Hinged Snow Tiller With Inter-Structure Tools

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Solution Overview

Problem

Large snow tillers struggle to adapt to uneven snow surfaces, resulting in poor grooming of ski slopes due to their inability to effectively work the gap between supporting structures.

Innovation Solution

A snow tiller design featuring two supporting structures hinged together with articulated couplings, allowing relative movement, and shafts with flanges and additional tools positioned between the structures to adapt to the snow surface contour, ensuring even grooming.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If large snow tillers are used to groom ski slopes, then the grooming coverage area is increased, but the ability to adapt to uneven snow surfaces deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrooming coverage areaVSAvoidadaptation to uneven snow surfaces

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The snow tiller is divided into multiple independent working sections, each with its own supporting structure and shaft assembly. These sections are connected through articulated couplings that allow independent movement, enabling each segment to adapt to local terrain variations while maintaining overall large-scale coverage capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The supporting structures are made dynamically adjustable through articulated couplings with hinge axes parallel to the travelling direction. These couplings allow the supporting structures to pivot and change their relative positions, enabling the tiller to dynamically adapt its configuration to match uneven snow surface contours

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If articulated tillers with multiple supporting structures are used to improve terrain adaptation, then the ability to adapt to uneven snow surfaces is improved, but the grooming evenness deteriorates due to gaps between structures

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptation to uneven snow surfacesVSAvoidgrooming evenness

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Additional tools are positioned between the supporting structures and connected to the shafts, effectively merging the previously uncovered gap areas into the active grooming zone. This ensures continuous tool coverage across the entire width of the tiller, eliminating the grooming evenness problem while preserving the articulated adaptation capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

Tools are extended not only laterally from the shafts but also positioned in the longitudinal dimension between supporting structures. This three-dimensional tool arrangement ensures complete coverage of the snow surface including the previously inaccessible gap regions, achieving uniform grooming across the entire working width

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS10167597B2Snow tiller for preparing ski slopes

Publication Date: 2019.01.01 PRINOTH SPA

AI summary

A ski slope snow tiller configured to travel in a travelling direction along the ski slope; the snow tiller having two supporting structures hinged to each other about a hinge axis; two shafts housed respectively in the supporting structures and configured to rotate about respective rotation axes crosswise to the travelling direction; tools fitted to the shafts; and at least one further tool connected at least to a shaft and located between the two supporting structures.