Tractor-Trailer Hose Management with Dynamic Spring Biasing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Tractor-trailer hoses and cables suffer from tangling, sagging, and excessive wear due to excess slack, leading to premature damage and safety risks, with existing solutions like spring-biased hoses failing to effectively prevent entanglement and abrasion.

Innovation Solution

A hose line management system comprising a vertically and horizontally mounted tube structure that allows cables and hoses to move with vehicle movement while being biased to return to an original position, featuring a rotatable hub, tilt connector, and torsional springs to prevent abrasion and kinking.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of moving object

If hoses and cables are given sufficient length and slack to allow normal trailer movement, then the hoses can reach the trailer and accommodate movement, but the excess slack engages the truck's frame and surfaces causing abrasion and premature damage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehose lengthVSAvoidabrasion

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of moving objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The hose management system employs a dynamic spring-biased mechanism that allows the hose to move and extend when needed while automatically returning to a protected position. The spring provides continuous biasing force to minimize slack contact with abrasive surfaces, yet permits sufficient movement range for normal operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The spring-biased hose management system applies a preliminary counteracting force to prevent the hose from contacting abrasive surfaces in the first place. The spring tension continuously pushes the hose away from the frame and decking, preemptively eliminating the abrasion hazard before it can occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

2Force

If springs are used to minimize excess slack, then the hose tension is reduced, but the biasing springs themselves abrade the hoses and do not effectively prevent entanglement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehose tensionVSAvoidabrasion

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A protective tube or conduit is introduced as an intermediary element between the spring mechanism and the hose. This tube guides the hose through a protected path, preventing direct contact between the spring components and the hose outer casing, thereby eliminating abrasion while maintaining the tension-reducing benefits of spring biasing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses a dynamic spring-biased mechanism that allows the hose to move and extend when needed while automatically returning to a protected position. The spring provides continuous biasing force to minimize slack contact with abrasive surfaces, yet permits sufficient movement range for normal operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Adaptability or versatility

If hoses are allowed to move freely to accommodate vehicle movement, then the hoses can adapt to position changes, but they become tangled and sagging

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehose flexibilityVSAvoidhose arrangement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The protective tube is configured with curved pathways that guide the hose through smooth arcs rather than sharp angles. This curved geometry prevents kinking and tangling by maintaining continuous curvature in the hose path, while still allowing the hose to accommodate vehicle movement through the curved trajectory.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

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

The system effectively prevents tangling, sagging, and wear, prolonging the life of hoses and cables by allowing flexible movement and returning to a protective position, thus reducing the risk of damage and operational hazards.

Implementation Method 1

The tubes are biased to return to an original position when no longer stressed by vehicle movement

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectTorsional spring: Torsion Spring

Implementation Method 2

The tubes are biased to return to an original position when no longer stressed by vehicle movement or orientation

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Implementation Method 3

a vertical tube rotatably mounted on the truck frame, between the cab and trailer

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectRotation:

Implementation Method 4

a horizontal tube pivotally attached to the upper end of the vertical tube

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPivoting: Hinge

Data Source

PatentUS11712937B1Hose line management system for a tractor-trailer

Publication Date: 2023.08.01 DAUGHERTY JERRY

AI summary

A hose line management system for a tractor-trailer includes a vertical tube rotatably mounted on the truck frame, between the cab and trailer, and a horizontal tube pivotally attached to the upper end of the vertical tube. The truck's electrical cables and air hoses are passed through the tubes and connected to the trailer. The tubes can move in both a vertical and horizontal plane according to vehicle movement to prevent the hoses from breaking or disconnecting. The tubes are biased to return to an original position when no longer stressed by vehicle movement or orientation.