Retractable Tyre Stack Carrier for Faster Trailer Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual loading of tyres onto trailers is time-consuming, labor-intensive, unsafe, and inefficient, leading to increased costs and space wastage due to the difficulty in optimizing trailer space utilization.
Innovation Solution
A tyre loading apparatus with retractable side panels that adjust volume to securely carry and deposit tyre stacks without manual labor, using actuators or scissor mechanisms to extend and retract panels, allowing for efficient space utilization and secure stacking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual loading of tyres is used, then flexibility and simplicity are maintained, but loading time increases significantly and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The side panels are made movable rather than fixed, allowing them to extend during loading and retract during deposit. This dynamic structure enables automated handling while maintaining adaptability for different tyre stack sizes, resolving the contradiction between automation and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier element with retractable side panels serves multiple functions: it carries tyre stacks, adjusts its volume dynamically, and deposits tyres without additional machinery. This multi-functionality achieves high productivity without proportionally increasing system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If tyre stack structure is disturbed during offloading, then easier deposition is achieved, but space efficiency and stacking integrity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The side panels are extracted as separate movable components from the fixed carrier structure. By removing these panels during deposit, the tyre stack maintains its integrity while being gently released, achieving both ease of operation and stack stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of ejecting the tyre stack forward to achieve deposition, the side panels retract backward to create space for the stack to slide out naturally. This inverted approach preserves stack integrity while enabling easy offloading.
3Productivity
If fixed volume carrier is used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but trailer space utilization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier element's volume is made dynamically adjustable through movable side panels that can extend to maximize trailer space utilization and retract for easy deposit. This dynamic volume adjustment achieves high space efficiency without permanent complex structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier's dimensional parameters (volume) are changed dynamically during operation. The side panels adjust the carrier's width and height to match the tyre stack dimensions, optimizing space utilization while maintaining structural simplicity through a single adjustable mechanism.
Data Source
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AI summary
There is disclosed a tyre loading apparatus (10) for carrying and depositing a tyre stack and a method of carrying and depositing a tyre stack. The tyre loading apparatus (10) comprises a carrier element (20) for holding the tyre stack, the carrier element (20) comprising a back wall (5) and a plurality of retractable side panels (6, 7, 8, 9), wherein each of the plurality of retractable side panels (6, 7, 8, 9) are configured to move relative to the back wall (5) between an extended position for holding a tyre stack in the carrier element (20) and a retracted position for depositing the tyre stack from the carrier element (20).