Slide-out Support Roller with Adjustable Pivot Bolt
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Recreational vehicles with slide-outs face challenges in providing adequate support during extension and retraction, requiring vertical and horizontal adjustment to ensure proper use and safety.
Innovation Solution
A support roller system with a base portion and a roller portion, featuring angled slots and a pivot bolt that allows for adjustable distance and pivotability, enabling the slide-out to be securely supported and easily moved between retracted and extended positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a fixed support structure is used for the slide-out, then the structural stability is improved, but the ability to adjust vertical and horizontal position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support roller is designed with a dynamic adjustment mechanism featuring slots in the flanges and a movable pivot bolt that allows the roller position to be changed vertically and horizontally. The pivot bolt can be positioned at different locations along the slots and secured with lock nuts, enabling the support structure to adapt to different slide-out positions while maintaining stability when locked in place.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a movable support mechanism is used for the slide-out, then the adjustability is improved, but the structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support roller incorporates a dynamic adjustment mechanism with slots in the flanges and a movable pivot bolt that enables vertical and horizontal positioning adjustments. When adjustment is needed, the pivot bolt can be repositioned along the slots; when stability is required, the pivot bolt is locked in place using lock nuts, thus achieving both adjustability and structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot bolt acts as an intermediary element between the movable roller and the fixed base structure. It allows temporary movement and positioning adjustments while providing a secure connection point when locked, mediating between the need for adjustability and the requirement for structural stability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the pivot bolt is fixed in position, then the structural stability is improved, but the ease of adjustment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The design uses simple, easily replaceable lock nuts that can be quickly loosened and tightened to enable or disable adjustment. These inexpensive fastening elements allow operators to easily switch between fixed and adjustable states without complex mechanisms, making the system both stable when needed and easy to adjust when required.
Data Source
AI summary
A recreational vehicle has a vehicle body having a slide-out receiving opening, a slide-out disposed in the slide-out receiving opening, the slide-out being movable between a retracted position and an extended position, and a support roller disposed between the vehicle body and the slide-out, the support roller having a base portion and a roller portion. The base portion of the support roller has a base, first and second flanges extending from the base, a slot being defined in each of the first and second flanges, and a pivot bolt supported by the slot. The pivot bolt interconnects the roller portion with the slots in the first and second flanges. The pivot bolt in a non-fixed state is slidable along the slots such that a distance between the base and the roller housing is adjusted.