Fire Hose Coupling Protective Shoulder Thread Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fire hose couplings with external threads are prone to damage when dropped or collided with, leading to operational issues, and existing designs are often heavy and lack robustness.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight fire hose coupling with a protective shoulder and circumferentially spaced lugs that extends radially outward from the body, providing a larger outer diameter than the male threads to safeguard them, manufactured using metal bar stock with a central bore and machined lugs and shoulder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If external threads are added to the coupling for fastening, then the coupling can connect to other couplings, but the male threads become prone to damage when dropped or collided with hard surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
A protective shoulder structure is introduced as an intermediary element between the male threads and the external environment. This shoulder extends radially outwardly from the coupling body and positioned between the male threads and any impact surfaces, serving as a mediator that absorbs or deflects potential damage away from the critical threading elements.
2Reliability
If the coupling is made robust to protect threads, then thread protection is improved, but the coupling weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire coupling heavier, the protective shoulder is designed with localized geometry that provides thread protection only where needed. The shoulder extends radially outwardly from the coupling body at a specific location between the male threads and potential impact points, concentrating protective material distribution in the critical zone rather than uniformly throughout the entire coupling structure.
3Reliability
If the protective shoulder extends radially outwardly with greater outer diameter, then male threads are protected from damage, but the coupling size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective shoulder utilizes the radial dimension extending outwardly from the coupling body to provide protection, rather than increasing protection in the axial or longitudinal direction. By extending in the radial dimension with a greater outer diameter than the male threads, the design protects the threads while maintaining a relatively compact overall profile.
Data Source
AI summary
A fire hose coupling includes a substantially annular body having a first end adapted to connect to a fire hose and a second end having male threads. The annular body has a central bore. The coupling includes circumferentially spaced-apart lugs extending radially outwardly from an outer surface of the first end of the body. The coupling further includes a protective shoulder extending radially outwardly from the body between the male threads and the lugs. The protective shoulder has an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the male threads to thereby protect the male threads.