Movable Fence for Wheel Loader Rear Passage Maintenance

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Solution Overview

Problem

In work vehicles, a fence in the rear passage can interfere with worker operations, complicating maintenance tasks and requiring removal, which is cumbersome and obstructive.

Innovation Solution

A wheel loader design featuring a movable fence that rotates from a normal position along the rear edge of the vehicle body to a retreat position, allowing it to be out of the way during maintenance without the need for removal, thereby enhancing maintainability and accessibility.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a fence is provided in the rear passage to ensure safety, then safety is improved, but the fence interferes with maintenance work and complicates operations

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidmaintenance work
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The fence is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to rotate between a normal position (extending along the rear edge) and a retreat position (rotated backward). This dynamic configuration enables the fence to provide safety during normal operations while being moved out of the way during maintenance work, resolving the contradiction between safety and ease of maintenance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If a fixed fence is installed along the rear edge to prevent interference, then safety is maintained, but accessibility for maintenance is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidaccessibility
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The fence is configured to rotate about a vertical axis, transitioning from a normal position where it extends along the rear edge providing safety, to a retreat position where it rotates backward to clear the maintenance area. This dynamic repositioning ensures both safety during operation and accessibility during maintenance without requiring fence removal.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Ease of repair

If the fence is removed to facilitate maintenance work, then accessibility is improved, but safety protection is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveaccessibilityVSAvoidsafety
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of repairVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Rather than removing the fence entirely, the invention employs a movable fence that can rotate to a retreat position during maintenance, providing unobstructed access to the rear passage. After maintenance, the fence rotates back to its normal position to restore safety protection, thus maintaining both accessibility and safety throughout the maintenance process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3366845B1Utility vehicle
Publication Date: 2020.04.01 KOMATSU LTD
  • EP3366845B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3366845B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3366845B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A work vehicle includes a vehicle body (110) which has a passage including a rear passage (R1), and a movable fence (240) rotatably supported to the vehicle body (110) around a rotation axis (O2) which extends in a vertical direction between a normal position which extends in a width direction of the vehicle body (110) along a rear edge of the rear passage (R1) and a retreat position which extends backward from the vehicle body (110).