Moving Headboard Cleanout for Reciprocating Conveyor
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleanout systems for reciprocating floor slat conveyors in truck trailers often leave material behind, especially at the edges, leading to contamination between loads and stress on the tarp and return mechanism, due to inadequate cleaning and friction issues.
Innovation Solution
A moving headboard cleanout apparatus with flexible wings and a rear sweeper that adjusts to trailer dimensions, utilizing a flexible sheet and wing design to sweep the floor and sidewalls effectively, reducing friction and preventing material leakage, and featuring adjustable components for easy assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flexible tarp system is used for cleanout, then the tarp can ride along the floor with the load and sweep the floor relatively clean, but the end of the tarp is sometimes buried in the pile of unloaded material which stresses the tarp material and/or the tarp return mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The headboard is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position as material is discharged. The headboard can be pulled forward by the tarp during loading, then returns to its initial position during unloading, preventing it from being buried in discharged material and reducing stress on the tarp return mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleanout system is divided into separate functional components: the headboard for containment, the tarp for sweeping and pulling, and the return mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally without the headboard being subjected to excessive stress from material burial.
2Ease of operation
If a floor tarp system is used for cleanout, then the tarp can pull a vertical barrier or headboard behind it, but a certain amount of material passes or leaks past the lateral edges during the unloading process
Solution Approach 1:
The headboard is designed to move dynamically with the load during discharge, maintaining its position at the forward end of the trailer. This movement ensures the headboard continuously contains material against the lateral walls, preventing leakage past the edges while still allowing the tarp to effectively sweep the floor.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the headboard is made movable and is free to shift forward during loading, then the headboard can be pulled forward by the tarp, but the headboard needs to be returned to its initial position at the forward end of the trailer
Solution Approach 1:
The headboard return system utilizes the existing tarp winch mechanism to perform the return function. The same winch that reels in the tarp during loading can also pull the headboard back to its initial position, eliminating the need for a separate return mechanism and reducing overall system complexity.
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 apparatus ensures thorough cleaning of the trailer floor and sidewalls, reduces material leakage, and simplifies the return process by minimizing tarp stress and length, maintaining trailer cleanliness and preventing contamination between loads.
Implementation Method 1
Because the dynamic frictional surface contact area between slat surfaces and load is less during slat return, the load is inched along by the conveyor apparatus as the slats move back and forth.
Implementation Method 2
Some of the load's material rests directly on the tarp, thus increasing the frictional forces between the tarp and the reciprocating floor slats underneath, so that the tarp sweeps the floor relatively clean by pulling a vertical barrier or headboard behind it
Data Source
AI summary
The invention disclosed here is a moving headboard for use in connection with a reciprocating floor slat system. It is particularly well-suited for use in connection with load-hauling trailers that have built-in reciprocating floor slat conveyors for unloading the trailer. Trailers of this kind are used in lieu of hydraulic lifts and involve inching the load off the trailer. The moving headboard sweeps the trailer floor clean during the unloading process.