Articulated Lift Column Stabilization for Long-Stroke Thrust Lifting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Thrust chains used for lifting loads face instability due to bowing, which limits their load capacity and requires larger, heavier, and more expensive devices as the stroke increases, making them impractical for many applications.
Innovation Solution
A thrust lifting device with articulated lift columns, rotary pinions, and movable stabilizers that reduce the free length of the lift column, allowing for increased stroke height while maintaining stability and reducing the need for additional motorization, by using sliding members and dampers to control the stabilizers and maintain the lift column's position and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the second moment of area of the thrust chain is increased to resist bowing, then the load capacity and stability are improved, but the size, mass, and cost of the device increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lift column is segmented into multiple links (rank 1 to rank N) that can articulate relative to each other. This segmentation allows the column to maintain stability through controlled articulation rather than relying solely on increased mass or second moment of area, thereby reducing the overall mass while maintaining structural integrity and resistance to bowing.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizer is made movable along the upwardly directed arm rather than being fixed. This dynamic positioning allows the stabilizer to adapt to different stroke heights and load conditions, providing optimal stability throughout the range of motion without requiring a uniformly heavy structure. The movable stabilizer can be positioned to maximize its stabilizing effect at each stage of the lifting operation.
2Length of moving object
If the stroke height of the thrust chain is increased, then the lifting capability is improved, but the load capacity decreases due to increased bowing
Solution Approach 1:
The lift column is divided into multiple articulated links (rank 1 to rank N) that can flex relative to each other. This segmentation allows the column to accommodate larger stroke heights while maintaining structural integrity, as each link can articulate to absorb bending stresses rather than requiring the entire column to resist bowing as a rigid structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable stabilizer can be repositioned along the upwardly directed arm to maintain optimal stability across the entire range of motion. As the stroke height increases and the column becomes more susceptible to bowing, the stabilizer can be positioned to provide maximum counteracting moment, thereby maintaining load capacity throughout the full stroke range.
3Length of moving object
If the size of the cylinder is increased to accommodate larger stroke, then the stroke capacity is improved, but the device becomes impractical for many applications
Solution Approach 1:
The lift column is segmented into multiple articulated links rather than using a single large cylinder. This segmentation allows the device to achieve large stroke heights through the cumulative articulation of multiple smaller links, avoiding the need for a single large, space-consuming cylinder while maintaining the required stroke capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable stabilizer provides a compact solution for maintaining stability in large-stroke applications. Rather than requiring a large, fixed stabilizing structure, the movable stabilizer can be positioned optimally at any point in the stroke, providing effective stabilization in a compact package that does not increase overall device size.
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 solution allows for doubling, tripling, or quadrupling the stroke height of lifting devices, enhancing their load capacity and efficiency while minimizing size and cost, thus overcoming the limitations of traditional thrust chains.
Implementation Method 1
Bowing is a phenomenon of instability of a structure which when subjected to a compression force has a tendency to bend in a direction perpendicular to the compression axis
Implementation Method 2
said ring comprises a sliding member with respect to the corresponding lift column
Data Source
AI summary
A thrust lifting device that is able to transmit a thrust force for lifting loads, includes at least one articulated lift column provided with at least one meshing part, and with at least one arm directed upward from the meshing part, the lift column made up of links with a link of rank 1 at the upper end of the upwardly directed arm and running links of rank n, where n is between 2 and N, the number of links of the lift column, —at least one rotary pinion driving the lift column by the meshing part meshing with the pinion, —at least one arm opposite the upwardly directed arm and formed by resting links, the resting links being able to pass to the meshing part and to the upwardly directed arm by rotation of the pinion, and —at least one stabilizer that is movable along the upwardly directed arm.