Flexible Sheet Guide for Long Object Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing long object guide devices with links pivotally coupled in line suffer from premature wear, leading to a short device life due to rubbing and sagging of linear parts under weight, which affects their operational duration.
Innovation Solution
A guide device with a movable and fixed portion connected by a flexible sheet with a curved part, supported by a guide member that reciprocates, allowing the connecting portion to wear without directly impacting the device's life, and featuring rollers for smooth movement and stable accommodation of the long object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If links are pivotally coupled in line to form a long object guide device, then the device can guide and protect the long object during reciprocal movement, but the links wear quickly due to rubbing against each other, resulting in short device life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the curved part from the link structure and forms it as a separate flexible connecting portion with a curved section. This allows the linear parts to be supported and prevented from sagging, while the curved part handles the bending movements, eliminating the rubbing wear between pivotally coupled links.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using rigid links that pivot and rub against each other, the patent inverts the approach by using a flexible connecting portion that can bend without rubbing. The flexible sheet with curved part allows movement through flexing rather than pivoting, fundamentally changing the wear mechanism.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the linear part is arranged closer to the moving body than the curved part, then the structure supports the long object during movement, but the linear part sags due to its weight when links wear, ending the usable period
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the curved part into a distinct flexible connecting portion, allowing the linear parts to be supported by this separate structure. This prevents the linear part from sagging under its own weight, as the flexible connecting portion provides structural support while handling the bending stresses.
3Ease of operation
If links are used to connect movable and fixed portions, then the device achieves reciprocal movement capability, but the rubbing between adjacent links causes easy wear and short life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional link mechanism by using a flexible connecting portion that flexes during movement rather than rigid links that pivot. This inversion eliminates the rubbing contact between components while maintaining full reciprocal movement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible connecting portion made of flexible sheet material that can bend and flex during reciprocal movement. This flexible structure replaces the rigid link mechanism, allowing movement without rubbing wear between adjacent components.
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 guide device prolongs the operational life by decoupling wear from the device's lifespan, ensuring smooth operation and stable accommodation of the long object, reducing noise and dust production compared to traditional link-based systems.
Implementation Method 1
the guide member reciprocates in the reciprocal direction while guiding the movable portion and the connecting portion so that the connecting portion reciprocates in the reciprocal direction
Implementation Method 2
the first rotary body rotates in contact with the first contact surface, and when the movable portion and the guide portion reciprocate in the reciprocal direction, the second rotary body rotates in contact with the second contact surface
Data Source
AI summary
The guide apparatus for a long object comprises: a movable portion that is capable of reciprocal movement in a reciprocal direction; a fixed portion; a pair of sheets that have flexibility; and a guide member. The fixed portion is fixed so that the movement in the reciprocal direction is not possible. The pair of sheets, with a curved part formed at an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction, couple the movable portion and the fixed portion. The guide member reciprocates in the reciprocal direction while guiding the movable portion and the pair of sheets so that the pair of sheets reciprocate in the reciprocal direction as the curved part is shifted in accordance with the reciprocal movement of the movable portion. The guide member forms, together with the pair of sheets, a storage chamber for storing a long object.