Stacker Crane Mast Support Displacement Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing stacker crane designs face challenges in reducing stress between the mast and the lower carriage during normal operation, making it difficult to maintain the mast upright during installation and maintenance, and requiring complex pivoting mechanisms for heavy masts.
Innovation Solution
A stacker crane design featuring a lower carriage with a displacement mechanism that raises and lowers a support between a grounded and retracted position, allowing the mast to tilt within an allowable range without exerting strong forces on the connection, and stabilizing the mast upright during installation and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If the mast is made pivotal to the lower carriage to reduce stress during operation, then the stress on the connection is reduced, but the mast cannot stand upright during installation and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The support dynamically changes its function based on operational state: during normal operation it is retracted to allow mast tilting without stress, during installation/maintenance it is lowered to contact the lower rail to stabilize the mast upright. This dynamic reconfiguration resolves the contradiction between stress reduction and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support acts as an intermediary element between the mast and lower rail. It transfers the stabilizing function to the lower rail when needed, allowing the mast connection to remain fixed while achieving upright stability during installation and maintenance without requiring a pivotal connection.
2Ease of operation
If a large pivoting mechanism is provided to pivot a heavy mast, then the mast can be positioned upright, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing function is extracted from the mast-lower carriage connection and transferred to a separate support element that contacts the lower rail. This eliminates the need for complex pivoting mechanisms at the mast connection, reducing device complexity while maintaining the ability to position the mast upright.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the mast itself pivotal, the invention creates a separate stabilizing structure (the support contacting the lower rail) that copies the stabilizing function. This simpler copied structure achieves the same upright positioning capability without the complexity of pivoting the heavy mast.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the support is always in contact with the lower rail to stabilize the mast, then the mast stands upright, but strong forces are exerted on the connection when the mast tilts during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The support's contact state with the lower rail is dynamically controlled: contacted during installation/maintenance to provide stability, retracted during normal operation to allow mast tilting without transmitting forces to the mast connection. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between stability and stress reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The support alternates between two states: lowered to contact the lower rail during installation and maintenance periods, and raised to retract during normal operation periods. This periodic switching between states resolves the contradiction by providing stability only when needed while avoiding stress during operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces the stress on the connection between the mast and the lower carriage, increases durability and reliability, and simplifies the structure by allowing the mast to be fixed directly to the lower carriage, facilitating easier installation and maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
the displacement mechanism includes: at least an eccentric pin comprising a circular plate, a round bar whose base end is integrated with the circular plate and is eccentric from the center of the circular plate
Data Source
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AI summary
With a simple structure, a mast is stood upright during installation and during maintenance, resulting in a reduction of stress between the mast and a lower carriage during normal travel. A stacker crane includes: a lower carriage having a lower drive wheel, a lower travel motor, and a support located apart from the lower drive wheel; an upper carriage having an upper drive wheel and an upper travel motor for driving the upper drive wheel; and a mast fixed to the lower carriage, standing upward from the lower carriage and connected to the upper carriage, and having a transfer device capable of rising and falling. A displacement mechanism for raising and lowering the support is provided on the lower carriage between a grounded position supported by a lower rail and a retracted position lifted off the lower rail. The support is lowered to the grounded position when the stacker crane is installed between the lower rail and the upper rail and when the stacker crane is stopped for maintenance, and the support is raised to the retracted position when the stacker crane is operated.