Aluminum Pipe Support with Thickened Ends
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aluminum pipe supports, while lighter than iron, fail to meet rigidity requirements and often buckle under load, necessitating larger sizes or increased numbers to ensure safety, thus increasing weight and labor.
Innovation Solution
An aluminum pipe support design with optimized cross-sectional areas for inner and outer pipes, combined with thickened portions and regular hexagonal, octagonal, or decagonal shapes, to enhance rigidity and reduce weight beyond the limits of traditional designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If aluminum pipe support is used instead of iron pipe support, then weight is reduced, but rigidity and load-bearing capacity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the wall thickness of the aluminum pipes along their length. The thickened portions are strategically located at the upper end and lower end of the inner pipe, and at corresponding positions of the outer pipe, to provide enhanced rigidity and load-bearing capacity where needed, while maintaining reduced weight in other sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates thickened portions in advance at critical locations of the aluminum pipes before assembly. These pre-positioned thickened sections ensure that the pipe support has sufficient rigidity and load-bearing capacity from the outset, eliminating the need for post-assembly reinforcement while maintaining overall weight reduction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple aluminum alloy single pipes are connected to achieve length adjustment, then adaptability is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to bolt deformation and buckling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested structure where the inner pipe is inserted into the outer pipe, allowing length adjustment through relative movement while maintaining structural integrity. The thickened portions at both pipes provide reinforcement that prevents buckling, and the nested design eliminates the need for external bolts that could deform under vertical loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by combining the inner pipe and outer pipe with thickened portions, forming a reinforced aluminum pipe support system. This composite design provides both length adjustability and enhanced reliability by distributing loads across the thickened sections, preventing the buckling issues that occur in simple connected pipe designs.
3Strength
If larger size aluminum pipes are used to meet load requirements, then strength is improved, but weight reduction benefit is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing the size of the entire aluminum pipe, the patent applies local quality by adding thickened portions only at specific critical locations (upper end and lower end of the inner pipe, and corresponding positions of the outer pipe). This provides the necessary load-bearing capacity and rigidity only where structurally required, maintaining weight reduction in other sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the wall thickness parameter locally at specific positions of the aluminum pipes, creating thickened portions with increased thickness while maintaining the original thinner wall thickness in other sections. This parameter variation allows the pipe support to meet load-bearing requirements without the penalty of uniformly larger dimensions and associated weight increase.
Data Source
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AI summary
Problem to be solved To provide an aluminum pipe support having lighter weight and higher rigidity compared to an iron pipe support. Solution An aluminum pipe support 1 is configured with two pieces of pins 2A, an inner pipe 3 having an outer periphery formed in any one of a regular hexagonal shape, a regular octagonal shape, and a regular decagonal shape, and having, at a position not subjected to insertion of the pin 2A, a cross-sectional area of 1.96 times or larger than a cross-sectional area at a corresponding position of an inner pipe of a targeted-size iron pipe support, an outer pipe 2 having an inner shape allowing the inner pipe 3 to be inserted into, and having, at a position not subjected to the insertion of the pin 2A, a cross-sectional area of 1.35 times or larger than a cross-sectional area at a corresponding position of an outer pipe of the targeted-size iron pipe support. The upper limits of the cross-sectional areas of the inner pipe 3 and the outer pipe 2 are set so that the total weight of the inner pipe 3 and the outer pipe 2 is lighter than the total weight of the inner pipe and the outer pipe of the targeted-size iron pipe support. Effects The specified load bearing capacity is satisfied, and drastic reduction in weight and high rigidity are achieved.