Pivotable Marine Radar Arch Reducing Lateral Racking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional radar arches on marine vessels lack sufficient lateral rigidity, leading to vibration or 'racking' in rough seas, which affects the stability and longevity of the arch and mounted equipment, and is visually undesirable.
Innovation Solution
A pivotably mounted arch assembly with a knuckle joint and anchoring subassembly allows the arch to arcuate displacement, providing adjustable positioning and enhanced stability, and includes means for influencing pivotable movement to reduce the force required for lifting and control the displacement range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the radar arch is made higher to reduce radiation scatter in the cockpit, then the visual appearance and radar performance are improved, but the lateral rigidity and stability deteriorate, causing racking vibration in rough seas
Solution Approach 1:
The radar arch is transformed from a fixed rigid structure to a dynamically adjustable structure with pivotable legs. The legs can be positioned at different angles relative to the boat, allowing the arch to adapt its configuration. This dynamic adjustment enables the arch to maintain higher height for better radar performance while controlling lateral movement through adjustable leg angles, thereby resolving the contradiction between height and lateral rigidity.
2Illumination intensity
If the radar arch is made higher to reduce radiation scatter, then the radar performance is improved, but the visual appearance deteriorates due to excessive racking movement
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable leg mechanism allows dynamic adjustment of the arch's configuration. When properly adjusted, the legs can be positioned to minimize lateral racking movement while maintaining the desired height for radar performance. This eliminates the excessive visual racking that would otherwise occur with a fixed high arch, thereby resolving the contradiction between radar performance and visual appearance.
3Illumination intensity
If the radar arch is made higher, then the radar performance is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to excessive vibration and potential cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable leg design transforms the arch from a rigid structure susceptible to resonant vibrations to a flexible structure that can absorb and dissipate energy. By allowing controlled movement at the leg pivots, the system reduces the transmission of vibratory forces to the arch structure itself, thereby preventing fatigue cracking and improving reliability while maintaining high radar performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivotable joint acts as a built-in shock-absorbing mechanism that cushions the arch against lateral forces from waves and boat motion. This preliminary cushioning effect protects the arch structure from the full impact of rough sea conditions, preventing excessive stress and potential cracking that would occur in a rigid fixed arch.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid structure is used to provide stiffness, then the lateral stability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in deployment and storage
Solution Approach 1:
The leg structure is designed to be pivotable rather than fixed, enabling easy deployment and storage while maintaining lateral stability during operation. The legs can be readily adjusted to the required angle and secured, providing stability when needed, and can be easily repositioned or collapsed for deployment and storage operations, thereby resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An arch assembly 10 for pivotably mounting on a boat 12, its method of manufacture, and deployment in use. The assembly 10 has an arch 14 with a generally inverted U-shaped configuration, a forward edge region 16 and an aft edge region 18, a laterally extending top portion 20 generally spanning the width of the boat 12 and a pair of downwardly extending leg portions 22, 24 for connection to the boat 12. Each leg portion 22, 24 has a lower basal edge 26, 28. A knuckle joint 30, 32 is provided adjacent to an edge region of the basal edge 26, 28 about which the arch assembly 10 may pivot from a secured upright position through intermediate positions 36 to an extended lower position 38 through a number (R) degrees of arcuate displacement. An anchoring subassembly 40, 41 provided adjacent to another region of the basal edge 26, 28 for releasably securing the arch assembly 10 to the boat 12. Means for influencing 42 pivotable movement 43 of the arch assembly 10 as it moves arcuately are also provided.