Flexible Cleanroom Cable Conduit With Dust-Tight Modular Sleeves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cable routing devices for clean room applications, such as those using energy guiding chains, release particles due to abrasion and are cumbersome for maintenance and modifications, requiring complete renewal rather than individual component replacement.
Innovation Solution
A cable routing system with a prefabricated flexible sheath and receptacles that allows for easy insertion and replacement of cable bundles, eliminating the need for separate outer sheaths and enabling modular maintenance without particle release, using a method that includes a banding system with fluoropolymer materials and detachable closure profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional energy guiding chains with link-chain design are used, then cable routing is achieved, but particles are released during operation due to abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The cable carrier is divided into multiple individual cable channels within a common housing, allowing each cable to be independently replaced while maintaining the integrity of the overall system and preventing particle release during maintenance operations
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible, dust-tight covering encapsulates the cable carrier system, preventing abrasion particles from being released into the clean room environment while allowing the cables to move flexibly within the enclosed channels
2Object-generated harmful factors
If cables are encased in a dust-tight manner, then particle release is minimized, but servicing and replacing individual lines becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The cable carrier housing contains individual accessible channels for each cable, allowing maintenance personnel to service and replace specific cables without dismantling the entire dust-tight enclosure, thus maintaining particle containment while enabling easy individual line replacement
Solution Approach 2:
Cables are pre-assembled with connectors and plugged into the cable carrier at connection points, allowing for quick replacement by simply unplugging and replacing individual cable assemblies without requiring complex disassembly of the dust-tight enclosure
3Object-generated harmful factors
If complete cable routing renewal is performed, then all particle release issues are resolved, but cost and time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The modular cable carrier design with individual replaceable cables allows only the affected cable to be replaced rather than the entire routing system, significantly reducing maintenance time and cost while maintaining particle release prevention through the enclosed design
Solution Approach 2:
Individual cables can be replaced when worn or damaged while the reusable cable carrier housing and other intact cables are retained and continue to serve, reducing waste and maintenance costs while maintaining the dust-tight enclosure that prevents particle release
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates efficient maintenance and reduces particle release by allowing individual cable strand replacement and modification without dismantling the entire system, enhancing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness in clean room environments.
Implementation Method 1
banding system with fluoropolymer materials
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5B
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing a conduit for a clean room application, comprising electric cables and comprising an elongate, flexible sheath which can be moved back and forth, in particular so as to form a deflecting bend between two towers, wherein the flexible sheath has a number of parallel receiving portions, each for at least one cable, wherein each receiving portion extends in the manner of a channel in a longitudinal direction from a first end to a second end; the method comprising at least the steps of: - providing at least one cable bundle of contiguous cables; and - providing the flexible sheath; characterised in that the sheath is prefabricated and the cable bundle is introduced into a receiving portion of the prefabricated sheath, wherein - the prefabricated sheath comprises at least one sleeve unit having two interacting closure profiles of a closure in order to close an open state in a dust-tight manner, and the cable bundle is inserted into the opened sheath transversely to the longitudinal direction; or - the prefabricated sheath comprises at least one sleeve unit which is produced so as to be circumferentially closed, and the cable bundle is drawn into the closed sleeve unit in the longitudinal direction.