Swing Nesting Hood for Work Vehicle Engine Compartment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing work vehicles with engine compartments behind a driver seat face challenges in hood design, requiring large spaces for opening, increasing weight and the need for significant force, and inadequate cooling and maintenance access due to complex hood structures.

Innovation Solution

A swing-type nesting hood structure comprising a fixed hood and a swing hood, where the swing hood tucks the fixed hood inside in the open position, reducing weight and rearward projection, and allowing efficient airflow for cooling, with a bisected structure for easier assembly and material selection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If a large hood is used to cover the engine compartment, then the engine and accessories are adequately covered, but the hood becomes heavy and requires large force to open and swing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehood coverageVSAvoidhood weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The hood is divided into two separate hoods: a fixed hood that remains stationary and a swing hood that can be opened. This segmentation allows the swing hood to be lighter since it only needs to cover the engine when closed, while the fixed hood provides additional coverage without adding to the moving weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The swing hood is designed to tuck inside the fixed hood when opened, creating a nested configuration. This nesting arrangement reduces the rearward projection of the vehicle when the hood is open and allows the lighter swing hood to provide adequate coverage when closed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Length of moving object

If the swing hood tucks the fixed hood inside, then rearward projection is minimized, but the structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverearward projectionVSAvoidhood structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hood system is segmented into a fixed hood and a swing hood with distinct functions. The fixed hood provides stable coverage and structural support, while the swing hood provides adjustable coverage and tucks inside when opened, simplifying each component's design while achieving the overall nesting function.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of manufacture

If a divided hood structure is used, then assembly is easier and material selection is more flexible, but the number of parts increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly easeVSAvoidnumber of parts

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hood system is divided into exactly two main components (fixed hood and swing hood) rather than numerous small parts. This segmentation level provides manufacturing flexibility and assembly ease while avoiding excessive part count. Each hood can be manufactured separately with optimized materials and then assembled together.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9045171B2Work vehicle

Publication Date: 2015.06.02 KUBOTA CORP

AI summary

A work vehicle includes a fixed hood covering a rear area of an engine compartment housing an engine and an engine accessory, a swing axis extending through the rear area of the engine compartment in a transverse direction of the vehicle, and a swing hood swinging around the swing axis between a closed position and an open position. The swing hood tucks the fixed hood inside the swing hood and thus covers the fixed hood in the open position, and covers a front area and a middle area of the engine compartment and overlaps with a front end portion of the fixed hood in the closed position.