Cable Guide for Handling Device with Perpendicular Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traveling systems for handling devices experience reduced range of motion and increased contamination risk due to cable guide bulging at 180° curves and open-sided housing elements, which obstruct movement and allow contamination.
Innovation Solution
The cable guide is arranged on one side of the carriage body parallel to the direction of movement, with housing elements rotating perpendicular to the plane of movement, and connected to the carriage body on the opposite side, featuring closed walls and a contoured surface structure to reduce friction and contamination, along with protective bodies and plates to shield the cable guide.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the cable guide is arranged with housing elements rotating parallel to the plane of movement to achieve compactness, then the cable guide forms a bulge at 180° curves, but this bulge hinders the handling device in its movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the rotation axis orientation from parallel to perpendicular relative to the plane of movement. This dimensional change allows the cable guide to bend in the vertical dimension rather than creating horizontal bulges, eliminating interference with the handling device's movement while maintaining compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the cable guide bulge outward in the horizontal plane, the patent inverts the approach by having housing elements rotate perpendicular to the plane of movement, causing the cable guide to bend in the opposite spatial dimension and avoid creating obstructive bulges.
2Ease of manufacture
If the housing elements are arranged with open sides directed upward to facilitate cable access, then the cable guide is easy to assemble, but contamination can reach the interior of the cable guide
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces asymmetric orientation of housing elements where alternating elements have open sides facing different directions (upward and downward). This asymmetric arrangement allows cable access while protecting the interior from contamination by ensuring that not all openings face the same vulnerable direction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different housing elements have different orientations tailored to their specific positions in the cable guide chain. This local quality approach allows each element to be optimized for both accessibility and protection based on its location, with some elements prioritizing cable access and others prioritizing contamination protection.
3Device complexity
If the cable guide is arranged on one side of the carriage body to reduce complexity, then the structure is simplified, but the handling device's range of motion is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the rotation axis to be perpendicular to the plane of movement, the cable guide可以利用 the vertical dimension for bending, allowing the handling device to move freely in the horizontal plane without cable guide interference, thus maintaining simplicity while expanding range of motion.
Data Source
AI summary
A traveling system for a handling device with at least one guide element, with at least one carriage body, which is moveable by the guide element in a guided way in at least one plane of movement and on which or upon which at least one handling device can be fixed or is fixed, with at least one drive element by means of which the carriage body is driveable for a movement at least along the guide element, and with at least one cable guide that is connected to the carriage body, which includes a cable guide housing which includes a plurality of housing elements linked to each other, where two adjacent housing elements are movable relative to one another and about a common axis of rotation. At least one cable is also arranged or can be arranged, which is connectible or connected with one end to the handling device.