Foldable Panel Protective Cover for Variable-Size Welding Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing protective covers for welding equipment are often custom-made and not easily adaptable to different sizes, making them inflexible for use with various equipment configurations, and they do not allow for easy removal or modification during maintenance or repair.
Innovation Solution
A protective cover design featuring side panels with foldable flaps that can be fixed using various connecting and fixing means, allowing for quick adaptation to equipment size, with optional elastic panels and windows/pockets for better fit and access, and made from non-flammable materials resistant to welding spatter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If custom-made covers are used for specific welding equipment, then protection effectiveness is improved, but adaptability to different equipment sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is divided into multiple detachable panels (front panel, side panels, rear panel) that can be assembled and disassembled independently. Each panel can be customized for specific equipment while the modular structure allows adaptation to different equipment sizes through selective combination of panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover design incorporates universal features such as adjustable connecting means and standardized panel interfaces that allow the same cover components to be used across different welding equipment models and sizes, achieving both customization and universality.
2Stability of the object's composition
If fixed-structure covers are used, then structural stability is improved, but ease of removal for maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cover transitions from a static fixed structure to a dynamic assembly that can be easily configured and reconfigured. The panels are connected through detachable connecting means that provide structural stability when assembled but allow quick disassembly for maintenance or reconfiguration for different equipment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate panels are used to form tubular perimeter, then adaptability to equipment shape is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular perimeter is segmented into multiple side panels that can be assembled around different equipment shapes. The segmentation allows adaptation to various geometries while the standardized connecting means between panels simplifies the assembly process, offsetting the apparent complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1a~3b
Figure 4a~6b
Figure 7~8
AI summary
The invention relates to a protective cover for equipment, in particular for welding equipment, the cover comprising a front panel (1) and at least two side panels, each side panel comprising a main part (31, 41), the front panel and the side panels being equipped with connection means, to connect the side panels to each other in view of forming a surrounding tube-shaped member and to connect the side panels to the front panel. In order to create a cover according to the preamble which can easily be adapted to equipment of different sizes, it is proposed, in the framework of the invention, that at least one of the side panels has a flap (23, 33, 43, 53) which can be folded and attached, using attachment means, to one of the side panels so as to close the cover. The flap allows a quick adaptation in the size of the cover, to the size of the equipment to protect. Indeed, the front part of the equipment is protected by the front panel, to which are attached the side panels connected to each other. At the level of the rear part, less exposed, the flap of a side panel is folded and attached to one of the side panels by the attachment means.