Low-Profile Remote Loader for Confined Space Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The narrow basement space under electrolytic cells in aluminum production facilities poses a challenge for removing spilled anode cover material and alumina, which can diminish cooling efficiency and is hazardous for human access due to high temperatures and electrical hazards.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile, remote-controlled loader vehicle with a pivotable boom and bucket assembly, designed to access confined spaces, equipped with electric motors, battery compartments, and remote control systems, allowing for efficient material collection and reduced operator risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If long-handled rakes are used to remove spillage from the basement, then operators can reach under the pot from a safe distance, but the cleaning efficiency is reduced and operators still face exposure to hazardous conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical raking with a remote-controlled loader vehicle equipped with a bucket and boom assembly. This automated mechanical system performs the cleaning function that previously required manual labor with long-handled tools, thereby improving both safety and efficiency simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The remote-controlled loader acts as an intermediary between the operator and the hazardous basement environment. The operator controls the loader from a safe location above the basement, allowing the loader to perform cleaning tasks in the confined space without direct human exposure to thermal and electrical hazards.
2Temperature
If the basement clearance is designed for convective cooling of busbars, then cooling efficiency is maintained, but the space becomes too narrow for human access and conventional cleaning equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The loader vehicle incorporates a movable boom and bucket assembly that can dynamically adjust its position and orientation. The boom can extend and articulate to reach spillage in hard-to-access areas while maintaining a compact base profile that fits within the constrained basement clearance, thus preserving cooling efficiency while enabling access.
Solution Approach 2:
The loader utilizes vertical space and articulated movement in multiple dimensions to access spillage. The boom assembly can extend upward, forward, and sideways from the compact loader base, allowing the bucket to reach material in three-dimensional space without requiring increased basement clearance height.
3Productivity
If a remote-controlled loader is used to clean the basement, then operator safety is improved and cleaning efficiency increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The loader vehicle integrates multiple functions into a single platform: propulsion for movement, a boom assembly for positioning, and a bucket for material handling. This multi-functional design consolidates what would otherwise require separate equipment, managing complexity while delivering comprehensive cleaning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The loader system is divided into separable functional modules: the base vehicle with propulsion and battery, the articulated boom assembly, and the bucket attachment. This segmentation allows for independent optimization of each component and simplifies maintenance and operation while maintaining overall system functionality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A loader (100, 200) comprising: - a front loader assembly (101, 201) comprising a bucket (110, 210) pivotably mounted with a boom (120, 220), - a back loader assembly comprising a body (155, 255) on which the boom (120, 220) is pivotably mounted, an undercarriage (165) with wheels or tracks (160, 260), an electric motor (172), a battery compartment (180, 280) and remote control means for controlling the movement of the loader, wherein the boom is pivotably moveable between at least two positions including a lowered position and a raised position and wherein the front loader assembly (101, 201) and the back loader assembly (110, 210) are substantially of the same height, when the boom is in the lowered position.