Clamp Tool With Stop And Ear Edges For Hose Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-pressure hose connections to fittings often fail due to the hose slipping off, despite the use of clamps and ridges or beads, as existing alignment tools are not efficient without guides and lack the necessary force to tighten the clamps effectively.
Innovation Solution
A clamp tool with stop edges and ear edges that align and compress hose clamps between ridges or beads on a fitting, providing a gap to prevent cutting or nicking, and featuring a mechanism for proper alignment and force application to secure the hose connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If clamps are used to hold the hose to the fitting, then the connection strength is improved, but the hose may still slip off in high-pressure applications
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is segmented with multiple ridges or beads along its length, creating multiple contact points with the hose. This segmentation distributes the holding force across multiple locations, preventing the hose from slipping off at any single point while maintaining strong connection overall.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridges or beads are pre-formed on the fitting during manufacturing, creating a prepared surface geometry that actively engages with the hose before installation. This preliminary structural preparation ensures the hose is held in place from the moment it is inserted, preventing slippage under pressure.
2Measurement precision
If guides are deployed to guide clamp installation between ridges/beads, then alignment precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp tool is designed with integrated stop edges and ear edges that automatically align with the ridges or beads on the fitting during the clamping operation. The tool's geometry itself provides the alignment function, eliminating the need for separate guides while ensuring precise clamp placement between the ridges.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment and clamping functions are merged into a single tool structure. The stop edges and ear edges of the clamp tool combine positioning guidance with the clamping action, integrating what would otherwise require separate guiding components into the primary fastening tool.
3Manufacturing precision
If ear edges are positioned to close against each other, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the clamp ear may be cut or nicked unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The tool edges have different depths: stop edges are cut deeper for precise alignment, while ear edges are cut shallower to provide a gap. This local variation in edge depth allows the stop edges to provide precise positioning while the ear edges maintain a safe distance from each other, preventing damage to the clamp ear during compression.
4Measurement precision
If stop edges width is increased to provide alignment, then alignment capability is improved, but tool width increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying solely on the width of stop edges for alignment, the design uses the depth dimension of the ear edges to create a gap that provides alignment reference. This dimensional shift allows alignment functionality to be achieved through vertical edge depth variation rather than horizontal width increase, maintaining a compact tool profile.
Data Source
AI summary
A clamp tool that has stop edges and ear edges is disclosed. In one embodiment, stop edges close against each other while the ear edges, being cut deeper than the stop edges, do not touch each other and provide a space between which an ear of a clamp is position and closed by the clamp tool without cutting or nicking unnecessarily into the ear of the clamp. The width of the stop edges is predetermined to provide an alignment for proper alignment of the clamp on a hose that obscures features of a fitting that is positioned beneath the hose.