Radial Stacker Pivotable Wheel Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tracked radial stackers face difficulties in radial movement for stacking bulk materials due to their height constraints and limitations in road transportation, as the hydraulic systems and drive components typically increase the overall height, and they are not permitted on road surfaces, limiting their use and requiring loading onto flatbed trucks for transit.
Innovation Solution
A tracked, portable stacker design featuring a continuous track system with pivotable wheels and a telescoping cylinder arm, allowing the conveyor to be adjusted between transport and stacking positions, enabling radial movement and reducing height for road transport by elevating the tracks and bogie wheels, facilitating arced stacking without needing flatbed transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the hydraulic systems and drive components are placed above the drive, then the stacker can be maneuvered effectively, but the height of the folded conveyor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates the drive components (engine, drive pulleys, hydraulic systems) from a vertical arrangement above the drive to a horizontal arrangement along the side of the conveyor frame. This dimensional repositioning allows the components to be distributed laterally rather than vertically, reducing the height of the folded conveyor while maintaining all necessary maneuvering functions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If tracks are used instead of wheels, then the stacker can operate on harsh terrain, but it becomes more difficult to shift the stacker radially and requires loading onto flatbed trucks for transit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the support system into two distinct components: continuous tracks for terrain operation and separate radial wheels for radial movement. The radial wheels are mounted on radial arms that can pivot independently from the track system, allowing radial shifting functionality to be decoupled from the track drive system. This segmentation enables the stacker to maintain terrain capability while restoring radial movement ability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a multi-functional support system where the same radial wheels serve dual purposes: they enable radial movement during stacking operations and provide road wheels for highway transport. This eliminates the need for separate flatbed truck transport, as the stacker can be self-transported on highways using its own radial wheels.
3Productivity
If the stacker is designed for radial stacking operations, then more material can be stacked in an arc, but the profile height increases due to hydraulic systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent redistributes the hydraulic systems and drive components from a vertical arrangement that increases profile height to a horizontal arrangement along the side of the conveyor frame. This dimensional change maintains all necessary functions for radial stacking operations while significantly reducing the vertical profile height of the folded conveyor.
Data Source
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AI summary
A tracked mobile radial stacker (10) is provided that includes a conveyor (20) having a rear end with a pivot pad (52), a 5th wheel connection (16), a hopper (46) for receiving bulk material to be stacked, and a forward portion designed to discharge the bulk material to form a stack. Also included are a continuous track (12) mounted to a frame (25), and a pair of pivotable wheels (22) mounted to the frame, the pivotable wheels being pivotable between raised and lowered positions and being radially disposed when in the lowered position. An arm (28) may be mounted between the frame and the forward portion of the conveyor, the arm having an underside. A bogey (14) may be mounted to the underside of the arm, the bogey including a plurality of longitudinally-disposed bogey wheels (45). The pivotable wheels may raise the tracks off the ground when the pivotable wheels are in the radially-disposed, lowered position to facilitate radial shifting of the conveyor with the conveyor pivoting on the pivot pad to form an arc-shaped stack, and when the bogey is in its lowered position the continuous track may be elevated off the ground.