Frustoconical Drum Winch Reducing Motor Torque and Hook Approach Height
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cylindrical drum winches require increased diameter or length to achieve greater winding length, leading to higher motor torque and larger hook approach distance, which limits vertical space and increases operational risks during heavy load lifting.
Innovation Solution
A frustoconical drum winch design that reduces vertical dimension and motor torque by utilizing a frustoconical drum with a worm groove, allowing for efficient cable winding and reduced hook approach height, while maintaining equivalent cable storage capacity as a traditional cylindrical drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the diameter of the cylindrical drum is increased to achieve greater winding length, then the cable storage capacity increases, but the motor torque required increases proportionally and the hook approach distance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a cylindrical drum geometry to a frustoconical drum geometry, changing the dimensional characteristics of the cable storage structure. This dimensional change allows the cable to be wound on a surface with varying radius, where the effective winding radius is smaller than the maximum drum radius, thereby reducing the torque required while maintaining adequate cable storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frustoconical drum features non-uniform local quality along its length, with the radius varying from the small end to the large end. This allows different sections of the drum to serve different functions: the smaller radius sections reduce torque requirements during winding, while the overall conical structure maintains sufficient cable storage capacity.
2Quantity of substance
If the diameter of the cylindrical drum is increased to achieve greater winding length, then the cable storage capacity increases, but the hook approach distance increases
Solution Approach 1:
By changing from cylindrical to frustoconical geometry, the patent creates a structure where the cable exit point can be positioned at the smaller end of the cone, reducing the horizontal distance the hook must travel to approach the drum axis, while the conical shape maintains adequate cable storage volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The frustoconical drum introduces asymmetry in the radius distribution, with one end having a smaller radius than the other. This asymmetric geometry allows optimization of the cable exit position to minimize hook approach distance while maintaining overall storage capacity through the larger radius at the opposite end.
3Quantity of substance
If the length of the cylindrical drum is increased to achieve greater winding length, then the cable storage capacity increases, but the vertical dimension of the winch increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes from a cylindrical geometry to a frustoconical geometry, which allows more efficient packing of the cable in the available space. The conical shape provides increased surface area for cable winding within the same vertical envelope, or reduces the vertical dimension required for the same cable storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frustoconical drum utilizes curved surfaces with varying radius to optimize cable winding efficiency. The conical curvature allows the cable to be wound more compactly compared to a cylindrical surface, reducing the vertical space required while maintaining cable storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A load lifting winch suspending a load from a hook (3) and a cable (5) which is wound onto a frustoconical drum (1) in order to reduce the winch vertical dimension when the hook (3) is in the fully upright position allowed by available vertical space elevation, and simultaneously decrease the forces applied to the lifting drive motor (4) as the load rises.