Drain Cleaning Feed Unit Handle Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators of drum drain cleaning machines face difficulty in handling and operating the machines due to the need to guide the cleaning spiral with one hand, leaving the other hand unavailable for machine operation, and existing feed units do not facilitate simple one-handed operation.
Innovation Solution
A feed unit with a propulsion device, control device, and safety device actuated by a common handle part, allowing for single-handed operation of the cleaning spiral, including clamping, propulsion control, and safety functions, utilizing a mechanism with a handle part that can pivot and rotate to engage and disengage clamping parts with the cleaning spiral.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the operator uses one hand to guide the cleaning spiral, then the cleaning spiral can be properly guided and controlled, but the operator has only one hand free to operate the pipe cleaning machine, making operation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the propulsion device, control device, and safety device into a single integrated feed unit that can be operated by one hand. The handle integrates multiple control functions (propulsion activation, control, and safety) so that the operator can operate all functions with one hand while guiding the cleaning spiral with the other hand.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle of the feed unit serves multiple functions: it activates the propulsion device by pivoting, controls the movement of the cleaning spiral, and triggers the safety device. This multi-functional design allows a single component to perform what previously required multiple separate controls.
2Ease of operation
If multiple separate controls are provided for propulsion, control, and safety functions, then each function can be precisely controlled, but the operator needs multiple hands to operate the machine
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device is integrated into the same handle mechanism as the propulsion and control functions. The handle pivots about an axis and can trigger the safety device through the same mechanical linkage that controls propulsion, ensuring that safety functions are maintained while enabling one-handed operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle acts as an intermediary mechanism that translates the operator's hand movements into controlled actions for multiple functions. By using the handle as a mediator, the system maintains reliable control over propulsion, movement control, and safety functions through a single operational interface.
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
Enables simple and efficient operation of the drain cleaning machine, allowing the operator to guide the cleaning spiral with one hand while using the other hand for machine operation, enhancing safety and ease of use by integrating propulsion, control, and safety functions into a single handle mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
clamping elements that are pressed against the rotating cleaning spiral, thereby generating forward motion
Implementation Method 2
at least one spring element, against whose force at least one of the clamping parts can be automatically or with the aid of a hand force brought out of the clamping position
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4C
AI summary
The invention relates to an advancing unit (1) for a cleaning spiral (100), which can be rotated by a motor about its longitudinal axis (110), of a pipe cleaning machine, such as, for example, a pipe cleaning machine having a drum. The advancing unit (1) comprises a drive device, which produces the advancement of the cleaning spiral (100), with at least two clamping parts (2, 3), wherein at least one clamping part (2) thereof can be brought into a clamping position (S) against the cleaning spiral (100) in such a manner that the clamping parts (2, 3) press against the cleaning spiral (100), so that an advancement of the cleaning spiral (100) is generated in the case of a rotating cleaning spiral (100). The advancing unit (1) further comprises a control device for controlling the advancement of the cleaning spiral (100) by means of at least one of the clamping parts (2, 3) as well as a safety device, by which at least one of the clamping parts (2, 3) can be brought out of its clamping position (S) against the cleaning spiral (100). It is provided that the control device and the drive device and/or the safety device can be actuated by means of a common handle part. The invention further relates to a pipe cleaning machine, in particular a pipe cleaning machine having a drum, and to a method for operating a pipe cleaning machine.