Toroidal cable stay cable icing treatment device

The cable-stayed bridge ice removal device, which uses a toroidal knot rotor and outriggers, utilizes vortex ring dynamics and UAV control to achieve efficient, low-cost, and safe removal of ice from the cables of long-span bridges. This solves the problems of jamming and difficult installation of traditional de-icing devices and provides a green and intelligent solution.

CN224494872UActive Publication Date: 2026-07-14WUHAN UNIV OF TECH

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Utility models(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
WUHAN UNIV OF TECH
Filing Date
2025-08-01
Publication Date
2026-07-14

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing technologies are insufficient for efficiently, economically, and safely removing ice from the stay cables of long-span bridges, and traditional de-icing devices suffer from problems such as jamming and difficulties in installation and dismantling.

Method used

The cable-stayed ice removal device, which uses a toroidal knot rotor and an outrigger, utilizes the vortex ring dynamics and spontaneous rotation of the toroidal knot to convert potential energy into rotational and downward kinetic energy. It achieves efficient ice removal by drone traction, and combines the outrigger with the auxiliary ring cutting of ice.

Benefits of technology

It achieves efficient ice removal, reduces energy consumption, avoids jamming, adapts to cable stays of different diameters, provides a green and intelligent de-icing solution, and reduces maintenance costs.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The utility model relates to a cable-stayed cable ice treatment device of torus knot, including torus knot rotor, outer stretch arm and cable-stayed cable, the torus knot rotor is set on the cable-stayed cable, the outer stretch arm is fixedly arranged on torus knot rotor, the torus knot rotor includes a plurality of spokes, and a plurality of spokes are repeatedly wound for many times through torus knot geometric center, form a plurality of torus knot rings, and a plurality of torus knot rings are connected head and tail, and constitute torus knot rotor. The utility model will low altitude economy and intelligent construction depth fusion, can crack the industry problem of bridge ice treatment under the scene of freezing rain, and more intelligent solution scheme is provided for high-rise building high altitude ice prevention and control.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to urban snow and ice disaster prevention, high-altitude operations, bridge operation and maintenance, and more specifically, to a toroidal knot cable-stayed bridge ice treatment device. Background Technology

[0002] When humid regions experience short-term extreme cold weather, the suddenness and destructiveness of freezing rain hazards are particularly prominent in long-span bridge structures. Short-term freezing rain can rapidly form an ice layer on the upper parts of the bridge structure, and the subsequent melting of this ice layer due to rising temperatures can easily trigger falling ice, posing a direct safety threat to vehicles and pedestrians on the bridge. Especially in the case of long-span cable-stayed bridges, the large diameter and gentle surface curvature of the cable structure provide a stable interface (i.e., rain line) for the continuous collection of rainwater. Combined with the significant flow-collecting effect at the lower part of the cable, this allows icicles to form as large as tens of centimeters in a short time. These large, high-altitude icicles not only pose a physical risk of falling and injuring people, but also cause sustained public concern about the safety of bridge structures, resulting in secondary social and psychological harm.

[0003] Currently, bridge anti-icing technologies are mainly divided into two categories: active anti-icing and passive de-icing. Deformable cable sheaths can block the icing interface by changing their shape, while encasing heating devices can increase the surface temperature of the structure. However, these active anti-icing technologies are constrained by energy supply challenges and increased maintenance costs under the special working conditions of bridges, making their economic efficiency and reliability insufficient to meet practical needs. While passive de-icing technology is simple to operate, manual de-icing poses operational safety risks, and chemical de-icing agents face new problems such as rapid efficiency degradation and environmental pollution. Gravity-based passive de-icing technology is currently widely used due to its low cost, but its de-icing device design is too rudimentary, and the device suffers from problems such as excessive acceleration, jamming, and difficulty in installation and dismantling during the de-icing process, indicating significant room for optimization and improvement.

[0004] Therefore, there is still a technological gap in the existing methods for treating freezing rain and ice on the cables of long-span bridges. Utility Model Content

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a device and method for treating ice formations on cable-stayed bridges with a toroidal knot, which deeply integrates low-altitude economy and intelligent construction. It not only overcomes the industry problem of treating ice formations on bridges in freezing rain scenarios, but also provides a green and intelligent solution that can be promoted for the prevention and control of falling ice on high-rise buildings.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is: to construct a toroidal knotted cable ice treatment device, including a toroidal knotted rotor, an outrigger and a cable, wherein the toroidal knotted rotor is sleeved on the cable and the outrigger is fixedly mounted on the toroidal knotted rotor.

[0007] According to the above scheme, the toroidal knot rotor includes multiple spokes, which are repeatedly wound around the geometric center of the toroidal knot to form multiple toroidal knot rings. The multiple toroidal knot rings are connected head to tail to form the toroidal knot rotor.

[0008] According to the above scheme, the cable-stayed cable is fitted with a retractable cylinder, the inner diameter of the cylinder is the same as the diameter of the toroidal knot rotor, and the spokes are wound around the cylinder.

[0009] According to the above scheme, the cable-stayed cable passes through the geometric center of the toroidal knot and connects to the toroidal knot rotor.

[0010] According to the above scheme, an extension arm is provided on the spoke zero.

[0011] According to the above scheme, the extended arm includes a knotted ring fixing pin, an extended cutter, a rotating arm, and a standing leg;

[0012] The knot ring fixing pin is hinged to the ring knot ring. Rotating arms are fixedly provided at both ends of the knot ring fixing pin. A standing leg and an extended cutter are fixedly provided on the outer side of the top of the rotating arm. The extended cutter is located at the front end of the standing leg.

[0013] According to the above scheme, the extended arm rotates around the knot ring fixing pin via the rotating arm.

[0014] According to the above scheme, each of the annular knot rings is provided with two outstretched arms, and the outstretched arms on the annular knot rings are evenly spaced around the circumference.

[0015] This utility model also provides a method for treating ice formations on cable-stayed bridges, which uses a toroidal knotted cable-stayed bridge ice removal device to remove ice formations.

[0016] The above plan includes the following steps:

[0017] S1. A retractable cylinder is fitted onto the cable-stayed bridge. A toroidal knot rotor is tied to the cylinder and fixed at the end. The cylinder is then retracted to reduce its size and taken out from the inner diameter space along the length of the cable-stayed bridge to form a toroidal knot rotor.

[0018] S2. The toroidal knot rotor is pulled to the top of the cable by a drone. The inner diameter of the toroidal knot rotor is greater than the sum of the length of the ice floe suspended on the cable and the inner diameter of the cable.

[0019] S3. After the traction is released, the disturbance causes the toroidal knot rotor to enter the final steady state from the temporary steady state, and it hugs the cable at the geometric center of the toroidal knot. During the process of falling along the cable, it triggers spontaneous rotation behavior, which drives the outrigger to unfold and cuts the cable to remove the hanging ice.

[0020] The toroidal knot-type cable-stayed ice treatment device of this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] 1. This utility model utilizes the vortex ring dynamics characteristics of the toroidal knot structure to convert potential energy into rotational and descent kinetic energy through spontaneous rotation. The rotational design assists the outrigger to perform ring cutting on the cable-stayed cable, efficiently removing ice during the descent along the cable. Combining the three major characteristics of the toroidal knot structure—the continuous impact force generated by the descent rotation, the dynamic adjustment capability brought by the dual steady-state transition of contraction and expansion, and the adaptive capability of cable diameter and obstacle crossing given by the variable inner diameter—it forms a green and innovative de-icing mechanism and technology that combines mechanical efficiency and intelligent control.

[0022] 2. This utility model has strong structural adaptability. Through the closed-open bistable characteristics of the toroidal knot structure and the variable inner diameter design, it can adapt to the complex working conditions of cable stays with different diameters and can easily overcome some ice obstacles during the ice removal process. It optimizes dynamic efficiency by using gravitational potential energy to spontaneously convert into rotational kinetic energy and descent kinetic energy, effectively stabilizing the descent speed. During rotation, it drives the outreach arm to assist in ice removal, which improves the ice removal efficiency and reduces energy consumption compared with traditional technology.

[0023] 3. This utility model features intelligent collaborative control, which uses drones to achieve high-altitude fixed-point deployment. Upon untying, it automatically triggers a steady-state transition of the toroidal knot structure, intelligently activating the de-icing device. It also possesses green and energy-saving attributes, eliminating high-energy-consuming heating equipment and achieving zero-carbon emission de-icing with a purely mechanical structure. It requires no daily management and maintenance expenses and can be used on demand. It deeply integrates low-altitude economy with intelligent construction, not only overcoming the industry challenge of bridge icing treatment in freezing rain scenarios but also providing a scalable green and intelligent solution for preventing high-rise building icing. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the toroidal knot cable-stayed ice treatment device of this utility model;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the final steady-state structure of the toroidal knot rotor of this utility model;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the temporary steady-state structure of the toroidal knot rotor of this utility model;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the extendable arm of this utility model;

[0029] In the diagram: 1. Toroidal knot rotor, 2. Extended arm, 3. Cable, 4. Suspended icicle, 101. Toroidal knot ring, 102. Toroidal knot geometric center, 201. Knot ring fixing pin, 202. Extended cutter, 203. Rotating arm, 204. Standing leg. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To provide a clearer understanding of the technical features, objectives, and effects of this utility model, the specific embodiments of this utility model will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] like Figure 1-4 As shown, the toroidal knot cable ice treatment device of this utility model includes a toroidal knot rotor 101, an extension arm 2 and a cable 3. The toroidal knot rotor 101 is sleeved on the cable 3, and the extension arm 2 is fixedly mounted on the toroidal knot rotor 101.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the toroidal knot resembles the ring shape of a donut, but can also be formed by winding a thin rope, hence the name toroidal knot. The toroidal knot is a special type of knot in topology. The toroidal knot rotor 101 includes multiple spokes, which can be made of flat-section steel or aluminum alloy strips. These spokes, with a diameter of 0.8-1.5m, are repeatedly wound around the geometric center 102 of the toroidal knot to form 10-15 toroidal knot loops 101, which are then connected end-to-end to form the toroidal knot rotor 101, its shape resembling... Figure 2 The final steady state is shown. When a rotational torque is applied to the toroidal knot rotor 101 in the final steady state, the toroidal knot rotor 101 will enter a flattened temporary steady state, as shown. Figure 3 As shown. The stay cable 3 passes through the geometric center 102 of the toroidal knot and is connected to the toroidal knot rotor 101. The suspended icicle 4 is attached to the bottom of the stay cable 3.

[0033] The manufacturing method of the toroidal knot rotor 101 includes the following steps:

[0034] S1. A retractable cylinder is installed around the cable 3. The inner diameter of the cylinder is the same as the diameter of the toroidal knot rotor 101. Spokes are wound around the cylinder. The serial numbers 0-N are marked on the spokes wound into a ring. The spokes are taken out and starting from zero, the spoke zero is wrapped around the bottom of the spoke one and returned to the right side of the spoke one. The spoke two is taken out. At this time, the spokes in the hand from right to left are spoke zero, spoke one, and spoke two.

[0035] S2. Move spoke zero from below around spoke one and spoke two back to its previous position, which is the far right. Then move spoke one around spoke two back to its previous position, which is the middle between spoke zero and spoke two. At this time, the order from right to left is still spoke zero, spoke one, spoke two. Next, take out spoke 3, first around spoke zero, then around spoke one, and finally around spoke two, so that the order from right to left is still spoke zero, spoke one, spoke two, spoke 3. Continue this pattern until spoke N.

[0036] S3. Connect spoke zero and spoke N together, adjust the overall shape, and the flow ring is completed, forming a toroidal knot geometric center 102 and N toroidal knot rings 101 surrounding the toroidal knot geometric center 102. Wherein, 10≤N≤15. Extended arms 2 are provided on spoke zero to spoke N. In a preferred embodiment of this utility model, the stay cable 3 is sleeved within the toroidal knot geometric center 102. The extended arm 2 includes a knot ring fixing pin 201, an extended cutter 202, a rotating arm 203, and a standing leg 204; the knot ring fixing pin 201 is hinged to the toroidal knot ring 101, rotating arms 203 are fixedly provided at both ends of the knot ring fixing pin 201, and a standing leg 204 and an extended cutter 202 are fixedly provided on the outer side of the top of the rotating arm 203, with the extended cutter 202 located at the front end of the standing leg 204. The extended arm 2 rotates around the knot ring fixing pin 201 via the rotating arm 203 until the extended cutter 202 or the upright leg 204 on the other side touches the annular knot ring 101 to limit the rotation. Each annular knot ring 101 is provided with two extended arms 2, and the extended arms 2 on the annular knot ring 101 are evenly spaced around the circumference.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the extendable arm 2 is hinged to the annular knotted ring 101 in the annular knotted rotor 101 via a knotted ring fixing pin 201. The extendable arm 2 can rotate around the knotted ring fixing pin 201 via a rotating arm 203. The rotation range of the extendable arm 2 is limited when the extendable cutter 202 is in contact with the annular knotted ring 101, or when the upright leg 204 touches the annular knotted ring 101. Two extendable arms 2 are installed on each annular knotted ring 101, and the extendable arms 2 on different annular knotted rings 101 are arranged at uniform intervals around the circumference.

[0038] This utility model also provides a method for removing ice from cable-stayed bridges, which uses a toroidal knotted cable-stayed bridge ice removal device to remove ice, specifically including the following steps:

[0039] S1. A telescopic cylinder is fitted onto the cable 3, and a toroidal knot rotor 101 is tied to the cylinder and fixed at the end. The cylinder is telescopically reduced in size and taken out from the inner diameter space along the length of the cable 3 to form the toroidal knot rotor 101.

[0040] S2. The toroidal knot rotor 101 is pulled to the top of the cable 3 by a drone. The inner diameter of the toroidal knot rotor 101 is greater than the sum of the length of the ice shard suspended on the cable 3 and the inner diameter of the cable 3.

[0041] S3. After the traction is released, the disturbance causes the toroidal knot rotor 101 to enter the final steady state from the temporary steady state, and it hugs the cable 3 at the geometric center 102 of the toroidal knot. During the process of falling along the cable 3, it triggers spontaneous rotation behavior, which drives the outrigger 2 to unfold and cuts the cable 3 to remove the suspended ice 4.

[0042] The toroidal knotted cable-stayed ice treatment device has two stable states: a compressed flat state and an unfolded three-dimensional state. In the compressed flat state, the structure is flattened with a large inner diameter; in the unfolded three-dimensional state, the structure contracts into a three-dimensional ring shape, with its center tightly fitted to the target object. The compressed flat state and the unfolded three-dimensional state can be converted between each other by external force: flat to three-dimensional: the release of external constraints (such as unhooking) or a slight disturbance can trigger a transition; three-dimensional to flat: rotating and pressing around the center of the ring can restore the compressed state.

[0043] Driving and state transition are achieved via drone. The traction phase, or flat state: When the drone pulls the device to the top of the stay cable 3, the binding force maintains the flat state. Because the inner diameter of the toroidal rotor 101 is much larger than the diameter of the stay cable 3, the ascent process completely avoids contact with ice. The unbinding phase, or three-dimensional state transition: After the top is unbound, the release of constraints and the combined effect of disturbance cause the device to instantly transition from a flat state to a three-dimensional state, with its center tightly wrapped around the stay cable 3.

[0044] De-icing Mechanism and Dynamics. Rotary Sliding De-icing: Utilizing the coupling effect of vortex ring dynamics and fluid momentum transfer, each independent ring of the device rolls along the cable 3, and the entire device rotates and slides down with the cable 3 as the center. Maintaining a stable speed during the descent, it simultaneously drives the outrigger 2 to extend, efficiently circumferentially cutting away suspended ice floes 4.

[0045] Adaptive Deformation Capability. The three-dimensional state of the toroidal knot rotor 101 has dynamic adjustment capability: Adaptive Inner Diameter: The inner diameter is adjusted in real time according to the size of the cable 3, compatible with different diameters, ensuring a tight fit with the cable body and improving de-icing coverage. Obstacle Crossing: Directly bypasses protrusions at the root of ice, such as hard-to-remove ice lumps, significantly reducing the risk of getting stuck at high altitudes.

[0046] The process of installing the ice treatment device onto the cable-stayed bridge 3 using a toroidal knot is as follows: the toroidal knot rotor 101 is essentially a complexly woven knot, such as... Figure 3As shown, the inner diameter of the temporary steady state is much larger than the diameter of the cable 3, leaving enough space in the middle for the use of auxiliary equipment to help install the toroidal knot rotor 101 onto the cable 3. A large-diameter auxiliary cylindrical equipment is installed on the cable 3, and the toroidal knot rotor 101 is tied to the auxiliary equipment and fixed at the end. The auxiliary equipment can be extended and reduced in size and can be taken out from the inner diameter space along the length of the cable 3.

[0047] Working principle:

[0048] Based on the dual steady-state characteristics of the toroidal knot rotor 101, the gravitational potential energy-rotational kinetic energy conversion mechanism, and the synergistic effect of its adaptive structural deformation characteristics, the toroidal knot rotor 101 is towed to the top of the cable-stayed bridge 3 by a drone. During the towing process, the toroidal knot rotor 101, due to its binding, is in a state similar to... Figure 3 In the temporary steady state shown, the inner diameter of the toroidal knot rotor 101 is extremely large, ensuring it does not touch the suspended ice floes 4 when climbing the cable-stayed cable 3. After the traction is released, the disturbance causes the toroidal knot rotor 101 to move from the temporary steady state to the final steady state, and it grips the cable-stayed cable 3 at the geometric center 102 of the toroidal knot. Then, utilizing the coupling effect of vortex ring dynamics and fluid momentum transfer, it triggers spontaneous rotation behavior during its descent along the cable-stayed cable 3. While stabilizing the descent speed, it drives the outrigger 2 to unfold, efficiently removing the suspended ice floes 4 by circumferentially cutting the cable-stayed cable 3.

[0049] At the same time, the final steady state of the toroidal knot rotor 101 has deformability and can dynamically adjust the inner diameter according to the size of the cable 3, adaptively matching different diameter cables 3. While ensuring close fit with the cable body to improve the de-icing coverage, it can also directly bypass the root protrusions of ice that are difficult to remove, greatly avoiding jamming of the toroidal knot rotor 101 at high altitudes.

[0050] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A toroidal knotted cable-stayed ice treatment device, characterized in that, It includes a toroidal knot rotor, an outrigger arm, and a stay cable. The toroidal knot rotor is sleeved on the stay cable, and the outrigger arm is fixedly mounted on the toroidal knot rotor. The toroidal knot rotor includes multiple spokes, which are repeatedly wound around the geometric center of the toroidal knot to form multiple toroidal knot rings. The multiple toroidal knot rings are connected end to end to form the toroidal knot rotor. The cable-stayed cable is fitted with a retractable cylinder, the inner diameter of which is the same as the diameter of the toroidal knot rotor, and the spokes are wound around the cylinder. An extension arm is provided on the spoke zero; The extended arm includes a knotted ring fixing pin, an extended cutter, a rotating arm, and a standing leg; The knot ring fixing pin is hinged to the ring knot ring. Rotating arms are fixedly provided at both ends of the knot ring fixing pin. A standing leg and an extended cutter are fixedly provided on the outer side of the top of the rotating arm. The extended cutter is located at the front end of the standing leg.

2. The toroidal knot cable-stayed bridge ice treatment device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cable passes through the geometric center of the toroidal knot and connects to the toroidal knot rotor.

3. The toroidal knot cable-stayed bridge ice treatment device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The extended arm rotates around the knot ring fixing pin via the rotating arm.

4. The toroidal knot cable-stayed bridge ice treatment device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the toroidal knot rings is provided with two outstretched arms, and the outstretched arms on the toroidal knot rings are evenly spaced around the circumference.