Beaded-Rod Strut Assembly for Cleanable Trapeze Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mounting systems used in industries like food processing and pharmaceuticals are difficult to clean and prone to contaminant accumulation due to their design, making them susceptible to dirt and insects.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates beaded rods and struts with offset mounting holes and a sloped bottom wall to facilitate cleaning and prevent contaminant collection, along with locking tabs that secure the rods without threaded connections, allowing for flexible attachment of fixtures and easy access for cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional wall-mounting or trapeze systems are used, then structural stability is achieved, but cleaning and inspection become difficult and contaminant accumulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strut design inverts the traditional mounting system approach by making the mounting holes offset from the centerline rather than symmetrically positioned. This asymmetric arrangement, combined with the sloped bottom wall, creates a configuration where contaminants naturally drain away from the mounting points and toward the sloped surface, facilitating easier cleaning and inspection while maintaining structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sloped bottom wall of the strut introduces a curved or angled surface that replaces the traditional flat, horizontal mounting surface. This curvature causes fluids and contaminants to naturally drain along the slope rather than pooling at the lowest point, thereby reducing contaminant accumulation and improving cleanability while preserving the structural integrity of the mounting system.
2Reliability
If threaded connections are used for mounting, then secure attachment is achieved, but assembly complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the threading function from the mounting holes themselves and relocates it to separate beaded rods that insert into the holes. The beaded rods provide the threading mechanism independently, allowing the mounting holes to remain simple, clean, and easy to access for inspection, while still achieving secure attachment through the beaded rod's threading action.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is segmented into separate functional components: the strut provides structural support and mounting holes, while the beaded rods provide the threading and attachment security. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall assembly complexity and time while maintaining reliable attachment.
3Strength
If mounting holes are positioned for structural stability, then load bearing capacity is improved, but access for fixtures becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting holes are positioned asymmetrically with offset from the centerline rather than in a symmetric pattern. This asymmetric arrangement, combined with the sloped bottom wall, creates clearance space that improves access for fixture installation and inspection while maintaining the structural load-bearing capacity through the offset positioning that optimizes stress distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly comprising a strut comprising mounting holes to affix one or more attachments and one or more fixtures to the strut, and support holes shaped to receive and couple beaded rods with the strut for suspension of the strut, wherein the strut is coupled to the beaded rods without a threaded coupling.