Fifth Wheel Hitch Slide Stop Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fifth wheel hitch assemblies with slidable components face challenges in restricting movement without adding weight or unevenly distributing force to the vehicle's frame, requiring additional manufacturing steps and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A sliding fifth wheel hitch assembly featuring a longitudinal rail with a vertical side member, a carriage bracket, and a slide stop mechanism that limits sliding motion by abutting the carriage bracket, reducing manufacturing time and costs while improving force distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional components are added to restrict slidable movement of the hitch assembly, then the movement restriction is improved, but the vehicle weight increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slide stop is integrated directly into the longitudinal rail structure, merging the movement restriction function with the existing support structure. This eliminates the need for separate, additional components to restrict sliding movement, thereby preventing weight increase while maintaining movement restriction reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The longitudinal rail serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, guides the carriage bracket movement, and through the integrated slide stop, restricts sliding movement. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, preventing both weight increase and manufacturing complexity increase while maintaining reliable movement restriction
2Reliability
If additional components are added to restrict slidable movement of the hitch assembly, then the movement restriction is improved, but the manufacturing steps and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slide stop is merged with the longitudinal rail as an integrated structure, reducing the total number of discrete components. This integration simplifies manufacturing steps and reduces assembly complexity while maintaining the reliability of movement restriction
Solution Approach 2:
The longitudinal rail is designed to perform multiple functions including structural support, movement guidance, and movement restriction through the integrated slide stop. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate manufacturing processes required, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and costs while ensuring reliable movement restriction
3Device complexity
If force is concentrated at specific points during loading, then the structure can be simpler, but the force distribution to the vehicle frame becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The slide stop distributes loading forces along the longitudinal dimension of the rail rather than concentrating them at a single point. The carriage bracket can engage multiple positions along the rail, allowing forces to be distributed across different locations and improving force distribution to the vehicle frame while maintaining structural simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
A sliding fifth wheel hitch assembly includes a longitudinal rail having a substantially vertical side member, a first end portion, and a second end portion. At least one carriage bracket is slidably engaged with the longitudinal rail. The carriage bracket is adapted to support a hitch plate. An engagement assembly is coupled with the carriage bracket for releasably engaging the longitudinal rail along a length of the longitudinal rail between the first and second end portions. At least one slide stop laterally extends from the substantially vertical side member of the longitudinal rail proximate at least a select one of the first end portion and the second end portion. The slide stop is positioned to abut the carriage bracket, thereby limiting a sliding motion of the hitch plate with respect to the longitudinal rail.