Pivotable Bunk Trailer for Multi-Load Hauling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing logging trailers are inefficient due to their inability to carry wood residuals or other loads besides cut timber, leading to costly empty return trips and limited flexibility in transportation.
Innovation Solution
A trailer with deployable bunk structures and flexible side walls that can pivot to accommodate different loads, allowing for the transportation of both logs and commodities like wood chips, featuring a drop center trailer bed and a pivotable top frame with winches for securing side walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed bunk structures are used in logging trailers, then the trailer can securely transport cut timber, but the trailer cannot haul wood residuals or other types of loads
Solution Approach 1:
The bunk structures are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to be positioned in different configurations. The bunks can be moved along the trailer length and positioned to create open or closed configurations, enabling the trailer to adapt between transporting logs and wood residuals without requiring multiple specialized trailers.
Solution Approach 2:
The trailer is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple types of loads including cut timber, wood residuals, and other commodities. The movable bunk system and flexible side walls work together to create a multi-functional platform that eliminates the need for separate specialized trailers for different load types.
2Productivity
If traditional logging trailers with fixed bunks are used, then the trailer structure is simple, but the trailer must return empty to the first location after delivering timber
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer can now perform multiple functions including hauling both logs and wood residuals in the same trip. This eliminates the need for empty return trips as the trailer can pick up residual loads at the mill location and transport them to processing facilities, thereby improving productivity and reducing fuel consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If rigid sidewalls are used in commodity trailers, then the trailer can contain bulk materials, but the trailer cannot be used for log transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The side walls are designed to be flexible and movable rather than rigid and fixed. They can be positioned in different configurations to accommodate different load types - extended outward for bulk materials like wood residuals, or retracted for log transportation. This dynamic design enables product type flexibility without requiring completely different trailer designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The side walls are segmented into multiple sections that can move independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows the side walls to adapt their configuration based on the load type being transported, providing versatility while maintaining structural integrity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If deployable bunk structures are added to enable multi-use, then the trailer can haul various products, but the bunk structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bunk assemblies incorporate movable components that allow them to be positioned in different configurations along the trailer. The bunks can slide along tracks or rails and be locked into position, providing adaptability for different load types while using relatively simple mechanical mechanisms rather than complex systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A trailer (100) is disclosed having a trailer bed (106) that may be a drop center type trailer and a frame structure extending, including a forward frame (120), rearward frame (122) and upper beam (124) therebetween. Pivotable bunk assemblies (150, 160) having left and right portions are pivotably mounted to the trailer side rails (105), the bunk portions pivotable between a deployed position extending over the trailer and a non-deployed position. A top frame (130) is hingedly attached to the upper beam and engages the bunk assemblies when it is in the closed position. Deployable, load-bearing sidewalls (102) are also optionally provided. The trailer is easily convertible between a configuration suitable for hauling logs in the deployed bunk assemblies and a configuration suitable for hauling other product—for example, wood chips or the like—with the bunk assemblies non-deployed, and the sidewalls deployed.