Structure optimization and mechanical study on lifting mechanism of the multifunctional car transporter

In order to realize the multifunctional purpose, the rear column of the car transporter is replaced by a lifting mechanism which can be regarded as a four-bar mechanism. However, for the multifunctional car transporter, lifting difficulty and lifting lock occur shortly after the beginning of lifting. Dynamic analysis of the lifting mechanism is carried out, and the computational results reveal that the unreasonable structure of the lifting mechanism is the main reason for the above problems. In order to overcome lifting difficulty and lifting lock, and to improve lifting performance, a back push bar combined lifting mechanism is proposed to replace the original lifting mechanism, and dynamic analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) are carried out in both lifting mechanisms. After using the back push bar combined lifting mechanism, the numerical results show that the required hydraulic cylinder thrust is reduced to a certain degree, and the horizontal pulling force imposed on the front column by the upper platform is declined sharply; the lifting test shows that the lifting process becomes fluent and labor-saving.