, and provides extended storage space by allowing operators to ascend without stepping on the door, while maintaining safety and flexibility in design.
Implementation Method 1
a gas spring for opening the tool box door when a button mounted on an external surface of the tool box door is pressed
Implementation Method 2
a damping elastic member for preventing an abrupt opening of the tool box door when the tool box door is opened by the gas spring
Data Source
AI summary
Heavy equipment having a tool box opening in forward direction of the equipment is provided, in which a tool box door mounted on an upper frame of an excavator can be simply opened and closed through pressing of a button, an auxiliary structure, such as a handrail that is used when an operator ascent toward an engine room, is not required, and the shape of the tool box door can be freely designed to sufficiently secure storage space. The heavy equipment includes a lower driving structure; an upper frame mounted on the lower driving structure to be swiveled; a cap and an engine room mounted in front and in the rear of the upper frame; working devices including a boom fixed to the upper frame, an arm, a bucket, and hydraulic cylinders for driving the boom, the arm, and the bucket, respectively; a counter weight mounted in the rear of the upper frame to keep the balance of the equipment during working; a tool box door mounted on the upper frame to open from the rear to the front side of the equipment, and forming storage space; and a gas spring for opening the tool box door when a button mounted on an external surface of the tool box door is pressed.