Modular Vehicle Component Clusters for Rapid Field Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motorized vehicles, especially in challenging environments like mines, face downtime due to component failures, which are difficult to diagnose and repair without specialized onsite staff and equipment, leading to increased costs and logistical issues.
Innovation Solution
A modular component cluster system for vehicles that allows for rapid and straightforward field repair, enabling independent exchange of faulty modules without requiring skilled personnel or tools, using a diagnostic module to identify failed components and facilitate easy replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional repair strategies are used with specialized technicians and equipment, then repair quality and reliability are improved, but cost and logistical complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle system is divided into discrete modular components that can be independently removed and replaced. Each module is self-contained with standardized interfaces, allowing field replacement without specialized repair equipment or highly trained technicians, thus maintaining reliability while reducing logistical complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Faulty modules are extracted from the vehicle system and replaced with pre-built replacement modules. This extraction approach removes the need for on-site diagnostic and repair equipment, as well as highly trained repair personnel, while maintaining system reliability through proven replacement modules.
2Ease of repair
If specialized repair staff and equipment are deployed to remote locations, then repair capability is improved, but cost and time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Replacement modules are pre-assembled and tested before deployment to remote locations. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for on-site assembly or complex diagnostic procedures, allowing field personnel to simply swap modules without specialized training or equipment, thereby reducing both time and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design with standardized interfaces enables field personnel to perform repairs themselves through simple module replacement without requiring specialized technicians or equipment. This self-service capability dramatically reduces repair time and eliminates the need to deploy expensive specialized repair staff to remote locations.
3Productivity
If modular component clusters are used for rapid field repair, then equipment downtime is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Standardized modular interfaces are designed to be universal across different vehicle models and applications. This universality allows the same module design to serve multiple functions and platforms, reducing overall system complexity while enabling rapid field replacement that maximizes equipment availability.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention seeks to provide a system of modular component clusters for use with vehicles such as electric utility vehicles, allowing for rapid and straightforward field repair. Vehicle components are arranged within cluster modules, the modules being releasably and operably connectable to the vehicle and adapted to provide for easy diagnosis of component failures. The cluster modules are designed to be independently exchanged in and out of the vehicle should any single component in a cluster fail, without the need for onsite service. Removal and replacement of a cluster module requires only minimal mechanical skill and the faulty module can then be out-shopped for repair. The system provides for more simplified maintenance of vehicles where moving the entire vehicle to a service location might be impractical.