Articulated Joint Head with Geometric Locking for Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing line-guiding devices with spherical joint heads and guide slots are susceptible to wear under torque and tensile forces, lacking stability and requiring precise adjustment, especially when members are angled in multiple planes.
Innovation Solution
The joint head features a peripheral geometry with vertices and lateral lines forming internal angles less than 180°, allowing extensive contact with the joint socket for torque absorption and self-adjustment, while the joint socket has corresponding receiving regions for secure non-rotational angling in multiple planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pins guided in guide slots are used for anti-rotation, then angling in two angular planes is enabled, but wear occurs under torque and tensile forces
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pins and guide slots from the joint connection and replaces them with a geometric locking mechanism. The joint head has a peripheral geometry with vertices and lateral lines that engage with corresponding receiving regions in the joint socket, eliminating the need for pins and slots while maintaining anti-rotation capability and improving wear resistance through surface contact instead of line contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint head features a spherical connection point that engages with the joint socket, allowing rotation and angling in multiple planes. The spherical geometry provides smooth movement while the peripheral geometry with vertices and lateral lines prevents rotation about the longitudinal axis, combining the benefits of spherical movement with anti-rotation stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If guide slots are interrupted by pin locations, then anti-rotation is achieved, but stability decreases under high tensile forces
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the guide slots entirely and replaces them with a continuous peripheral geometry on the joint head that engages with the joint socket. This eliminates the interruption in the connection structure, providing continuous support for tensile forces while maintaining the anti-rotation function through the geometric engagement of vertices and lateral lines.
3Adaptability or versatility
If pins form a cross structure on spherical joint head, then two-plane angling is enabled, but precise adjustment is required during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The joint head and joint socket are designed with self-aligning geometric features. The peripheral geometry with vertices and lateral lines on the joint head automatically engages with the corresponding receiving regions in the joint socket, allowing the components to self-adjust during assembly without requiring precise pre-alignment. The spherical connection point facilitates easy insertion while the geometric locking mechanism ensures proper orientation.
Data Source
AI summary
A cable-routing device, the members of which have central joint bodies for articulation to one another, which comprise a joint head and a joint socket. The joint head has an axial region in which the cross-section thereof has a peripheral geometry with at least two corner points and lateral lines which connect the latter to one another, the lateral lines which meet at a corner point forming an internal angle of less than 180°, and the joint socket has a receiving region which geometrically corresponds to the axial region of the joint head and into which the joint head can lock.