Pivotable Arm Roller Covering Trailer Apertures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual tarping of wood chip trailers is hazardous and time-consuming, and existing mechanical solutions are not fully satisfactory due to size, weight, and design constraints of chip trains.
Innovation Solution
An automated apparatus with a pivotable arm and rotatable roller deploys and retracts a flexible cover, allowing remote operation and handling of heaped loads without requiring operators to climb the trailer, featuring a secondary cover for additional protection and a compact design compatible with regulatory height and width limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual tarping is used to cover the trailer top, then the load can be covered, but the operation becomes hazardous and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system with an automated mechanical system. A motorized winch and reel assembly automatically deploys and retracts the tarp, eliminating the need for operators to manually handle the tarp on the trailer top. This substitution of manual labor with automated mechanical components directly resolves the safety and time loss issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The tarping system performs its own deployment and retraction functions through the automated winch mechanism. The system serves itself by automatically winding and unwinding the tarp without requiring external manual intervention, thereby eliminating the hazardous manual climbing and handling operations while reducing the time required for tarping operations.
2Extent of automation
If existing mechanical tarping solutions are implemented, then automation is achieved, but they do not satisfy size and weight constraints of chip trains
Solution Approach 1:
The tarping system is divided into separate functional components: a motorized winch assembly, a reel assembly, and the tarp itself. This segmentation allows for optimized weight distribution and placement of components in locations that minimize impact on the chip train's overall weight and balance while maintaining full automation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible tarp material that can be wound onto a reel, replacing rigid mechanical structures. This flexible film approach significantly reduces the weight of the moving components compared to traditional rigid mechanical tarping systems, while still providing full automation capability through the motorized winch and reel assembly.
3Ease of operation
If the arm is positioned to cover the load, then the flexible cover can be deployed, but the apparatus may exceed regulatory height limits
Solution Approach 1:
The arm assembly is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be positioned in different configurations. The arm can be retracted or positioned in a stowed location when not in use, and only extended to the necessary position for tarp deployment. This dynamic positioning ensures that the apparatus remains within regulatory height limits during normal operation while still enabling easy cover deployment when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the horizontal dimension for arm movement and tarp deployment rather than extending vertically. The arm moves laterally to position the reel over the load, and the tarp is deployed horizontally across the trailer top. This dimensional approach allows full cover deployment capability while maintaining a compact vertical profile that complies with regulatory height restrictions.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for covering an open top of a transportation trailer container includes a frame on top of the container. The frame surrounds an aperture for flow of material into the container. The apparatus also includes an arm pivotable between a closed position and an open position. The arm holds a rotatable roller for dispensing and receiving a flexible cover. The flexible cover is wrapped around the roller when the arm is in the open position. The flexible cover is unrolled from the roller to cover the aperture due to motion of the arm from the open position to the closed position. The frame includes a side portion having an inwardly and upwardly tapered outer surface. The roller contacts the outer surface when the arm is in the closed position.