Linear Carriage Pivot Brake for Safe Rail Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding bearing arrangements face challenges in easily locking and unlocking the carriage from the rail without applying additional forces on the bearing faces and require complex or dangerous operation methods, limiting design flexibility and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A sliding bearing arrangement featuring cylindrical guide portions on the rail and corresponding bearing elements on the carriage with a pivot lever mechanism that allows the carriage to be locked and unlocked via a simple hand movement, utilizing a pivot lever with a pressure application portion and actuating portion to engage or disengage from the guide portion, maintaining design flexibility and avoiding additional components or forces on the bearing faces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a clamping body is pivoted to wedge in the recess for locking the carriage, then the carriage can be locked in a particular position, but the operation becomes difficult and dangerous due to movement region interference
Solution Approach 1:
A pivot lever is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the operator's hand and the clamping body. The pivot lever translates rotational hand movement into linear displacement of the clamping body, enabling safe and easy operation from outside the movement region while maintaining reliable locking.
Solution Approach 2:
The operating mechanism is moved from the horizontal movement plane to the vertical dimension. The pivot lever rotates in a vertical plane perpendicular to the carriage movement, allowing the operator to engage the brake from above or beside the movement region rather than from within it.
2Reliability
If a continuous recess is provided in the rail body for the clamping body, then the clamping body can be wedged in to lock the carriage, but the design flexibility of the rail body is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into modular components: the clamping body, the pivot lever, and the guide portion. This segmentation allows the guide portion to be a discrete cylindrical element rather than requiring a continuous recess, thereby restoring design flexibility to the rail body while maintaining the locking function.
3Reliability
If additional components are used for locking the carriage, then the locking function can be achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot lever and clamping body are combined into a single integrated component. The pivot lever itself performs the clamping function through its short portion, eliminating the need for a separate clamping body and reducing overall component count and structural complexity.
4Reliability
If the clamping body is operated within the region of movement of the carriage, then the locking can be achieved, but additional forces are applied to the bearing faces
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot lever acts as a mediator that applies force to the clamping body from a location outside the carriage movement region. This indirect force application path prevents additional forces from being transmitted to the bearing faces during the locking operation.
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 secure locking and unlocking of the carriage relative to the rail with a simple hand movement, maintaining design flexibility and reducing operational complexity, suitable for various applications including vehicle manufacturing and production lines.
Implementation Method 1
The sliding elements each form in the respective leadthrough a sliding contact face which lies against the guide portion associated therewith
Implementation Method 2
At least one elastic element is arranged between the short portion and the first guide portion
Data Source
AI summary
A sliding bearing arrangement (1) includes a rail (10) and a carriage (20). The rail (10) includes a rail body (11) extending in a longitudinal direction (X) with two cylindrical guide portions (12, 13) extending in the longitudinal direction (X) and spaced apart from one another in a transverse direction. The carriage (20) includes a carriage body (21) extending in the transverse direction along the rail body (11), on which carriage body are provided bearing elements (28) which are each associated with one of the guide portions (13). The carriage (20) also includes a holding portion (22) with a bearing (23) in which a pivot spindle (23) of a pivot lever (24) is borne. The pivot lever (24) being pivotable out of a first position into a second position with a pivoting movement through at least 45° about the pivot spindle. The pivot lever (24) having at one side of the pivot spindle (23) a pressure application portion and at the other side an actuating portion. The pressure application portion (25) in the first position presses with a pressure application side (29) on a surface of the first guide portion (12) and inhibits the displacement of the carriage, and in the second position is detached from the surface of the first guide portion (12).