Slant Stock Trailer Forward Unloading Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Horses are often agitated and at risk of injury during unloading from typical slant trailers due to their reluctance to walk backward, which compromises the safety of both the animals and handlers.

Innovation Solution

A slant trailer design featuring rotatable and sliding interior panels that allow for forward loading and unloading, enabling horses to exit the trailer safely and reducing agitation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If horses are unloaded from a typical slant trailer by forcing them to walk backward, then the horses can exit the trailer, but the horses become extremely agitated and there is a high risk of injury to both horse and handler

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunloading processVSAvoidhorse agitation and injury risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the traditional unloading approach by allowing horses to walk forward instead of backward. This is achieved through a rear access door that opens outward and interior panels that can be rotated to create a forward-facing exit path, fundamentally reversing the harmful backward walking requirement while maintaining efficient trailer space utilization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Quantity of substance

If a slant trailer is designed to carry multiple horses in separated areas, then the trailer capacity is improved, but the unloading process requires horses to walk backward causing agitation and safety risks

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehorse carrying capacityVSAvoidhorse agitation and injury risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs dynamic interior panels that can be rotated between different positions to adapt the trailer configuration. During loading, panels create separated areas for multiple horses; during unloading, panels are rotated to establish a continuous forward path, dynamically transforming the trailer's internal layout to eliminate backward walking requirements while preserving multi-horse capacity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Object-affected harmful factors

If interior panels are made rotatable and sliding to enable forward unloading, then horse safety and comfort are improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehorse agitation and injury riskVSAvoidinterior panel mechanism

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the interior wall into multiple independent rotatable panels rather than using a complex overall mechanism. Each panel can be independently rotated or slid into position, breaking down the complexity into simple, manageable segments that collectively achieve the forward unloading function without requiring sophisticated control systems

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS7628436B1Stock trailer with provision for forward ingress and egress of animal

Publication Date: 2009.12.08 CUTLER RACHEL

AI summary

A conveyance for the transportation of a multiple livestock is manufactured as a stock trailer in the slant configuration having provided therein a rear interior panels and forward interior panels. The forward and rear interior panels are rotatable about their respective mounting poles and the forward interior panels slide back and forth to facilitate loading into and unloading from the trailer of a plurality of horses. In particular, the forward interior panels and the rear interior panels are cooperatively adapted to enable the forward loading of the horses and, further, to enable the forward unloading to and from the trailer, respectively.