Tractor Skid Plate With Access Apertures For Underside Maintenance
Solution Overview
Problem
Tractor underside components such as oil pans, fuel tanks, hydraulic lines, and electrical wiring are vulnerable to damage from environmental obstructions due to lack of protection, leading to costly repairs and reduced lifespan, with existing solutions being inefficient and difficult to install or remove.
Innovation Solution
A detachable skid plate made of steel, connected to the tractor's rear axle bracket and transmission, featuring draining apertures and access points for maintenance, providing comprehensive protection while allowing service access without removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional integrated protection devices are used to enclose underside components, then protection effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protection device is divided into multiple independent skid plates (front skid plate, rear skid plate, side skid plates) that can be separately manufactured, installed, and removed. Each skid plate protects specific vulnerable components in modular fashion, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive protection coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The skid plates are designed with detachable mounting systems using bolts and fasteners, allowing the protection device to transition between attached and detached states. This dynamic configuration enables easy installation and removal without permanent modification to the tractor, simplifying the overall device architecture.
2Reliability
If a protective enclosure is added to the tractor underside, then component protection is improved, but ease of maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protective enclosure is segmented into multiple access points and openings that allow service personnel to reach critical components (fuel tank, hydraulic lines, electrical wiring, oil pans) without removing the entire skid plate assembly, maintaining both protection and accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The skid plates include strategically positioned openings and access points that provide sufficient maintenance access for most routine services without compromising the overall protective coverage, eliminating the need for complete device removal.
3Reliability
If heavy protection materials are used to shield underside components, then protection effectiveness is improved, but tractor weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Skid plates are strategically positioned only at locations where vulnerable components (fuel tank, hydraulic lines, electrical wiring, oil pans) are most exposed to impact risks, rather than providing universal heavy protection across the entire underside, optimizing protection-to-weight ratio.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies using steel material for skid plates, which provides high strength-to-weight ratio protection. The steel construction delivers effective impact resistance while minimizing added weight compared to alternative materials.
Data Source
AI summary
A tractor bottom guard device is provided comprising a skid plate, an engine belly pan, and side shields removably connected to brackets, removably connected to an underside of a tractor. The skid plate includes a planar member and a diagonal wall disposed at a front end thereof, which is removably bolted to front corner guard brackets. The planar member is removably connected to transmission brackets that are bolted to the transmission of the tractor. A transversal plate extends upward from a rear end of the planar member, which is removably bolted to rear axle brackets. The disclosed brackets are bolted to the underside frame of the tractor, in alignment with the OEM factory bolt holes of the frame of the tractor. The bottom guard device defines apertures configured to provide easy access to underside OEM mechanical components of the tractor without requiring removal of the tractor bottom guard device.