Compact Swing Arm Assembly for Cable Clearance and Smooth Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing swing arm assemblies fail to balance minimum bending radius limitations, cable density, and smooth movement between stowed and deployed positions without pinching or binding cables.
Innovation Solution
A compact swing arm assembly with a mounting pad, base, and extension that allows pivotal and translational movement, featuring a slot and pins for secure positioning, ensuring sufficient clearance to prevent cable pinching or binding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a swing arm assembly is used to allow movement between stowed and deployed positions, then the common device can be serviced externally, but cables may be pinched or bound during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The swing arm assembly incorporates a slot-and-pin mechanism that dynamically adjusts the position of the common device during movement. The pin travels along a curved slot path, enabling the arm to pivot between stowed and deployed positions while maintaining proper cable clearance throughout the transition, preventing pinching or binding of cables.
2Productivity
If the density of cables and equipment in the vault is increased to minimize the number of vaults, then cost and aesthetics are improved, but cable bending radius limitations are violated
Solution Approach 1:
The swing arm assembly utilizes the third dimension (movement between stowed and deployed positions) to resolve the conflict between cable density and bending radius. By positioning the common device externally when deployed, the assembly creates additional spatial separation between cables, allowing higher cable density within the vault while maintaining safe bending radii through vertical and horizontal positioning changes.
3Ease of operation
If the swing arm assembly allows full movement between stowed and deployed positions, then serviceability is improved, but the complexity of the assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The swing arm assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a mounting pad for securing the common device, a slot-and-pin mechanism for controlled movement, and support tabs for structural stability. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, reducing overall assembly complexity while maintaining full serviceability.
Data Source
AI summary
A compact swing arm assembly is provided that has a mounting pad, a base, and an extension. The extension is secured to the base at a slot so that the extension pivots with respect to the base about a pin through the slot and translates along the slot between a stowed position and a deployed position. The slot has a first end proximate the mounting pad and a second end remote from the mounting pad. The base has a first tab and a second tab. The extension, when stowed, is positioned with the pin in the slot proximate the second end and a first side of the extension is against the first tab at a stowed point of contact. The extension, when deployed, is positioned with the pin proximate the first end and the first side abutting the first and second tabs at two deployed points of contact.