Forklift Sling Assembly for Downed Livestock Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for transporting downed large livestock animals, such as cattle, using tow ropes can cause further injury due to the risk of sudden jerks or movements during transport.
Innovation Solution
A specially configured assembly using a durable flexible sheet with 'D' loops and stay bars that can engage the tines of a forklift, allowing for humane sling carriage of the animal, utilizing a skid steer loader or tractor front loader with lateral forklift tines to lift and transport the animal safely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a tow rope is attached directly to the downed animal's legs for towing removal, then the animal can be transported away from the holding yard, but the method poses a risk of further injury to the downed animal due to sudden jerks or movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device - a specialized sling assembly with D-loops and stay bars - that mediates between the forklift and the downed animal. This intermediary structure distributes lifting forces across multiple contact points on the animal's body rather than concentrating force on the legs, thereby enabling efficient transport while eliminating the risk of further injury associated with direct leg attachment
Solution Approach 2:
The sling assembly is segmented into multiple functional components: D-loops for initial engagement, stay bars for structural support and force distribution, and attachment points for the forklift. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function in the transport process, with the stay bars specifically designed to distribute weight evenly across the animal's body to prevent injury
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a specialized sling assembly with D-loops and stay bars is used to engage forklift tines, then the weight is distributed evenly and the risk of injury is minimized, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sling assembly is designed as a universal device that can accommodate downed animals of various sizes and species. The D-loops can be configured in different arrangements, and the stay bars are sized to fit through the loops, creating a versatile system that handles multiple transport scenarios with a single assembly design, thereby justifying the increased complexity through broad applicability
Solution Approach 2:
The assembly incorporates dynamic elements including pivoting D-loops that can rotate to accommodate different animal positions and orientations. This dynamic capability allows the structure to adapt to various downed animal configurations without requiring multiple specialized devices, resolving the complexity issue through functional flexibility
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly for forklift tine carriage of a downed livestock animal, the forklift including a lateral tine and an oppositely lateral tine, the assembly incorporating a durable flexible sheet having longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal edges; longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal pairs of "D" loops respectively fixedly attached to the durable flexible sheet at its longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal edges; longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal stays respectively extending through the longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal pairs "D" loops; and lateral and oppositely lateral pairs of durable flexible loops engaging the longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal stays, the lateral and oppositely lateral pairs of durable flexible loops being slidably positionable along the longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal stays for, upon longitudinal movements of the lateral and oppositely lateral forklift tines over the durable flexible sheet, respectively engaging the lateral and oppositely lateral forklift tines.