Mobile Lifting Apparatus with Automatic Counterweight System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cranes require extensive infrastructure and customization, leading to high costs and limitations in their usage, as well as scheduling delays due to the need for choreographed crew operations, which can hinder manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A mobile lifting apparatus with a base that can move relative to the floor, equipped with a lifting mechanism, suspension members, and an automatically adjustable counterweight system, which includes a lower and upper counterweight, and a tension cable, all controlled by a feedback loop to manage load adjustments, allowing for flexible and autonomous operation without the need for specialized infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional cranes are used for lifting heavy objects, then lifting capability is achieved, but infrastructure requirements and footprint area increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a mobile base with adjustable legs that can dynamically adapt their position and length to provide stable support for lifting operations. The base transitions from a compact transported state to an expanded operational state, allowing the crane to maintain lifting capability while minimizing footprint area when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The crane structure utilizes nesting principles where the boom, arms, and support legs can be collapsed and stored within the mobile base platform. The counterweight system is also integrated into the base structure, allowing all components to be nested together for compact storage and transport while maintaining full lifting capability when deployed.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional cranes are customized for specific objects, then lifting precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal lifting platform with adjustable parameters including boom length, arm positioning, and counterweight configuration that can be adapted to different lifting scenarios. The mobile base can accommodate various load types and sizes through reconfiguration rather than requiring custom-built cranes for each application, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining lifting precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The crane features dynamically adjustable components including telescopic booms, articulating arms, and movable counterweights that can be reconfigured for different lifting tasks. This dynamic adaptability allows a single device to perform multiple functions with precision appropriate for each specific lifting scenario without requiring customization.
3Reliability
If crews operate conventional cranes with choreographed maneuvers, then lifting control is achieved, but operation time and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates automated control systems with sensors, load cells, and computer-controlled mechanisms that enable the crane to self-regulate during lifting operations. The system can automatically balance loads, adjust boom angles, and coordinate counterweight positioning without requiring multiple crew members to perform choreographed maneuvers, thereby maintaining reliable control while significantly reducing operation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The crane system utilizes feedback mechanisms including load sensors, position sensors, and control algorithms that continuously monitor lifting operations and automatically adjust parameters to maintain safe and precise control. This closed-loop control system replaces manual crew coordination with automated real-time adjustments, improving both reliability and productivity.
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
The solution enables efficient and flexible lifting of objects without the need for extensive infrastructure, reduces the apparatus's footprint, and allows for autonomous operation, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a counterweight system that is automatically moveable relative to the mobile base... the lower counterweight moveably mounted to the mobile base that has a first position when there is no load on the suspension members and a variable second position to which the lower counterweight may move when there is a load on the suspension members
Implementation Method 2
a cable is connected at a first end at or proximate to an upper end of the lifting mechanism and is operably connected at a second end to the mobile base, and the cable has a certain tension
Data Source
AI summary
A collapsible and mobile lifting apparatus. The apparatus includes a mobile base, a lifting mechanism mounted to the mobile base, suspension members extending from the lifting mechanism for operatively engaging an object to be lifted, and a counterweight system that is automatically moveable relative to the mobile base. Helical band actuators provide the lifting force. A lower counterweight at the base is moveable to variable positions in response to the load of an object on the suspension members. An upper counterweight is mounted proximate to the upper end of the lifting mechanism to resist the load on the suspension members as well. A tension cable extending from the base proximate to the upper end of the lifting mechanism provides additional force to balance the load of the object.