Arcuate Saddles with Rounded Corners for Pipe Hangers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing saddles for anchoring and supporting pipes often have sharp corners that can catch or scratch during installation and use, leading to difficulties in handling and potential damage to pipes or insulation.
Innovation Solution
The development of arcuate saddles with rounded corners, manufactured using a progressive die assembly that cuts convex arcuate curves into the material to form the saddles, facilitating easier introduction and use by minimizing sharp edges and enhancing compatibility with hangers and pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If saddles are manufactured with sharp corners to maintain structural integrity and simplicity, then manufacturing is easier and cost-effective, but handling becomes difficult and damage risk increases during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by replacing sharp corners with rounded corners on the saddle components. This is achieved through forming the blank with rounded corners before bending, or by using a forming process that creates rounded corners during the bending operation. The rounded corners eliminate sharp edges that cause handling difficulties and potential damage, while maintaining the structural integrity and load-bearing capacity of the saddle.
2Ease of operation
If saddles have rounded corners to improve handling and prevent damage, then ease of operation improves, but manufacturing complexity increases due to additional forming steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the corner rounding operation with the existing blank preparation or bending process. Instead of adding a separate rounding step, the process integrates corner formation into the standard manufacturing sequence - either by providing pre-rounded blanks or by incorporating rounding dies into the bending press. This integration minimizes additional manufacturing complexity while achieving the desired rounded corners for improved installation ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming the blank with rounded corners before the bending operation. This allows the rounded corners to be established early in the process, and subsequent bending operations simply form the saddle shape around these pre-formed rounded corners, rather than requiring complex post-bending corner rounding operations.
3Productivity
If traditional cutting methods are used to create saddles, then manufacturing is simple and fast, but sharp corners are created that can catch and scratch during use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional sharp-cornered cutting patterns with rounded corner designs. The blank is formed with rounded corners either before or during the bending process, eliminating the harmful sharp edges that cause catching and scratching during installation and use. This maintains manufacturing efficiency while eliminating the harmful effects of sharp corners.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful sharp corners created by traditional cutting methods into beneficial rounded corners. By modifying the cutting or forming process to create rounded corners, the previously harmful sharp edges become smooth, safe surfaces that prevent catching and scratching, while still maintaining efficient manufacturing through integrated process design.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to arcuate saddles typically used to anchor and suspend insulated or non-insulated pipes. Rounded corners on the saddles facilitate comfortably introducing and placing the saddles into hangers as well as improving use. Certain embodiments of the present invention involve methods of manufacturing arcuate saddles with rounded corners.