Tire Loading Apparatus with Body Locating Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for loading and unloading round bodies, such as tires, from shelves require significant manual input, posing safety hazards due to the heavy weight of these items and necessitating manual handling across inclined surfaces.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus featuring a body locating member and a lifting arrangement that allows round bodies to be lifted and rolled onto or off shelves without manual input, utilizing a roller and transition support member to facilitate movement over the shelf edge, and an unloading arm to manage the return of the bodies to the ground surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a foldable ramp is used for loading and unloading round bodies, then the round body can be manually rolled onto and off the shelf, but significant manual input is required which poses safety hazards due to the heavy weight of the items
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the round body's own weight and geometry to facilitate loading and unloading. The body locating member and shelf edge work together to automatically position and guide the round body during transfer, eliminating the need for manual pushing or guiding while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The body locating member acts as an intermediary between the ground surface and the shelf. It provides a controlled interface that guides the round body from the ground level to the shelf edge, enabling automatic transfer without direct manual contact with the heavy load
2Productivity
If a foldable ramp is used, then loading and unloading can be performed, but considerable manual input is required to displace the tire from the floor surface to the shelf and control movement across the ramp surface
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus enables the round body to load and unload itself without manual assistance. The body locating member automatically guides the body onto the shelf when the shelf is in the raised position, and the body can be discharged automatically when the shelf is lowered, maximizing productivity while minimizing manual operation
Solution Approach 2:
The shelf is designed to move between raised and lowered positions dynamically. When raised, the body locating member guides the round body onto the shelf. When lowered, the shelf edge drops below the body locating member to allow automatic discharge of the round body, improving operational efficiency
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
Eliminates the need for manual handling, enhancing safety by automating the loading and unloading process, reducing the risk of injury and improving efficiency in handling heavy round bodies.
Implementation Method 1
a body lifting arrangement supported on the frame, the body lifting arrangement being operable to displace the body locating member in upward and downward movement between a lowered condition of the body locating member
Implementation Method 2
the round body is enabled to roll across a ground surface
Implementation Method 3
defining a body support surface on an inner side of the body locating member spaced from the shelf edge in a transverse direction crosswise to the longitudinal direction for engaging an outer surface of the round body
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus suitable for both loading and unloading a round body, for example a tire, relative to a stationary shelf comprises, for loading, a body locating member defining a contact surface which confines in fixed location the round body between same and a shelf edge of the stationary shelf and a body lifting arrangement on which the body locating member is movable carried so as to displace the locating member upwardly relative to the shelf edge. For unloading the apparatus comprises an unloading arm defining a body contact surface that is displaceable in movement arranged perpendicular to a rotational axis of the body from a location outside a shelf storage space defined vertically above the shelf where the body is received when on the shelf, to the shelf storage space so as to displace the body off the shelf.