Transfer Car Frame Structure for Concrete Element Handling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing concrete elements are inflexible and inefficient, requiring wide, heavy racks that demand large internal spaces, increasing manufacturing costs and risking damage to concrete elements during handling and transportation due to frequent lifting.
Innovation Solution
A new method utilizing a transfer car with a frame structure that supports a narrow, lightweight rack, allowing for flexible and efficient movement of concrete elements between production and storage, reducing the number of lifts and improving work safety by using a transfer car with adjustable height and steerable lifting-wheel units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a wide rack structure is used to support two concrete elements, then the rack can accommodate more elements, but the rack becomes unreasonably wide (nearly four metres) and heavy, increasing manufacturing costs and requiring large internal spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is divided into two separate single-element racks instead of one wide two-element rack. Each rack supports only one concrete element vertically, reducing the width from nearly four metres to a compact dimension while maintaining the ability to transport two elements through sequential operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from horizontal arrangement (side-by-side elements requiring wide rack) to vertical arrangement (stacked elements requiring height). Concrete elements are positioned vertically one above the other, utilizing the vertical dimension to accommodate multiple elements without increasing rack width.
2Quantity of substance
If a wide rack structure is used to support two concrete elements, then the rack can accommodate more elements, but the internal spaces of the element factory must be made large, increasing manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The factory space is reorganized into separate stations for each vertical rack position. Instead of one large space accommodating a wide rack, the system uses compact vertical racks at separate tipping stations, reducing the horizontal footprint and overall factory internal space requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system exploits vertical space within the factory rather than horizontal expansion. By stacking concrete elements vertically in narrow racks, the factory can accommodate multiple elements in a compact horizontal footprint, reducing the area of stationary objects (factory buildings) needed.
3Volume of moving object
If concrete elements are tilted in the rack for transport, then space is saved, but post-treatment becomes difficult as the scissors platform remains far from the upper edge
Solution Approach 1:
The rack system incorporates dynamic positioning capability where concrete elements can be adjusted between vertical and tilted positions. The scissors platform is made adjustable to match the element orientation, ensuring it can reach the upper edge regardless of whether elements are vertical or tilted during different operational phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a fully adjustable scissors platform that can extend beyond what is minimally required for vertical elements, providing excess reach capability that ensures access to the upper edge even when elements are tilted at maximum angle, thus maintaining post-treatment accessibility across all positions.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the concrete element is lifted multiple times (from tipping station to rack, from rack to store, from store to truck), then transportation and storage are enabled, but the risk of damaging the concrete element increases and work safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tipping station, rack, and transport functions are merged into an integrated system where the rack itself serves as both the support structure and the transport vehicle. The rack with vertically stacked elements can be moved as a single unit from tipping station directly to storage or truck, eliminating intermediate lifting operations and reducing damage risk while maintaining transportation flexibility.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
The invention relates to a transfer car, which is intended to be used in the manufacture of a concrete element. In the manufacture, the concrete element (12) is supported on a rack (10) and the transfer car (11) is arranged to move the rack (10). The frame structure (13) forming part of the transfer car (11) includes two essentially parallel frames (14, 15), which are arranged to extend on both side of the rack (10), and which rack (10) is arranged to form a storage rack for the concrete element (12). The invention also relates to a system in the manufacture of a concrete element.