Duct tie rod and method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tie rod configurations for HVAC ducts are complex, costly, and prone to loosening due to vibration, requiring specialized tools and labor, with issues of air leakage and ineffective bracing under varying pressure conditions.
Innovation Solution
A duct tie rod made from sheet metal with integral attachment flanges that can be bent to fit duct walls, allowing for easy installation and secure fastening without nuts and bolts, featuring a large screw or bolt with a gasket for sealing and a design that prevents loosening from vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional threaded rods, tubing, or piping are used with nuts and bolts, then the tie rod can be securely attached to duct walls, but the installation requires two persons (inside and outside the duct) and specialized tools, increasing labor complexity and time
Solution Approach 1:
The tie rod system is segmented into modular components: the tie rod body, attachment plates with pre-configured holes, and fasteners. This allows the tie rod to be assembled and attached from the interior of the duct, eliminating the need for exterior access and reducing installation complexity while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment plates are designed with pre-drilled holes and features that enable self-alignment and self-attachment to the duct wall. The system allows a single installer to complete the attachment process from the interior without requiring assistance from outside the duct, making the installation process self-sufficient.
2Reliability
If nuts and bolts are used to fasten the tie rod, then secure attachment is achieved, but the fasteners can loosen and even be lost due to vibration during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment plates are pre-configured with precisely positioned holes and structural features that ensure proper alignment and distribution of fastening forces. This preliminary design prevents misalignment and uneven stress that could lead to fastener loosening under vibration, maintaining both attachment security and fastener stability.
3Reliability
If welding or threaded fastening is used to attach tie rods, then secure attachment is achieved, but specialized tools and equipment are required, increasing cost and installation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the attachment function into separate components (attachment plates with pre-configured holes and standard fasteners), eliminating the need for welding or specialized threading tools. This segmentation allows use of common hand tools while achieving secure attachment, improving ease of manufacture and installation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If non-nestable tie rod configurations are used, then various attachment angles and positions can be accommodated, but storage and shipping space is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The tie rods are designed to be nestable, with attachment plates and components configured to fit within or alongside each other when not in use. This nesting capability significantly reduces storage and shipping volume while the attachment plates maintain adaptability for various installation angles and positions through their geometric design.
Data Source
AI summary
A tie rod for spanning a duct interior to join duct walls bounding the duct interior, that can be simply and inexpensively fabricated from sheet metal or other suitable material, including automatically, securely fastenable quickly and easily to the duct walls, often by one person, and which can be configured to be nestable for efficient storage and shipping, of elongate construction for spanning a duct interior, with a transverse attachment flange or flanges that can be pre-bent or bent onsite at the installation location via special bending features to snug to a duct wall, and include holes for threadedly receiving fasteners, having a shape and size to reduce fastening torque, with a two attachment flange configuration that resiliently self retains the fastener against loosening from vibration and other forces.