Telescopic Boom Intermediate Element Reduces Overlap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Telescopic booms on material handling vehicles face limitations in reach due to the need for significant overlap between elements to maintain strength, which increases complexity and cost, and makes the assembly more cumbersome and prone to failure when trying to extend reach without increasing the number of elements or overall length.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an intermediate element that provides additional support between the outer and inner tube elements, with stops to limit withdrawal, allowing for reduced overlap and increased extension without adding external elements or length, thus enhancing reach.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If significant overlap is provided between telescopic elements to maintain strength, then structural strength is improved, but the maximum achievable reach is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The boom is divided into three separate elements: an outer tube element, an inner tube element, and an intermediate element. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized independently, with the intermediate element providing structural support while the inner and outer elements provide telescopic extension capability.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate element is introduced between the inner and outer tube elements to act as a mediator. This intermediate element provides the necessary structural support and bending resistance that would otherwise require significant overlap between the inner and outer elements, thereby enabling greater extension while maintaining strength.
2Length of moving object
If the overall length of telescopic boom elements is increased to improve reach, then the reach is improved, but the assembly becomes more cumbersome to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic boom employs a nested configuration where the inner tube element is inserted into the outer tube element, and the intermediate element is positioned between them. This nesting allows the boom to collapse to a compact size for transport while extending to a longer length for operation, resolving the contradiction between reach and transportability.
3Length of moving object
If the number of nested telescopic elements is increased to improve reach, then the reach is improved, but the complexity in construction increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly increasing the number of telescopic elements throughout the boom, the invention applies a specialized intermediate element with specific structural properties at the critical location between the inner and outer elements. This localized approach provides the necessary support and reach improvement without the complexity of a fully multi-element telescopic system.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(d)
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A telescopic boom (10) suitable for a material handling vehicle is provided. The boom comprises two telescopic sections. One end (12a) of an inner tube element (12) is telescopically slideable in one end (14a) of an outer tube element (14) so that a majority length of the inner tube element can be received therein. An intermediate element (16) is also provided, a first end (16a) of which resides within, and is slideable in, the outer tube element (14). A second end (16b) of the intermediate element is telescopically slideable in the end (12a) of the inner tube element (12) that resides inside the outer tube element. A first stop (20) serves to limit withdrawal of the first end (16a) of the intermediate element from the outer tube element (14), whilst a second stop (18) serves to limit withdrawal of the second end (16b) of the intermediate element from the inner tube element (12). The provision of the intermediate element (16) allows a reduced overlap between the telescopic sections (12,14) thus increased reach.