Detachable Handrail Heating Jacket for Marine Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handrails on ships, made of metal, become difficult to grasp in cold weather due to low temperatures, and maintenance of self-heating handrails with embedded heating coils is challenging, especially when applying to existing facilities.
Innovation Solution
A detachable heating device comprising a jacket member with high thermal conductivity, accommodating the handrail and housing heating coils, along with a controller to supply power for heating, allowing easy maintenance and application to existing facilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heating coils are embedded in the handrail to heat it in cold weather, then the handrail temperature is improved, but the ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heating device is segmented into separate components: the handrail and the heating device are independent entities. The heating device comprises a housing, heating coil, and control unit that can be detached from the handrail, allowing maintenance without replacing the entire handrail structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating coil and control components are extracted from the handrail structure and placed in a separate detachable housing. This extraction allows the heating system to be removed, repaired, or replaced independently while leaving the handrail intact.
2Temperature
If self-heating handrails with embedded heating coils are used, then the handrail can be heated in cold weather, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into modular segments: power supply unit, heating coil, control unit, and housing. Each segment can be independently manufactured, tested, and replaced, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The detachable heating device can be applied to various handrail types and locations (horizontal handrails, vertical posts) without customization, making the system universally applicable and simplifying deployment across different facilities.
3Temperature
If conventional self-heating handrails are applied to existing facilities, then the handrail heating function is achieved, but all existing handrails must be exchanged which increases the loss of substance
Solution Approach 1:
The heating functionality is extracted as a separate attachable device rather than being integrated into the handrail structure. This allows the heating device to be added to existing handrails without replacing the handrails themselves, preserving existing materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating device housing is designed to fit around the existing handrail, with the handrail passing through the accommodating space of the housing. This nested configuration allows the heating device to envelop the handrail without requiring removal or replacement of the original handrail structure.
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 device ensures the handrail can be easily grasped in cold weather, preventing accidents while allowing for easy maintenance and economical retrofitting of existing facilities.
Implementation Method 1
heating coils provided along one side of the accommodating space of the jacket member in such a manner as to be heated to heat the handrail
Implementation Method 2
the jacket member is separable into two parts fittedly coupled to each other in left and right directions of the handrail and is made of an aluminum material with high thermal conductivity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to an economical heating device for a handrail which is disposed to heat a handrail of a vessel to prevent falling accidents by allowing a user to grasp the heated device during normal conditions as well as in cold weather, thereby preventing accidents, and which is not built into the handrail, but detachably mounted on the outside of the handrail for easy maintenance and repair of the heating device and making the heating device easily applicable to existing equipment. The heating device for a handrail according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a jacket member having a receiving space along a lengthwise direction thereof so that a handrail is received therein; a heating coil disposed on a side of the receiving space to heat the handrail when heat is generated; and a controller disposed on a side of the handrail, the controller being electrically connected to an end of the heating coil to successively supply power required for generating heat in the heating coil.