Deformable Clamping Element for Metal Anchor Diameter Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Metal anchors experience weak hold in boreholes due to friction and have difficulty accommodating diameter tolerances, leading to potential falling out during overhead installation in stone or concrete bases, especially when the borehole diameter is larger than the anchor's nominal size.
Innovation Solution
A metal anchor with a laterally projecting and deformable clamping element, which is materially connected to the base body, allows for a smaller anchoring section diameter than the borehole, providing frictional hold through deformation and adaptation to diameter gaps, and can be made of plastic or adhesive for ease of attachment and adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the anchor diameter is made smaller to accommodate larger borehole diameter tolerances, then the adaptability to borehole variations improves, but the holding strength in the borehole deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping element changes its geometric parameters (shape, size) through elastic or plastic deformation when subjected to compressive forces during anchor installation, enabling it to adapt to varying borehole diameters while maintaining adequate holding strength
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor combines a metal base body with a deformable clamping element made of different material properties (elastic or plastic), creating a composite structure that leverages the strength of metal and the adaptability of deformable materials to simultaneously achieve holding strength and tolerance accommodation
2Strength
If the anchor is made of metal for strength, then the strength improves, but the ease of deformation to accommodate diameter gaps deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the anchor have different material properties: the base body is made of strong metal while the clamping element is made of deformable material, allowing each part to be optimized for its specific function (strength vs. adaptability)
3Adaptability or versatility
If the anchoring section diameter is made smaller than the borehole diameter to accommodate tolerances, then the adaptability to diameter tolerance improves, but the reliability of holding the anchor in place before anchoring deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The deformable clamping element performs preliminary deformation and adaptation to the borehole diameter during anchor insertion, creating initial frictional engagement that reliably holds the anchor in place before the final anchoring action (spreading, wedging, or screwing)
Solution Approach 2:
The clamping element can be designed as a simple, cost-effective component made from readily available deformable materials, where minor deformation or even partial shearing during installation does not compromise the overall anchor system reliability
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
The anchor effectively holds in place during overhead installation and anchoring processes, even with large diameter tolerances, ensuring secure anchoring without additional expansion mechanisms until fixed, and simplifies installation by using a cost-effective clamping element.
Implementation Method 1
the clamping element deforms in such a way that it presses against a wall of the hole and presses the anchor against the wall of the hole on an opposite side, so that the anchor is held in the drilled hole by friction
Implementation Method 2
The clamping element is elastically and/or plastically deformable
Implementation Method 3
The clamping element is elastically and/or plastically deformable
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a sleeve-shaped metal anchor (1) which can be expanded by introducing an expanding element (11). The invention also relates to a holding element (14) applied, for example, as an adhesive drop, which holds the anchor (1), during overhead assembly, in an upwardly directed borehole so that it does not fall out due to gravity as long as the anchor (1) is not yet expanded.