Stackable Tower Trailer Hinged Axle Nesting Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable light towers lack compact storage features, leading to inefficiencies in shipping and storage, as they cannot be nested or stacked, resulting in increased personnel, shipping, and storage costs, especially in scenarios like road construction where multiple towers are required along a length of road.
Innovation Solution
A stackable portable tower trailer with a hinged axle and pivotable mast that allows for nesting and stacking, featuring a frame designed for compact storage and shipping, including a power system with an engine/generator and fuel tank, and wheels that can be raised for stacking, enabling multiple units to be transported on a single vehicle and stored efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple light towers are transported separately on individual trailers, then each tower can be easily transported, but the number of vehicles and personnel required increases, leading to higher shipping costs
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer frame is designed with nesting capability where one trailer can be placed inside another, allowing multiple light towers to be transported on a single vehicle. The frame includes vertical posts with horizontal arms that can receive and secure nested trailers, enabling compact stacking during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes vertical stacking in the third dimension to accommodate multiple trailers on a single transport vehicle. By arranging trailers vertically rather than horizontally, the system maximizes the use of vertical space, allowing one trailer to be positioned above another and secured using the frame's vertical posts and horizontal arms.
2Ease of operation
If light towers are stored in a dispersed manner, then each tower has adequate storage space, but the total storage area required increases, leading to higher storage costs
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer frame is designed with nesting capability where one trailer can be placed inside another, allowing multiple light towers to be stored in a compact vertical arrangement. The frame includes vertical posts with horizontal arms that can receive and secure nested trailers, enabling space-efficient storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes vertical stacking in the third dimension to accommodate multiple trailers in a compact storage footprint. By arranging trailers vertically rather than horizontally, the system minimizes the ground area required while maintaining accessibility to individual units.
3Device complexity
If the axle is fixed in position, then the wheel assembly is structurally simple, but the trailer cannot be raised for stacking, preventing compact storage and shipping
Solution Approach 1:
The axle assembly incorporates a raising and lowering mechanism that allows the wheel assembly to be dynamically repositioned between a lowered operational position and a raised stacked position. This dynamic capability enables the trailer to adapt between towing mode and storage mode, facilitating vertical stacking for compact storage and shipping.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable tower trailer having a light tower housing constructed to allow for both stacking and nesting which is beneficial in both storage and shipping of light towers is disclosed. The portable tower trailer employs a frame having a hinged axle that allows the wheels to operate in a conventional manner. The hinged axle further allows the wheels to be rotated upward allowing the frame to rest flush on the ground or stacked upon a similar shaped portable tower. The stackable light tower is constructed having a base employing an engine system and a fuel tank; and a mast pivotally coupled to the base and movable between a storage configuration and a positioning configuration. The storage configuration is when the mast is folded over an upper surface of the base whereby an additional light tower base or tower trailer may be placed or stacked over the top of the first light tower base.