Cable Return Pulley Sector Coupling for Reduced Machining
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cable transportation systems face challenges in assembling pulleys due to high machining precision requirements, leading to increased costs and difficulties in transporting and storing large, segmented pulleys.
Innovation Solution
A cable return pulley design featuring a hub with lateral coupling sides along coplanar straight lines, allowing sectors to be coupled along only two lines, reducing precision needs and enabling the use of a single-sized hub for various diameters, with identical sectors for mass production and easier assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If sectors are coupled to the hub and adjacent sectors along three coplanar straight lines, then the pulley structure is stable, but machining precision requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The pulley is divided into multiple sectors that are coupled to the hub and adjacent sectors along only two coplanar straight lines instead of three. This segmentation reduces the number of coupling constraints from three lines to two lines per sector, thereby reducing machining precision requirements while maintaining structural stability through the distributed sector configuration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the hub size is increased to accommodate larger diameter pulleys, then pulleys of different diameters can be made, but hub manufacturing cost and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is designed with a standardized size and configuration that can be used for pulleys of different diameters. By coupling sectors along only two coplanar straight lines rather than three, the same hub can accommodate sectors of varying sizes to produce pulleys with different diameters, making the hub a universal component that reduces manufacturing cost and storage requirements.
3Ease of operation
If the number of coupling lines per sector is reduced from three to two, then assembly ease improves, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The pulley is segmented into multiple sectors that are distributed around the hub. Each sector couples to the hub and adjacent sectors along only two coplanar straight lines, which simplifies assembly by reducing coupling constraints. The overall structural stability is maintained through the distributed configuration of multiple sectors working together, compensating for the reduced constraints at each individual coupling point.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cable transportation system cable return pulley (1) has a hub (3), which is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation (A) and has a plurality of lateral coupling sides lying along respective coplanar straight lines (a, b, c; a, b, c, d; a, b, c, d, e; a, b, c, d, e, f) crosswise to the axis of rotation (A); and a main body (4), which is coupled to the hub (3), has an annular seat (6) for housing the cable, and a number of sectors (20) equal to the number of lateral coupling sides of the hub (3), and wherein each sector (20) is coupled to the hub (3) and to the adjacent sectors (20) solely along two of the straight lines (a, b, c; a, b, c, d; a, b, c, d, e; a, b, c, d, e, f).