Hitch Assembly Wear Adjustment via Locking Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional articulated hitches in mobile machines wear over time, leading to loose joints, excessive vibration, and shock loading during stops and starts, with existing adjustment methods lacking precision and robustness, especially in machines with higher loadings.
Innovation Solution
The hitch assembly incorporates a yoke portion, tube portion, driveshaft, hitch carrier, thrust collar, and locking plate with multiple holes for precise adjustment, allowing for fine control of axial rigidity and resistance to wear, using a thrust collar to re-tighten the assembly and a locking plate for incremental adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional hitch with adjustable flange is used to accommodate wear, then the hitch can be adjusted, but the adjustment lacks precision and is difficult to make
Solution Approach 1:
The hitch assembly allows dynamic adjustment of the driveshaft assembly position along the tube member axis through the adjustable thrust collar, enabling the system to adapt to wear while maintaining precise control over the adjustment amount through the locking plate mechanism with multiple holes
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment mechanism is segmented into discrete positions defined by the multiple holes in the locking plate, allowing precise incremental adjustments rather than continuous or coarse adjustment, thereby improving measurement precision while maintaining reliability
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the hitch assembly is made robust to resist wear, then the component life increases, but the adjustment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The locking plate combines multiple functions into a single component: it provides structural support, defines precise adjustment positions through multiple holes, and enables the adjustment mechanism through pin engagement, thereby reducing overall mechanism complexity while maintaining robustness and component life
Solution Approach 2:
The locking plate serves multiple purposes simultaneously - it strengthens the hitch assembly against wear, provides precise adjustment positioning, and simplifies the adjustment mechanism - demonstrating multi-functionality that increases component life without adding complexity
3Measurement precision
If the number of holes in the locking plate is increased for finer control, then the adjustment precision improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking plate uses a standardized pattern of holes with varying spacing to provide fine adjustment control, where the hole positions are strategically designed to offer precise incremental adjustments while maintaining manufacturability through conventional machining processes
Data Source
AI summary
A hitch assembly is disclosed for use with an articulated mobile machine. The hitch assembly may have a yoke portion, a tube portion, a driveshaft, and a hitch carrier to rotationally support the driveshaft inside the tube portion and having a plurality of first holes. The hitch assembly may further have a plurality of fasteners to connect the hitch carrier to the tube portion via the plurality of first holes, and a thrust collar to threadingly engage a periphery of the hitch carrier and having a plurality of second holes. The hitch assembly may additionally have a locking plate with at least one pin to engage at least one of the plurality of second holes, and a plurality of third holes to receive at least some of the plurality of fasteners. The number of the plurality of second holes is greater than the number of the plurality of first holes.