Twistlock Assembly Floating Mounting for Container Handling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hoist twistlock assemblies face difficulties in facilitating the insertion of the hammer head into the locking opening, particularly in slotted twistlock mounts of containers, due to lack of adequate tilting freedom and radial guidance, leading to wear and alignment issues.
Innovation Solution
The twistlock assembly features a convex bearing wall and complementary concave counter-wall design allowing tilting freedom for the pivot pin, combined with radial guidance via a guide sleeve supported by a pretensioning spring, ensuring a floating mounting and reduced wear, while a driver body enables fine length adjustment and secure connection points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pivot pin is rigidly fixed to the support frame, then the radial guidance is improved, but the tilting freedom is reduced, making it difficult to insert the hammer head into the locking opening
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot pin is designed with a floating mounting on the support frame, allowing it to tilt dynamically within certain limits. This dynamic capability enables the hammer head to be inserted into the locking opening even when there are slight misalignments, while the guide sleeve provides radial guidance to prevent excessive movement.
Solution Approach 2:
A guide sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the pivot pin and the support frame. The guide sleeve provides radial guidance to the pivot pin, ensuring reliable positioning, while still allowing the pivot pin to tilt within acceptable limits for hammer head insertion.
2Ease of operation
If the pivot pin is allowed to tilt freely, then the hammer head insertion is facilitated, but the radial guidance deteriorates, leading to wear and alignment issues
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot pin is designed with a floating mounting on the support frame, allowing it to tilt dynamically within certain limits. This dynamic capability enables the hammer head to be inserted into the locking opening even when there are slight misalignments, while the guide sleeve provides radial guidance to prevent excessive movement.
Solution Approach 2:
A guide sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the pivot pin and the support frame. The guide sleeve provides radial guidance to the pivot pin, ensuring reliable positioning, while still allowing the pivot pin to tilt within acceptable limits for hammer head insertion.
3Ease of operation
If the bearing wall and counter-wall are made with high precision, then the tilting freedom is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing wall of the bolt nut and the counter-wall of the abutment body are designed with spherical or conical shapes instead of flat surfaces. These curved surfaces naturally guide the pivot pin's tilting movement and facilitate hammer head insertion while being relatively simple to manufacture using standard machining processes.
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
This design enhances the ease of hammer head insertion, improves radial guidance, reduces wear, and extends the lifespan of the twistlock assembly by allowing tilting freedom and secure positioning, facilitating efficient container handling.
Implementation Method 1
the convex shape of the bearing wall of the bolt nut and/or the complementary concave shape of the counter-wall of the abutment body fixed to the support frame allows a predetermined degree of tilting freedom of the pivot pin relative to the support frame
Implementation Method 2
the radial guidance of the pivot pin is improved if it is guided up to the hammer head. The guide sleeve can be supported on the support frame and/or on the hammer head via the abutment section
Implementation Method 3
The pretensioning spring for tensioning the guide sleeve against the abutment section avoids undesired constraint between the pivot pin and the support frame, while at the same time a floating mounting of the pivot pin on the support frame remains possible
Implementation Method 4
a driver body according to claim 4 enables a fine length adjustment of a projection of the hammer head of the pivot bolt over the support frame by screwing in or unscrewing the threaded connection between the pivot bolt and the bolt nut
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The hoist has a swivel bolt (7) comprising a hammer head (8) pivotable around a bolt axis (9) between releasing and locking positions. A bolt-nut (11) has internal threads complementary to external threads of an external thread bolt portion (10) of the bolt. The bolt-nut is supported at a hoist support frame (1) over a bearing wall (12). The bearing wall is formed in convex-shape and/or a counterwall (13) of a support frame-fixed counter bearing body (14) is formed in concave-shape for enabling float-mounting of the bolt-nut, where the bearing wall rests at the counter bearing body.