Tugger Docking Plate Aperture for Precise Stop Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional visual guidance methods, such as painted floor lines, are inaccurate and prone to wear, leading to difficulties in consistently and accurately positioning motorized floor conveyor vehicles like tugger tractors at optimal stop positions for interaction with delivery systems.
Innovation Solution
A docking plate apparatus with a flat panel structure and a docking aperture that provides tactile feedback to the driver by creating contact friction when the vehicle's wheels align with the aperture, ensuring precise positioning and alignment with the delivery system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If visual guidance methods (painted floor lines) are used, then the system is simple and easy to implement, but the positioning accuracy deteriorates and the lines are prone to wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the visual guidance system (painted floor lines) with a mechanical guidance system (docking plate with aperture). The mechanical structure provides physical contact feedback through the aperture edges, substituting optical guidance with tactile mechanical guidance to achieve more accurate and durable positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The docking plate acts as an intermediary device between the floor and the vehicle wheels. It provides a mechanical interface that transfers positioning information from the fixed plate to the moving vehicle through contact at the aperture edges, enabling accurate positioning without direct painting on the floor.
2Device complexity
If visual guidance methods are used, then the system structure is simple, but the reliability of consistent positioning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the unreliable visual guidance system with a reliable mechanical guidance system. The physical aperture structure provides consistent tactile feedback that does not degrade over time like painted lines, ensuring reliable and consistent positioning for each docking operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The docking plate provides self-aligning guidance through its aperture structure. The physical edges of the aperture automatically guide the vehicle wheels into the correct position through contact, without requiring external guidance systems or human interpretation of visual markers.
3Ease of manufacture
If painted floor lines are used, then installation is easy, but the lines wear and create trip hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The docking plate is designed as a durable, replaceable component that can be removed and replaced if worn or damaged. Unlike permanent floor paintings that degrade and create hazards, the plate can be swapped out, maintaining safety and functionality over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The docking plate serves as an intermediary between the floor surface and the vehicle wheels, providing a safe, elevated mechanical guidance structure that does not create trip hazards like painted lines on the floor surface.
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 docking plate apparatus ensures consistent and accurate positioning of motorized floor conveyor vehicles, enhancing the efficiency and safety of the unloading process while reducing human error and potential trip hazards.
Implementation Method 1
provides tactile feedback to the driver by creating contact friction when the vehicle's wheels align with the aperture
Data Source
AI summary
A docking plate apparatus is provided for motorized floor conveyor vehicles, such as conveyance tuggers, that is particularly structured to provide tactile feedback at a determined stop position for improved docking and/or stopping placement. The docking plate apparatus has a structure and dimensions to ensure that the motorized floor conveyor vehicle is docked exactly in a determined stop position that is deemed most optimal for interaction with a delivery system. The docking plate apparatus can comprise body, which is a flat panel structure, and a docking aperture that is structured in a portion of the body. The docking aperture receiving at least one wheel of a motorized floor conveyor vehicle to dock the motorized vehicle in a determined stop position for interaction with the delivery system.