Fluid-Stiffened Flexible Guide Element for Industrial Line Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guide devices for lines and media in industrial settings, such as those used in motor vehicle production, face challenges in providing a stable and efficient means to guide flexible lines and fluids, particularly in maintaining structural integrity while allowing for deformation and movement.
Innovation Solution
A guide device featuring a flexible guide element with two concentric, limp layers that form a chamber system, which can be stiffened by a fluid to provide a stable guide channel, allowing for targeted and efficient guidance of lines and media, including electrical and fluid conducting elements, using a thermoplastic material with textile layers for enhanced durability and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible guide element is used to allow deformation and movement, then adaptability is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element transitions from a static flexible structure to a dynamic system where fluid pressure can be adjusted to change the degree of stiffening, allowing the structure to adapt its rigidity based on operational requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the guide element is changed by introducing fluid into the chamber system, which alters the rigidity parameter from flexible to stiffened state, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural stability
2Stability of the object's composition
If a stiffened guide element is used to maintain structural integrity, then structural stability is improved, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element is designed as a dynamic structure that can switch between stiffened and flexible states through fluid introduction and removal, allowing it to maintain structural integrity when needed while regaining deformation capability when required
Solution Approach 2:
Fluid pressure is used to stiffen the guide element by inflating the chamber system, providing structural integrity through pneumatic support while maintaining the ability to deflate and regain flexibility
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple layers are used to form a chamber system, then structural stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element employs a nested layer structure where inner and outer layers contain chamber systems within them, allowing the structure to gain stability through compartmentalization while maintaining a compact and integrated design that limits complexity growth
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 long-lasting, energy-efficient, and cost-effective guidance of process agents to and from industrial robot end effectors, with the ability to maintain structural stability through fluid stiffening, reducing material and manufacturing costs while allowing for flexible design and application in various industrial contexts.
Implementation Method 1
By applying the stiffening fluid to the chamber system, the inherently pliable guide element can be stiffened or made rigid and thus converted into an inherently rigid state
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a guiding device (10) for guiding at least one line and/or at least one medium, comprising at least one guiding element (12), which delimits at least one guiding channel (14), in which the line and/or the medium can be received and guided, wherein: the guiding element (12) has at least two flexible layers (16, 18), which are arranged one in the other and which delimit a chamber system (20) arranged between the layers (16, 18), which chamber system has a plurality of chambers (22), into which a fluid can be admitted; the layers (16, 18) are impermeable to the fluid; and the guiding element (12), which in itself is flexible, can be stiffened by the admission of the fluid into the chamber system (20) and thereby can be put into an inherently stiff state.