Locking Plate for Tire Chain Tensioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tire chain tensioning for large tires requires high forces and is often performed under adverse conditions, leading to significant effort and risk of error or damage, resulting in costly downtimes, especially in construction and mining applications.
Innovation Solution
A locking plate with a locking slot and a retaining device that allows the tensioning chain to be securely moved between a pull-through position and a locked position, using a latching projection that extends in the longitudinal direction of the chain, ensuring captive engagement and preventing the locking plate from falling off, thus simplifying and securing the tensioning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tensioning chain is used to tighten tire chains on large tires, then the tire chain can be pulled taut over the tread, but very high tensioning forces are required and the process requires considerable effort
Solution Approach 1:
The locking plate serves as an intermediary device between the tensioning chain and the tire chain. It provides a controlled interface that converts the tensioning force into a secure locking action, making the high-force operation easier to control and less error-prone
Solution Approach 2:
The locking plate is designed to be automatically engaged by the tensioning chain when pulled through. The chain's own movement through the plate's opening and interaction with the locking slot creates the locking action without requiring additional manual intervention or complex mechanisms
2Ease of operation
If the locking plate design is simplified, then operating errors are reduced, but the locking plate must still prevent falling off the chain while securing the tensioning force
Solution Approach 1:
The locking plate has different local characteristics: the passage opening provides free movement for the chain, while the locking slot provides constrained engagement. The locking projection extends locally to prevent lateral displacement. This localized differentiation of functions achieves both ease of operation and reliability without complex overall structure
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex locking mechanism that actively secures the chain, the design inverts the approach: the passage opening allows free passage, and the locking slot with its specific width creates passive engagement. The chain's own geometry and movement create the locking effect rather than requiring an active locking mechanism
3Reliability
If the locking slot clear width is between chain link thickness and outer width, then the chain can be securely held, but the chain cannot be easily pulled through during tensioning
Solution Approach 1:
The opening in the locking plate is segmented into two distinct parts: the passage opening with larger dimensions for easy chain insertion and movement, and the locking slot with smaller clear width for secure chain holding. This segmentation allows the same structure to provide both free movement during tensioning and secure engagement during locking without contradiction
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~7
Figure 6
AI summary
The locking plate (1) has a locking slot (10), where width of the locking slot is greater than thickness and smaller than an outer width of chain links of a tensioning chain (46). A passage opening is provided with an inner contour, in which outer contour of the tensioning chain is inscribed. An independent claim is also included for an assembly for clamping a tire chain by a tensioning chain.