Modular Winch Architecture for Flexible Vehicle Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle winches lack flexibility and standardization, leading to increased complexity and component variability, which complicates manufacturing and compatibility with different vehicle designs, and do not offer advanced features like smart winch technology or easy operation in low-light conditions.
Innovation Solution
A modular and rotatable winch architecture with a standardized platform that allows for interchangeable components, including motors, gearboxes, and fairleads, enabling universal mounting orientations and integration of smart winch technology with wireless control, and a winch hook bump-stop with integrated lighting for improved operational visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a standardized modular winch architecture is implemented, then manufacturing complexity is reduced and component interchangeability is improved, but adaptability to different vehicle mounting orientations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The winch assembly is divided into separate modular components including the winch motor assembly, fairlead assembly, and mounting bracket assembly. Each component can be independently manufactured using standardized processes, then assembled into different configurations to suit various vehicle mounting orientations (horizontal, vertical, angled), thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system incorporates adjustable mounting brackets with multiple hole patterns and rotation capabilities, allowing the standardized winch assembly to be dynamically reconfigured for different vehicle applications. This enables a single standardized design to adapt to various mounting orientations without requiring custom components for each orientation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple rotational orientations of winch components are allowed, then compatibility with different vehicle designs is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket assembly is designed as a universal interface with multiple mounting holes arranged in various patterns and orientations. This single universal bracket design can accommodate horizontal, vertical, and angled mounting configurations across different vehicle types (trucks, SUVs, off-road vehicles), eliminating the need for vehicle-specific bracket designs and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized winch assembly includes more mounting holes and adjustment features than any single application requires. This excessive provision of mounting options ensures compatibility with all anticipated vehicle designs while maintaining a standardized component structure, rather than creating simplified versions for each specific application.
3Ease of operation
If smart winch technology with wireless control is integrated, then operational convenience is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system replaces traditional mechanical cable-operated winch controls with electronic wireless controls. A wireless remote control device communicates with the winch motor assembly via radio frequency, eliminating the need for mechanical linkages and cables. This substitution provides more convenient operation while actually reducing mechanical complexity in the winch assembly itself.
Solution Approach 2:
An electronic control module serves as an intermediary between the wireless remote and the winch motor assembly. This intermediary processes wireless signals and controls motor operation, adding minimal complexity while enabling sophisticated wireless control functionality and improving ease of operation.
4Illumination intensity
If integrated lighting is added to the winch hook bump-stop, then operational visibility in low-light conditions is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting assembly is merged with the existing winch hook bump-stop component, combining illumination functionality with a structural safety component. The LED lights are integrated into the bump-stop housing, and the same mounting structure secures both the lighting and the bump-stop function, thereby improving visibility without adding separate complex mounting systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Modular winch system and associated devices are disclosed. In one or more embodiments the modular winch system includes a spool and a spool frame including a first frame portion and a second frame portion configured to rotatably support the spool. In one or more embodiments the system includes a plurality of winch modules including a motor, a gearbox, and a fairlead each connected to the spool frame, where the motor and gearbox are attached to frame portions, and each have a plurality of potential rotational orientations defined a plurality of universal attachment holes. In various embodiments, the spool frame is attachable to the vehicle in at least two orientations including a horizontal orientation where the plurality of mounting holes are approximately horizontal relative to the earth, and a vertical mounting orientation where the plurality of mounting holes are approximately vertical relative to the earth.