Lightweight Wheel Chock Composite Shell Foam Core
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wheel chocks for heavy industrial vehicles are overly large and heavy, making them difficult for a single person to move and requiring additional man-hours and effort, while also lacking optimization for large-wheeled vehicles with low inflation pressure and deformation issues.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight wheel chock design featuring a rigid shell with a consistent thickness and a lightweight core, configured to distribute load effectively and prevent rotation of large wheels, weighing less than 30 pounds, and suitable for wheels up to 14 feet in diameter, with a modified wedge shape and load-bearing structure to reduce waste and enhance portability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional wheel chocks are made robust to handle heavy industrial vehicles, then load capacity and reliability are improved, but weight and size increase making them difficult to move
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel chock uses a composite structure combining a rigid shell made of high-density polyethylene or similar polymer with an internal core of rigid foam material. This composite construction provides the necessary strength and load-bearing capacity (capable of withstanding vehicles weighing hundreds of tons) while keeping the overall weight under 30 pounds, enabling single-person portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters by using high-strength polymers with high strength-to-weight ratios and rigid foam materials with optimized density. The shell has a substantially constant thickness designed to optimize structural integrity while minimizing weight, achieving the dual goal of high load capacity (650+ tons) and low weight (under 30 pounds).
2Adaptability or versatility
If wheel chocks are made larger to accommodate bigger wheels, then applicability to heavy industrial vehicles is improved, but handling difficulty and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The composite construction of rigid shell and foam core allows the chock to be made large enough to accommodate wheels up to 14 feet in diameter while remaining lightweight. The optimized geometry and material selection enable the chock to scale with wheel size without proportionally increasing weight, maintaining single-person portability across different wheel sizes.
3Strength
If wheel chocks use traditional solid material construction, then structural strength is improved, but material waste and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel chock is segmented into two functional parts: an outer rigid shell that provides structural strength and load-bearing capability, and an inner foam core that fills the cavity and provides additional structural support with minimal material. This segmentation allows each material to be used only where needed, eliminating waste of high-strength materials in areas where they are not required.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of rigid foam material as the core introduces a porous structure that provides adequate structural support while using significantly less material than a solid construction would require. The foam core fills the internal cavity of the shell, providing strength where needed while minimizing material consumption and waste.
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
Enables easy and safe single-person handling, reduces waste and storage space, and provides improved durability and load capacity for high-weight, large-wheeled vehicles, while maintaining effective retention on varying grades.
Implementation Method 1
wheel chocks are wedges of material placed closely against the wheels of a vehicle to prevent unintended movement or rotation of the wheels
Implementation Method 2
The wedging wall can distribute load through the front wall and through the rear wall when chocking the wheel against the wedging wall
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel chock has a body with a shell and filled core construction capable of supporting high chocking loads while being relatively lightweight and portable. The chock includes walls sized and shaped to support large-diameter wheels such as wheels of large haul vehicles and mining trucks. The chock can be sized proportional to the radius of the wheel to be retained or based on the radius of curvature of a wall configured to primarily support the outer surface of the wheel. The chock can have a cut off or flattened toe or front surface that reduces weight and helps to ensure that the entire chock is load-bearing when in a chocking position. The chock can also have a flattened top surface to support the outer surface of a tire that deforms around the chock while it is being retained by the chock.