Patent Application
20210292144
The present disclosure provides panel manipulation vehicles and panel manipulation assemblies configured to facilitate to safe and precise movement and placement of material panels, such as panel products including but not limited to wood-bamboo hybrid panels, wood panels, structural insulated panels, and the like. The present disclosure further provides methods of using the same.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the claimed subject matter will become more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appendix, wherein:
Panel manipulation vehicles, panel manipulation assemblies, mobility bases, and methods provided herein enable the safe and precise movement and placement of material panels. Although the panel manipulation vehicles and panel manipulation assemblies are frequently described herein in the context of wood-bamboo hybrid panels to facilitate understanding, the inventive vehicles, assemblies, and methods are not limited to wood-bamboo hybrid panels, and may be utilized in connection with any material panel or panel product.
The panel manipulation vehicle 100 includes a mobility base 110 operatively coupled with a panel manipulation assembly 150, both of which are described below in detail. The inventive concepts of the present disclosure include panel manipulation vehicles 100, mobility bases 110 (independently), and panel manipulation assemblies 150 (independently).
The mobility base 110 includes a mobile chassis 112 operatively coupled with an articulating hoist 114. The mobile chassis 112 is coupled to a plurality of wheels 116 to facilitate movement of the panel manipulation vehicle 100. In some embodiments, the mobile chassis 112 supports additional features, for example one or more force assist mechanisms 118 and/or a side shift mechanism 120 to regulate movement of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 between a first position and a second position (e.g., the positions shown in
In some embodiments, the mobile chassis 112 supports one or more counterweights 122 or ballast configured to maintain a center of gravity of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 behind a front wheel 116 when the panel manipulation vehicle 100 manipulates a material panel. The location of the counterweight 122 may vary in different embodiments, and is not limited to the location shown in
The articulating hoist 114 includes a first arm 124 connected to the mobile chassis 112 at a first pivot point 126, and a second arm 128 pivotably connected to the first arm 124 at a second pivot point 130. In some embodiments, the first arm 124 and/or the second arm 128 telescope to provides additional functionality. In some embodiments, the second arm 128 connects with a third arm 132 of the panel manipulation assembly 150, e.g., a third arm 132 that telescopes relative the second arm 128. In some embodiments, the articulating hoist 114 is part of the panel manipulation assembly 150, rather than the mobility base 110.
As described in detail below, the panel manipulation assembly 150 includes a wrist assembly 152 coupled to the articulating hoist 114, and a hand assembly 154 coupled with the wrist assembly 152. The hand assembly 154 includes panel securement structure 156 configured to securely hold a material panel, e.g., a relatively flat panel at least partially comprised of bamboo, wood, MDF, and/or other material. These features are described below in detail.
Referring to
First, one or more elements of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 are configured to move in a first plane 202 (a vertical plane) relative to the mobility base 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the wrist assembly 152 is configured to pivot in the first plane 202 relative to the articulating hoist 114 (i.e., a first degree of freedom), e.g., by about −90 degrees to about 90 degrees relative to the “vertical” orientation shown. The articulating hoist 114 is also configured to independently pivot in the first plane 202 about the first pivot point 126 and the second pivot point 130. The ability of the one or more elements of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 to articulate at one, two, three, or more independent points within the first plane 202 advantageously enables the panel manipulation vehicle 100 to easily pick up a material panel, e.g., off a stack of panels (as shown in
Second, one or more elements of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 are configured to rotate in a second plane 204 (another vertical plane) relative to the mobility base 110 or to the ground, e.g., by at least about −90 degrees to about 90 degrees relative to the “centered” orientation shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the panel manipulation assembly 150 is configured to rotate in the second plane 204 relative to the articulating hoist 114, because the hand assembly 154 rotates relative to the wrist assembly 152 as described below. In some embodiments, the articulating hoist 114 additionally or alternatively is configured to rotate in the second plane 204 relative to the mobile chassis 112. Advantageously, rotation within the second plane 204 enables the panel manipulation vehicle 100 to pick up a material panel in a horizontal orientation (as shown in
Third, one or more elements of the panel manipulation vehicle 100 are configured to rotate in a third plane 206 (a horizontal plane) relative to the ground, e.g., by about 90 degrees or more. In the illustrated embodiment, the panel manipulation assembly 150 is configured to pivot relative to the mobility base 110 in the third plane 206. In particular, the hand assembly 154 is configured to pivot in third plane 206 relative to the wrist assembly 152. See
According to one representative method, the panel manipulation vehicle holds a material panel in a vertical orientation (see
The articulating hoist 314 includes a first arm 324 pivotably coupled with a second arm 328 at a second pivot point 330, similar to the structure shown in
A third arm 332 of the wrist assembly 352 telescopically connects with a second arm 328 of the articulating hoist 314. In some embodiments (as in
The wrist assembly 352 includes a wrist pin 358 and a wrist bracket 360 that cooperatively enable the wrist assembly 352 to pivot relative to the mobility base 310 (e.g., in the second plane 204 of
The wrist bracket 360 is fixed to a backing plate 362, e.g., via a weld, bolt, or other fixation means. In some embodiments, the backing plate 362 is part of the wrist assembly 352; however, in some embodiments, the backing plate 362 is part of the hand assembly 354. The wrist bracket 360 and the backing plate 362 pivotably couple with a pivot plate 364, e.g., via a bolt, hub, hinge, cam, or other rotatable coupling structure. Restated, the backing plate 362 and the pivot plate 364 are pivotably coupled such that the backing plate 362 and the pivot plate 364 can rotate relative to each other about coupling structure, i.e., rotate in the second plane 204 of
Comparing
Referring again to
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, the hand assembly 354 includes the pivot plate 364 described above, at least one minor brace 368 coupled with the pivot plate 364, at least one major brace 370 hingeably coupled with at least one of the minor braces 368 by at least one hinge 372, and a plurality of panel securement structures 356. Advantageously, this enables the major brace 370 to pivot about the hinge 372 relative to the backing plate 364 and minor brace 368, which enables the panel manipulation vehicle to move a material panel between the vertical orientations shown in
The minor brace 368 is generally sized and configured such that when the major braces 370 pivot relative to the pivot plate 364 about the hinges 372 (as shown in
The major brace 370 is generally configured to span the width of the material panel 380, as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The present application may reference quantities and numbers. Unless specifically stated, such quantities and numbers are not to be considered restrictive, but representative of the possible quantities or numbers associated with the present application. Also in this regard, the present application may use the term “plurality” to reference a quantity or number. In this regard, the term “plurality” is meant to be any number that is more than one, for example, two, three, four, five, etc. The terms “about,” “approximately,” “near,” “substantially,” etc., mean plus or minus 5% of the stated value. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C,” for example, means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C), including all further possible permutations when greater than three elements are listed.
The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appended drawings, where like numerals reference like elements, are intended as a description of various representative embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to represent the only embodiments. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided as an example or illustration and should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The illustrative examples provided herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Similarly, any steps described herein may be interchangeable or combinable with other steps, or combinations of steps, in order to achieve the same or substantially similar result. Generally, the embodiments disclosed herein are non-limiting, and the inventors contemplate that other embodiments within the scope of this disclosure may include combinations of structures and functionalities from more than one specific embodiment shown in the figures and described in the specification.
In the foregoing description, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without embodying all the specific details. In some instances, well-known process steps have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure various aspects of the present disclosure. Further, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure may employ any combination of features described herein.
The present application may include references to directions, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “top,” and “bottom,” etc. These references, and other similar references in the present application, are intended to assist in helping describe and understand the particular embodiment (such as when the embodiment is positioned for use) and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these directions or locations.
The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the present disclosure, which are intended to be protected, are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/990,753, filed Mar. 17, 2020, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62990753 | Mar 2020 | US |
