Rotating Leveling Pad for Stable Equipment Support on Slopes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leveling pad systems fail to provide a stable and level surface for equipment on uneven terrains, leading to potential equipment failure and safety hazards when the slope exceeds 5 degrees, as they cannot effectively distribute heavy loads without slipping or shearing.
Innovation Solution
A leveling pad system comprising a top member, a bottom member, and an axle, where the top member and bottom member can rotate independently about the axle to adjust to desired slopes, ensuring a level surface for equipment feet, even on sloped surfaces, using angled mating surfaces and apertures to secure engagement and distribute loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pads or mats are used on sloped surfaces, then they can provide a foundation for outriggers, but they cannot provide a level surface when the slope exceeds 5 degrees, causing the outrigger foot to shear off or fail
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling pad system incorporates rotatable members that can dynamically adjust their orientation to compensate for ground slope. The first rotatable member adjusts to the ground slope while the second rotatable member maintains a level top surface, allowing the system to adapt to varying slope conditions while maintaining stability and preventing outrigger failure.
2Strength
If pads are designed to be rigid to withstand heavy loads, then they can distribute force effectively, but they become difficult to transport and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling pad system is divided into multiple separable components including a first member, second member, third member, and fourth member connected by rotatable joints. This segmentation allows the system to be easily transported and assembled while maintaining the structural integrity and load-bearing capacity needed to withstand heavy outrigger loads through proper mechanical connections.
3Reliability
If the pad system uses complex mechanisms to provide level surfaces on slopes, then it can maintain stability, but it increases device complexity and reduces ease of operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses simple rotatable members with angled mating surfaces that naturally self-level through gravity and mechanical geometry. The first rotatable member's axis is angled relative to its top surface, and the second rotatable member's axis is angled relative to the first member's bottom surface, creating a passive self-adjusting mechanism that provides level surfaces without complex active control systems.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the mating surfaces are designed with angles to accommodate rotation and sloping, then the system can adjust to terrain, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable members incorporate angled mating surfaces designed to work together through controlled rotation rather than requiring precise fixed angles. The first rotatable member has a mating surface angled at approximately 20-45 degrees, and the second rotatable member has a mating surface angled at approximately 20-45 degrees, allowing for tolerance accumulation through the rotational adjustment mechanism rather than requiring high precision in each individual angle.
Data Source
AI summary
In one or more arrangements, a leveling pad system for supporting a foot of a piece of equipment is presented which has a top member, middle member, a bottom member, and an axle. In one or more arrangements, the top member has a top surface and an angled mating surface, and the bottom member has a bottom surface and an angled mating surface. In this arrangement the axle is inserted into the top member, the middle member and the bottom member, the top member rotates independent of the bottom member, and the bottom member rotates independent of the top member. When the bottom member is rotated, the top surface of the top member moves to a desired slope in a first direction and when the top member is rotated the top surface of the top member moves to a desired slope in a second direction.