Aeronautical Elbow Bracket Assembly Without Welded Ribs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional elbow brackets for aeronautical equipment, made by bending metal plates and reinforced with ribs, suffer from poor rigidity and increased manufacturing time and cost due to the need for welding the ribs to the main plate.
Innovation Solution
A separate reinforcing rib is used, attached to the main plate by end-pieces that traverse slots and are twisted to engage with the plate's external faces, eliminating the need for welding and allowing for a robust yet simple assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If ribs are welded to the main plate by continuous bead or points, then the structural strength and rigidity are improved, but the manufacturing time and cost increase greatly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the welding process (thermal/mechanical system) with a mechanical interlocking system using slots and twisted end-pieces. The rib is secured to the main plate through friction and geometric constraints created by the twisted end-pieces in the slots, eliminating the need for welding operations while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib is divided into multiple end-pieces that are inserted through slots in the main plate. This segmentation allows the rib to be assembled in a modular fashion without welding, with each end-piece providing anchoring through the slot system. The rib remains a separate component that is mechanically secured rather than permanently joined.
2Stability of the object's composition
If ribs are welded to the main plate, then the structural rigidity is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The welding process is replaced with a mechanical fastening system using slots and twisted end-pieces. This substitution eliminates expensive welding operations, equipment, and associated costs while providing sufficient rigidity through the mechanical interlocking of the rib end-pieces with the main plate slots.
Solution Approach 2:
The twisted end-pieces themselves serve as both the connecting element and the fastening mechanism. The twisting action of the end-pieces within the slots creates the necessary friction and geometric constraint to secure the rib to the main plate, eliminating the need for separate fasteners or welding operations.
3Ease of manufacture
If the rib is made as a separate component, then the ease of assembly is improved, but the connection strength may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The end-pieces of the rib are inserted through slots in the main plate, creating a nested arrangement where the end-pieces are partially contained within the slot structure. The twisting of the end-pieces within the slots creates a interlocking configuration that provides strong mechanical connection while maintaining the separate component status of the rib.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system combines multiple material properties and mechanisms: the friction between the twisted end-pieces and slot walls, the geometric constraint of the twisted shape, and the elastic deformation of the end-pieces. This composite approach to connection provides strength comparable to welding while maintaining ease of assembly.
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
This solution provides a cost-effective and efficient method to achieve sufficient rigidity for aeronautical equipment supports without the time and cost associated with welding, while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
The friction produced by the upper face of the slit 24 on the outer face 27 leads edge 18 or 19 to be trapped on the inner face 20 or 21, and therefore holds the rib 17 in place on the main plate 13.
Data Source
AI summary
An elbow bracket for cables or pipes, supported by a structure of an aeronautical device, in which a reinforcing rib of the elbowed main plate is not assembled with the elbowed main plate by welding but by tightening following a twisting of end-pieces traversing slots of the main plate and causing an outer face of the plate to be trapped against an upper face of oblong slits partially cutting into the end-pieces. The support is faster to construct, and has sufficient resistance.