Material Hauling Wagon With Intermediate Carriage Conveyor

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing material conveyor vehicle systems require double routes and multiple wagons to transport dismantled materials and new materials, leading to inefficient logistics and potential functional interruptions due to opposite conveying directions of simple and extended material trucks.

Innovation Solution

A material conveyor vehicle assembly comprising at least two coupled vehicles, where one vehicle has a shortened roof conveyor and an intermediate carriage conveyor that allows material transfer between vehicles with different conveying directions, enabling efficient loading without interruptions by using an intermediate carriage conveyor device that bridges the distance between the shortened roof conveyor and the coupled vehicle's floor conveyor.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If simple material conveyor wagons are used with floor conveyors only, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases due to requiring double routes and multiple wagons

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconveyor system complexityVSAvoidmaterial transport efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The wagon is divided into functionally independent sections: a roof conveyor system for one material type and a floor conveyor system for another material type. Each conveyor operates independently with its own loading and unloading points, allowing simultaneous bidirectional material flow without interference, thus resolving the contradiction between simple structure and high productivity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention adds a vertical dimension to material transport by introducing a roof conveyor that operates above the wagon, while the floor conveyor operates at ground level. This three-dimensional arrangement allows two separate material streams to coexist in the same wagon without requiring multiple wagons or complex routing, thereby improving productivity without significantly increasing device complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If extended material conveyor wagons with roof conveyors are used, then productivity increases through dual-directional transport, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial transport efficiencyVSAvoidconveyor system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the roof conveyor system as a separate, independently operable unit from the traditional floor-only conveyor design. By making the roof conveyor a distinct module with its own drive and control systems, the complexity is localized and manageable, while the overall productivity benefit of dual-directional transport is achieved

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The wagon design achieves multi-functionality by enabling the same wagon body to simultaneously handle two different material types via separate conveyor systems. The roof conveyor and floor conveyor both serve material transport functions but operate in opposite directions, allowing one wagon to replace what would traditionally require multiple specialized wagons, thus improving productivity without proportional increase in complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If different material conveyor vehicles with opposite conveying directions are coupled, then productivity improves through efficient loading, but functional interruptions occur due to direction conflicts

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveloading efficiencyVSAvoidcontinuous operation capability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The intermediate carriage conveyor is designed with movable and adjustable components that can dynamically adapt to the coupling between wagons with opposite conveying directions. The conveyor can shift its position and orientation to maintain proper material flow alignment regardless of the direction conflicts between coupled wagons, ensuring continuous operation and resolving the reliability issue while preserving loading efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3475486B1Material hauling wagon assembly, and method for loading the material hauling wagon assembly
Publication Date: 2022.04.06 ZUERCHER HLDG GMBH
  • EP3475486B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3475486B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3475486B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Disclosed is a material hauling wagon (2) comprising a top conveyor (60) which is shorter than the length of the wagon, leaves a top portion at the end of the material hauling wagon (2) open and can be operated so as to load in a first conveying direction towards the open end of the wagon. The material hauling wagon (2) includes a bottom conveyor (4) which can be operated so as to load in a second direction against the first direction, and a transfer conveyor (5) associated with the bottom conveyor (4) loading in the second conveying direction. For functional coupling to a second material hauling wagon (1, 2, 3), the material hauling wagon (2) has an inter-wagon conveyor (7) which can be operated so as to load in the first conveying direction, is associated with the short top conveyor (60) of the material hauling wagon (2), and extends from a point below a discharge end of the short top conveyor (60) to a point beyond the open end of the material hauling wagon (2). The discharge end of the inter-wagon conveyor (7) can be placed above a conveyor (4, 6, 60) of the coupled second material hauling wagon (1, 2, 3). Also disclosed are a material hauling wagon assembly comprising said material hauling wagon (2) as well as a method for loading a material hauling wagon assembly (10) comprising different material hauling wagons.