Highway Panel Deployment Apparatus with Hydraulic Lift
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual handling of heavy highway panels for lane closures on highways results in worker fatigue and limitations in deployment and retrieval speed due to the weight of the panels, necessitating a mechanized solution for efficient placement and retrieval.
Innovation Solution
A mechanized apparatus featuring a vertically movable work basket with a ramp member and lift linkage, utilizing hydraulic cylinders and rollers to facilitate the deployment and retrieval of highway panels without manual lifting, allowing for efficient alignment and movement of panels between a truck and the highway surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual handling of heavy highway panels is used, then the panels can be placed on the highway, but worker fatigue increases and deployment speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system with a motorized winch system. The winch mechanically retrieves the highway panel by winding a cable around a drum, eliminating the need for workers to manually lift and carry the heavy panel. This substitution of manual labor with a motorized mechanical system directly addresses both the productivity improvement (faster deployment) and ease of operation improvement (reduced worker fatigue).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cable as an intermediary element between the winch and the highway panel. The cable transmits the retrieval force from the winch to the panel, allowing the heavy panel to be pulled along the ground without requiring workers to directly lift it. This intermediary mechanism solves the contradiction by enabling efficient panel retrieval while minimizing direct human physical contact with the heavy load.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the base member is made heavy to prevent displacement by wind, then stability improves, but manual handling becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical handling system with a motorized winch system that uses a cable to retrieve the heavy panel. This substitution allows the panel to maintain its heavy weight for stability while eliminating the need for workers to manually lift and carry it, thereby resolving the contradiction between stability and handling difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable acts as an intermediary that transmits force to move the heavy panel without requiring direct manual lifting. This allows the panel to remain heavy for stability purposes while the retrieval operation becomes much easier, as workers only need to operate the winch controls rather than physically support the panel's weight.
3Productivity
If multiple workers are used to lift panels onto the truck, then the panels can be retrieved, but worker fatigue increases and the process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the multi-worker manual lifting system with a single motorized winch system. The winch performs the retrieval function that previously required multiple workers coordinating to lift and carry the panel onto the truck. This substitution improves productivity by enabling retrieval with fewer workers while reducing process complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The winch system performs the retrieval operation autonomously once activated. The cable automatically winds around the drum and pulls the panel along the ground and onto the truck bed without requiring continuous manual intervention from multiple workers. This self-service capability reduces both the number of workers needed and the complexity of coordination required.
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
The apparatus reduces worker fatigue and increases deployment and retrieval efficiency by enabling the panels to be placed and retrieved without manual lifting, allowing for faster and more stable lane closures with reduced physical strain on workers.
Implementation Method 1
The lift linkage is hydraulically actuated
Implementation Method 2
The ramp and lift members are formed with rollers on the top surface to facilitate the movement of the highway panels
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus facilitates the deployment and retrieval of highway panels and includes a work basket mountable on the rearward end of a truck to be vertically moveable relative thereto. A ramp member is detachably mounted on a selected side of the work basket to be movable therewith. A lift member is detachably mounted on a four-bar lift linkage carried by the truck along the selected side thereof. The lift member is vertically movable by the lift linkage to raise the highway panels from the ramp member to the level of the truck bed on which the highway panels are transported. Both the ramp and lift members are formed with rollers on the top surface to facilitate the movement of the highway panels in both deployment and retrieval. Retrieval is accomplished by moving the truck rearwardly and tipping the highway panel so the ramp member can slide underneath the base.