Tiller Length Adjustment via Horizontal Pivot Axis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable drawbars in industrial trucks require users to navigate through a vertical position for tiller adjustment, leading to cumbersome and ergonomically unfavorable changes between short and long positions, especially in tight spaces, and lack user-friendly quick switching capabilities while the truck is in operation.
Innovation Solution
A tiller system with a swivel joint formed by a bearing block coupled via a parallel guide device, allowing the tiller head to pivot about a horizontal axis without changing its orientation or angular position, enabling a short, linear movement path for length adjustment, thus eliminating the need for a vertical position change and reducing operating effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tiller is adjusted between long and short positions by pivoting through a vertical position with locking devices, then the tiller can be locked in fixed positions, but the adjustment process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vertical position requirement and complex locking devices from the tiller adjustment mechanism. The parallel guide device extracts the constraining vertical movement path, allowing the tiller to adjust between long and short positions through a simple horizontal pivoting motion without requiring the tiller to pass through a vertical braking area or engage with locking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The tiller shaft is divided into two segments (first and second parts) connected by a pivot joint with horizontal pivot axis. This segmentation allows independent movement of each segment, enabling the tiller to change length by pivoting the second segment relative to the first, without requiring the entire tiller to pass through a vertical position or engage locking devices.
2Reliability
If the tiller passes through a vertical position for adjustment, then locking devices can be actuated, but the braking area activation prevents adjustment while the truck is moving
Solution Approach 1:
The tiller shaft is segmented into two parts that can move independently relative to each other around a horizontal pivot axis. This allows the length adjustment to occur through local pivoting of the second segment rather than requiring the entire tiller to pass through a vertical braking area, enabling adjustment while the truck is in motion without triggering brake activation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of pivoting the tiller vertically upward to engage locking devices (conventional approach), the patent inverts the movement direction by using a horizontal pivot axis. The tiller adjusts length by pivoting horizontally parallel to the ground, completely avoiding the vertical braking area and allowing continuous operation during adjustment.
3Length of moving object
If the tiller head pivots about the drawbar foot pivot axis during adjustment, then the tiller can change length, but the hand position changes causing unfavorable ergonomics
Solution Approach 1:
The tiller shaft is divided into two segments connected by a pivot joint with horizontal pivot axis between them. The first segment remains fixed at the drawbar foot, while the second segment pivots relative to the first. This segmentation allows the tiller head to move in a linear path parallel to the ground, keeping the operator's hand position constant and maintaining ergonomic operation during length adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot joint with horizontal pivot axis acts as an intermediary mechanism between the first and second segments of the tiller shaft. This intermediary allows the second segment to pivot independently, creating a linear movement path for the tiller head that preserves the operator's hand position and ergonomics during adjustment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The shaft has a shaft base (16), a shaft piston (18) and a shaft head (20), where the shaft is pivotally supported around a vertical pivot axis (17) by the shaft base at a drive part of an industrial truck. A pivot joint (25) is formed between a shaft base-closed part (18a) and a shaft head-closed part (18b) by a bearing block (30). The bearing block is coupled with the shaft base over a parallel guiding unit (31). The shaft head-closed part is pivotally supported at the bearing block around the horizontal pivot axis (26). An independent claim is also included for a shaft-guided industrial truck with a driver stand platform.