Curved Power Tool Extension for Inaccessible Workpieces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power tools and attachments lack a rigid and curved extension, making them unsuitable for applications requiring increased operative length and access to curved or inaccessible workpieces, such as aircraft engine parts.
Innovation Solution
A power tool with a rigid and curved extension, featuring a tubular member with a threaded collar and conical transition, allowing for increased length and robust connection, along with a flexible shaft and collet assembly to transfer rotational forces and secure accessories, and optionally incorporating a borehole camera for remote visual surveillance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional power tools are used, then the tools are simple and easy to manufacture, but they cannot access curved or inaccessible workpieces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature to the extension tube, transforming it from a straight rigid component to a curved rigid component. This curved configuration enables the power tool to access curved or inaccessible workpieces while maintaining the structural rigidity needed for stable operation, directly resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
2Reliability
If a rigid extension is used, then connection stability is improved, but flexibility to reach curved areas is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The extension tube is designed with a curved configuration that maintains rigidity for stable connections while the specific curvature geometry enables access to curved workpiece surfaces. This resolves the contradiction by showing that rigidity and curved-area access are compatible when the rigid component itself is curved rather than straight.
3Length of moving object
If conventional straight extensions are used, then the structure is simple, but the operative length and reach are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The curved extension tube provides increased operative length and reach compared to straight extensions of equivalent physical length. The curvature allows the tool to access areas that would require significantly longer straight extensions, effectively increasing the usable operative length without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A modified power tool which includes a housing, a motive source disposed at least partially within the housing, a rigid and curved extension extending from the housing, a flexible shaft extending through the extension, and a connector assembly which includes a shaft and a connector extending from the shaft.