Trench Cutting Equipment Suspension for Angular Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Trenching apparatuses face challenges in maintaining a desired angular orientation of trench cutting equipment when traversing uneven topography, leading to unintended lateral displacement and instability of trench walls, particularly in underwater environments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual pivot system with independent suspension assemblies that allow the trenching apparatus to pivot substantially about its center point, maintaining a desired angular orientation of the trench cutting equipment, such as a vertical orientation, by adjusting the ground contacting units to match the ground's inclination and using actuators and measurement devices for real-time compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the trench cutting equipment is mounted in fixed angular relation to the main body, then the structure is simple, but the equipment cannot maintain desired angular orientation on uneven topography
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the trench cutting equipment movable relative to the main body through suspension assemblies. The equipment can adjust its angular orientation dynamically to maintain a vertical cutting angle despite changes in the main body's angular position caused by uneven topography. This resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to adapt to terrain variations while maintaining precise cutting angles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the angular orientation parameter of the trench cutting equipment relative to the main body. By allowing the equipment to change its angular position independently through the suspension system, it can maintain a constant vertical cutting angle even when the main body's angle changes due to uneven ground, thus maintaining manufacturing precision without excessive structural complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the main body angular position changes to accommodate uneven topography, then the apparatus can traverse varied terrain, but the trench cutting equipment orientation changes causing trench wall instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the trenching system into independently controllable components: the main body and the trench cutting equipment. The suspension assemblies allow each segment to move independently, enabling the main body to adapt to uneven terrain while the cutting equipment maintains a stable vertical orientation, thus preserving trench wall stability despite terrain variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension assemblies act as intermediaries between the main body and the trench cutting equipment. They absorb and compensate for angular displacements caused by uneven topography, allowing the main body to traverse varied terrain while preventing these displacements from being transmitted to the cutting equipment, thereby maintaining trench wall stability.
3Reliability
If known suspension assemblies are used, then some compensation for angular displacement is achieved, but lateral displacement of the trench cutting equipment cannot be compensated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enhances the suspension assemblies to perform multiple functions: they compensate for both angular displacement and lateral displacement of the trench cutting equipment. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain both the desired angular orientation and the precise lateral position of the trench, resolving the limitation of known suspension assemblies that only addressed angular orientation.
Data Source
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Figure 5a
AI summary
A trenching apparatus (100) comprises a main body portion (10), trench cutting equipment (50) depending from the main body portion, at least two ground contacting units (16) arranged on opposed sides of the main body portion and on which the main body portion is supported, each said ground contacting unit being connected to the main body portion by a respective independently operable suspension assembly (20), the respective suspension assemblies being configured to compensate for unevenness of the ground thereby to maintain the trench cutting equipment in a desired angular orientation with respect to the vertical. A method of forming a trench which can use the trenching apparatus is also disclosed.