Fiber Pull Element Structure for Foldable Expandable Heavy Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing expandable heavy equipment is burdened by a significant weight that reduces payload capacity and is complex in design, necessitating a solution for reduced weight and fewer parts.
Innovation Solution
The use of a pull element comprising load-bearing fibers with alternating stiff and flexible parts, eliminating the need for pivots and reducing weight by employing a better weight-to-load ratio, and incorporating compression means and tape to manage stiffness and flexibility, resulting in a lighter and more efficient structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional pull rods with pivots are used, then the equipment can be folded for transport, but the weight of the equipment increases and payload capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The pull element changes its physical state between folded and extended configurations. By using a flexible part that can bend and fold while maintaining load-bearing capability when extended, the system achieves weight reduction without sacrificing transport adaptability. The flexible part acts as a continuous load-bearing element that can accommodate both folded and extended states.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull element combines stiff parts for structural support with a flexible part for bending capability. This composite structure integrates materials with different mechanical properties to achieve both foldability and load-bearing functions in a single component, eliminating the need for separate pivots and reducing overall weight.
2Device complexity
If multiple pivots and connectors are used to enable folding, then the equipment can be compacted for transport, but the number of parts increases and design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pull element merges the functions of multiple separate components (pull rod, pivots, connectors) into a single integrated element. The flexible part with stiff sections combines the load-bearing function with the folding capability, eliminating the need for separate pivots and reducing the total number of parts while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the pivots from the traditional pull rod design. By removing the pivots and replacing them with a flexible part that inherently provides bending capability, the system reduces the number of parts while maintaining the foldability function.
3Strength
If a completely stiff pull rod is used, then load-bearing capacity is maintained, but the pull rod cannot be folded for transport
Solution Approach 1:
The pull element has different local properties along its length: stiff parts for load-bearing and a flexible part for bending. This local differentiation allows the element to maintain strength where needed while providing foldability where required, resolving the contradiction between load-bearing capacity and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Expandable heavy equipment 1, comprising a first frame element 5, a connector 11, at least one elongated pull element 14, and further frame elements 7. The pull element 14 is connected to the first frame element 5 with a first coupler 31 and to one 9 of the further frame elements 7 with a second coupler 35. The pull element 14 is in a folded state in a transport condition and in an extended state in a working condition. The pull element 14 comprises load bearing fibers/fibres 141 extending from the first coupler 31 to the second coupler 35. The pull element 14 comprises at least one flexible part 43 and at least two stiff parts 45. The flexible part 43 has a lower bending stiffness than the two stiff parts 45 and enables the pull element 14 to be arranged in the folded state.