Yieldable Vehicle Brace for Trailer Dock Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing technologies at vehicle loading docks fail to effectively manage the vertical movement of trailers during loading and unloading operations, leading to wear on dock seals, discomfort for forklift drivers, and potential damage to trailer components due to air suspension systems' delayed responses and excessive movement.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle brace system that opposes vertical movement by exerting an upward reactive force, adjustable based on downward force and velocity, with a pressure relief valve and flow restrictor to control movement, and a release mechanism for quick responses, which can be integrated with a vehicle restraint to prevent accidental trailer movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If air suspension system is used to support trailer weight, then trailer can maintain height stability, but trailer experiences excessive vertical movement due to delayed response time when forklift enters or exits
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle brace is pre-positioned to engage with the trailer frame before the forklift enters or exits. This preliminary positioning allows the brace to immediately counteract vertical movement forces as soon as they occur, eliminating the delayed response problem of air suspension systems. The brace acts in advance to prevent rather than correct the vertical displacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle brace serves as an intermediary mechanical support between the trailer and the dock structure. It mediates the vertical forces generated by forklift operations, transferring them directly to the dock structure rather than relying on the air suspension system's gradual response. This intermediary mechanism bridges the time gap in suspension response.
2Adaptability or versatility
If air suspension system allows controlled vertical movement, then trailer can adapt to load changes, but repeated down/up cycling causes wear on dock seals and trailer components
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle brace maintains continuous engagement with the trailer frame throughout the loading and unloading operations. It provides uninterrupted support and stabilization, preventing the repeated cycling motion that causes wear. The brace ensures continuous useful action by keeping the trailer in a stable position rather than allowing oscillatory movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The brace is positioned and engaged before the forklift operations begin, establishing a stable mechanical connection in advance. This preliminary action prevents the trailer from undergoing repeated vertical cycles during load changes, thereby preventing wear on dock seals and trailer components before the harmful motion can occur.
3Stability of the object's composition
If vehicle restraint is added to prevent accidental movement, then trailer stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle brace combines the functions of vertical support, horizontal restraint, and anti-theft protection into a single integrated device. By merging these multiple functions into one structure that engages with the trailer frame, the system achieves enhanced stability without proportionally increasing complexity. The single brace structure performs multiple protective roles simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle brace is designed as a multi-functional device that provides vertical stabilization, horizontal positioning restraint, and theft prevention capabilities. This universal design allows one device to perform multiple functions that would otherwise require separate systems, thereby improving trailer stability without linearly increasing device complexity.
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 vehicle brace system stabilizes the trailer during loading and unloading, reducing wear on dock seals and trailer components, enhancing driver comfort, and preventing accidental trailer movement, while allowing controlled movement to prevent damage.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic actuator that exerts an upward reactive force on the support member in response to a downward force exerted by the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
a flow restrictor that controls movement of the support member
Implementation Method 3
a pressure relief valve that enables the vehicle brace to prevent downward movement of the vehicle for up to a maximum allowable downward force
Implementation Method 4
a spring that applies an upward force on the support member
Data Source
AI summary
To help hold a trailer bed of a truck steady at a loading dock as the truck is being loaded or unloaded of its cargo, a yieldable vehicle brace exerts a substantial, but limited, reactive force upward against the trailer's rear impact guard to resist the trailer's downward movement. In some embodiments, the brace holds the trailer bed stationary up to a certain load limit and provides the trailer bed with a controlled or dampened descent when the load exceeds that limit. In some cases, the reactive upward force exerted by the brace increases with the downward velocity of the trailer bed. The reactive force can be created by one or more pressure relief valves, hydraulic fluid passing through a flow restriction, a brake, a spring, or various combinations thereof. Some embodiments of the brace include provisions for accommodating horizontal movement of the rear impact guard.