Clamping Collar Strap Segmentation for Manual Insertion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The manual insertion of straps into the head of traditional clamps is difficult due to high friction, leading to musculoskeletal disorders and requiring significant effort, even with the use of pliers, as the strap must already be engaged in the head.
Innovation Solution
A clamp design featuring a relief on the strap that facilitates manual insertion by allowing reversible hooking with the head's hooking teeth, enabling easier gripping and initial tightening before using a tool to complete the process, with distinct groups of teeth providing non-disengageable cooperation for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the strap uses teeth and hooking teeth for secure attachment, then the reliability of attachment is improved, but the friction during insertion increases making operation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The strap is divided into three distinct zones along its length: a first zone with reliefs for easy manual engagement, a second zone with first group of teeth for intermediate engagement, and a third zone with second group of teeth for final secure attachment. This segmentation allows the insertion process to progress through stages of increasing friction and engagement strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The reliefs are positioned at the free end of the strap to enable preliminary manual engagement and positioning of the strap in the head before the teeth engage. This preliminary action reduces the initial insertion effort by allowing the strap to be manually guided into place without immediately encountering the high friction of tooth engagement.
2Ease of operation
If the strap requires tool assistance for insertion, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strap structure with its graduated zones of engagement features (reliefs, first group of teeth, second group of teeth) enables self-service insertion. The design allows the strap to guide itself through the insertion process, transitioning from manual engagement at the reliefs to tool-assisted engagement at the teeth zones, reducing the need for external assistance.
3Reliability
If the teeth provide strong friction for secure attachment, then the reliability is improved, but the effort required for insertion increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different zones of the strap have different local qualities: the first zone has reliefs with rounded profiles for low-friction manual engagement, the second zone has first group of teeth with moderate friction for intermediate engagement, and the third zone has second group of teeth with high friction for final secure attachment. Each zone's local quality is optimized for its specific function in the insertion sequence.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~9
Figure 10~12
AI summary
The invention relates to a collar (100) comprising a head (110) and a strap (120) which has at least one raised feature (124) for retaining contact with a hooking tooth (115) of said head, and a first group of teeth (125) adapted for retaining contact with said hooking tooth. According to the invention, said raised feature has a profile free of sharp edges, allowing disengageable contact with said hooking tooth; each tooth of said first group has a profile comprising at least one sharp edge and a first height resulting in non-disengageable contact with said hooking tooth; and the strap has a second group of teeth (126) with a profile comprising at least one sharp edge and a second height greater than said first height. Furthermore, between said raised feature and said first group of teeth, there is a zone (127) of the strap devoid of any structure adapted for contact with said hooking tooth.Each of the first and second heights is defined as the distance between a reference plane and the point on the tooth furthest from that reference plane.