Forklift Truck Retractable Rear Wheel for Transport Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Forklift trucks carried on vehicles face stability issues during transport due to extended chassis, which increases expense and reduces strength, and existing solutions like collapsible overhead chassis are costly and compromise integrity.
Innovation Solution
A forklift truck design featuring a retractable rear wheel mounted on a rigid chassis, allowing translational movement between working and storage positions, combined with a steering mechanism that rotates the wheel 90 degrees to minimize rear projection, reducing overall length and enhancing stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the forklift truck has an extended chassis to accommodate fixed rear wheels, then the wheels remain stable during operation, but the overall length increases and stability during transport deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rear wheel assembly is made dynamically adjustable between extended and retracted positions. The wheel can be positioned at different locations along the chassis length, allowing the system to adapt between operational stability (extended) and transport stability (retracted), resolving the contradiction between fixed wheel stability and overall length.
2Length of moving object
If collapsible overhead chassis are used to reduce length, then transport stability improves, but manufacturing complexity and expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire overhead chassis collapsible, only the rear wheel assembly is made movable along a segment of the chassis. This segmentation approach reduces the complexity burden to a localized mechanism rather than requiring the entire chassis structure to be collapsible, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while achieving length reduction.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the rear wheel is retracted to minimize tail swing, then transport stability improves, but the wheel becomes vulnerable to damage from following vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly can be dynamically positioned between retracted (minimizing tail swing) and extended (protecting from damage) positions. This dynamic adjustability allows the system to respond to different operational conditions, resolving the contradiction between minimizing tail swing and protecting the wheel from damage.
Data Source
AI summary
A forklift truck (10) comprising a truck body, a fork mechanism at one end of the body, and at least one wheel (18) at an opposite end of the body, said at least one wheel (18) being mounted on the body for translational movement relative to the body between a working position and a storage position.