Route Busbar Extension for Powered Crane Positioning Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing positioning areas for route systems, such as those used in container stacking cranes, face challenges in providing electrical energy supply during the positioning process, limiting the crane's ability to lift or lower containers, and requiring additional space and design modifications like overhangs for container placement.
Innovation Solution
The positioning area is enhanced by extending at least one route busbar into the positioning area, allowing the current collector contacts to be inserted horizontally and vertically into electrified busbars, ensuring the crane is supplied with electrical energy, and enabling container placement while optimizing the steel structure's overhangs for increased operational safety and cost-effective route manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the current collector contacts are inserted horizontally into the route busbars as known from prior art, then the positioning area can be kept simple, but the crane cannot be supplied with electrical energy in the positioning area and cannot lift or lower containers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the insertion direction of current collector contacts from horizontal to vertical, allowing the contacts to engage with busbars that extend vertically into the positioning area. This dimensional change enables electrical energy supply while the crane remains in the positioning area, allowing container handling operations to proceed without interruption.
2Ease of manufacture
If the route is shortened to save material and cost, then manufacturing becomes more cost-effective, but the positioning area requires precise alignment and extension of busbars
Solution Approach 1:
The busbars are pre-positioned and extended into the positioning area before the crane arrives. This preliminary action ensures that when the crane enters the positioning area, electrical contact is immediately available, eliminating the need for complex real-time alignment mechanisms and reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the telescopic arm is positioned centrally as in prior art, then the structure is symmetric and simple, but the installation scope is limited and additional space is required
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic arm is repositioned from a central symmetric location to an eccentric off-center position. This asymmetric arrangement allows the arm to reach containers more effectively and expands the installation scope without requiring additional space, as the arm can now access areas that would previously be unreachable.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to a positioning area (EB) for a route (1), wherein the route (1) has at least one guide rail (2, 3), and the guide rail (2, 3) is used as guidance for a current collector carriage (11) having current collector contacts (12) of a current collector system (10) arranged on a vehicle that can be moved along the route (1). The route (1) has at least one route busbar (5), wherein in the positioning area (EB), the current collector carriage (11) can be adjusted horizontally and vertically to the route (1) by means of a positioning device of the current collector system (10). The invention is characterized in that at least one additional busbar (5') is arranged in the vicinity of the positioning area (EB), or that at least one route busbar (5) extends and/or is extended beyond at least one guide rail (2, 3) of the route (1) all the way to the positioning area (EB).