Detangling Lead Assembly with Rotating Swivel Coupler
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multiple pet leash systems often suffer from tangling issues when multiple animals are walked simultaneously, limiting freedom of movement and requiring complex mechanisms to prevent entanglement.
Innovation Solution
A detangling lead assembly featuring a rotating swivel coupler and cross-over lead pulley system that adjusts lead lengths and includes frictional engagement to prevent tangling, allowing for easy handling and replacement of the lead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single lead runs through a pulley with a handle to restrain the pulley and lead, then the device can control multiple pets, but the leads tend to tangle with each other
Solution Approach 1:
The lead assembly is divided into separate retractable lead components, each independently managed within its own housing. This segmentation prevents the leads from intertwining while maintaining the ability to control multiple pets simultaneously through the shared rotating body mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The body subassembly is designed to rotate freely, allowing the leads to dynamically adjust their positions and lengths independently. This rotational freedom enables the leads to move without tangling while maintaining control over multiple pets, resolving the contradiction between versatility and reliability.
2Ease of operation
If dual retractable leashes are made to spin relative to a handle to prevent tangling, then freedom of movement is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating body subassembly integrates multiple functions: it houses the pulley system, accommodates the retractable leads, and provides the spinning capability to prevent tangling. By merging these functions into a single integrated component rather than separate mechanisms, the design achieves freedom of movement without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating body serves multiple purposes simultaneously: it acts as the housing for the lead mechanism, provides the rotational freedom to prevent tangling, and functions as the connection point for multiple retractable leads. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, maintaining ease of operation while controlling complexity.
3Reliability
If the lead path causes an overlap of the lead over itself, then frictional engagement prevents tangling, but the lead replacement becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The lead is designed to be extractable from the lead path, allowing it to be removed and replaced independently from the housing and pulley system. The overlapping frictional engagement mechanism is integrated into the housing structure rather than being dependent on the lead itself, enabling easy lead replacement while maintaining the frictional anti-tangling feature.
Solution Approach 2:
The lead path is designed with self-aligning features that guide the lead into the correct position during installation. The frictional engagement occurs automatically when the lead is properly positioned in the overlap region, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms and simplifying the lead replacement process while maintaining reliable tangling prevention.
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 system effectively prevents tangling of leads, providing greater freedom of movement for pets and users while allowing for easy adjustment and replacement of components, enhancing usability and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The overlap of the lead over itself is configured to provide a frictional engagement of an outside surface of the lead creating a resistance force opposite a pulling force on the lead
Implementation Method 2
the body subassembly further comprises exit points for the lead ends defining a moment arm whereby the moment forces the body subassembly to rotate to uncross a crossing of the lead ends
Data Source
AI summary
A detangling lead assembly comprising an elongated flexible lead having a first lead end and a second lead end, a body subassembly comprising a pulley, the lead retained in a lead path from a distal end of the body assembly, around the pulley and extending from the distal end of the body subassembly whereby the first lead end and the second lead end extend generally in a distal direction from the handle subassembly and the lead is generally movable back and forth around the pulley. In some embodiments, the lead assembly further comprises a handle subassembly rotatably coupled to a proximal end of the body subassembly. In some embodiments, the housing further comprises exit points for the lead ends defining a moment arm for a moment to force the body subassembly to rotate and uncross a crossing of the lead ends.