Adjustable Paving Machine Light Assembly for Night Work Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing illuminating assemblies for road paving machines are inadequate for effectively illuminating the working areas during nighttime operations.
Innovation Solution
An adjustably positionable electric light assembly is mounted on available vertical surfaces of paving machines, featuring a steel mounting plate, a cantilevering shelf, a vertically adjustable column with a swivel joint, and a boom arm with an LED light at the end.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If known illuminating assemblies are used for paving machines, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the illumination effectiveness is inadequate for nighttime working areas
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting assembly incorporates a telescoping column with multiple extendable sections that can be adjusted to different heights and positions. This dynamic structure allows the light to be positioned at optimal locations for illuminating various working areas of the paving machine, resolving the contradiction between achieving adequate illumination intensity and maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The column is divided into multiple telescoping segments that can be independently extended or retracted. This segmentation allows for flexible positioning of the light source without requiring a completely complex reconfigurable structure, thereby improving illumination effectiveness while controlling overall device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the lighting assembly is made fixed and simple to manufacture, then the ease of manufacture is high, but the adaptability to different working areas and positions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping column provides dynamic adjustability in height and position, allowing the lighting assembly to adapt to different working areas on the paving machine. The mechanism uses standard telescoping components that can be manufactured using conventional processes, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving the desired adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting assembly is designed with a universal mounting plate that can be attached to various surfaces of the paving machine, and the telescoping column can be positioned at multiple locations. This multi-functional design allows a single assembly to serve different illumination needs without requiring multiple specialized components, balancing adaptability with manufacturing simplicity.
3Ease of operation
If the lighting assembly uses adjustable telescoping columns and swivel joints, then the ease of operation and positioning is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The swivel joint at the top of the column allows the light assembly to rotate and position itself in different directions with simple manual operation. This dynamic element provides ease of positioning without requiring complex motorized or automated mechanisms, maintaining operational simplicity while enhancing positioning convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The column is segmented into telescoping sections that can be independently adjusted, and the swivel joint separates the vertical adjustment function from the rotational positioning function. This segmentation of functions allows each component to be simple in its own right, and when combined, they provide complex positioning capability without proportionally increasing overall mechanism 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 lighting assembly provides adjustable and effective illumination of the working areas, enhancing visibility and safety during nighttime paving operations.
Implementation Method 1
An electric light, preferably and LED light, which is fixedly attached to the boom arm's distal end
Data Source
AI summary
A paving machine lighting assembly incorporating a mounting plate; a shelf fixedly attached to and cantilevering from the mounting plate; a column fixedly attached to and extending upwardly from the shelf, the column having an upper segment and a lower segment; a swivel joint interconnecting the column's upper and lower segments; a boom arm having a proximal end fixedly attached to an upper end of the column; an electric light fixedly attached to the boom arm's distal end; and a vertical mounting surface at the pavement forming end of the paving machine, the mounting plate being securely bolted to the paving machine's vertical mounting surface.