Gas Spring Fastener Driver for Robust Energy Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening devices face challenges with mechanical robustness issues due to the requirement of special geometries for energy transfer elements, which can impair their performance and durability.
Innovation Solution
A device utilizing a cylindrical container with a gas spring mechanism, where a piston moves along a cylinder axis to tension and release energy, combined with an electrical energy storage system, and a coupling device to hold the driving element in place, ensuring robust and controlled energy transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a special geometry is used for the energy transfer element to enable it to be driven, then the drive energy can be transferred to the fastening element, but the mechanical robustness of the energy transfer element is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical energy storage spring with a pneumatic system consisting of a pneumatic actuator and a gas spring. The pneumatic actuator uses compressed gas to drive the piston, which in turn drives the energy transfer element. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical geometries in the energy transfer element while maintaining the required drive energy transfer capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a pneumatic system where compressed gas is stored in a reservoir and released to drive the piston through a pneumatic actuator. The gas spring also utilizes pneumatic principles to store and release energy. This pneumatic approach provides smooth, controlled force application without requiring special geometries in the energy transfer element, thereby maintaining its mechanical robustness.
2Power
If a mechanical energy storage device is used to temporarily store and transfer energy, then drive energy can be transferred to the fastening element, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a pneumatic actuator with a piston and gas spring to store and transfer energy. The pneumatic system with its reservoir, actuator, and gas spring provides a more compact and potentially simpler overall structure compared to traditional mechanical spring systems, while still achieving the required energy storage and transfer functions.
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 solution provides a robust and efficient method for driving fasteners into substrates, enhancing mechanical durability and control over energy transfer, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly of components, and enabling high insertion energy in a compact design.
Implementation Method 1
a gas arranged in the closed partial volume of the cylindrical container forms a gas spring
Implementation Method 2
an electrical energy storage device, such as a rechargeable battery or accumulator, which supplies the drive with electrical energy
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~6
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for driving a fastening element into an underlying surface, said apparatus comprising a bolt receptacle for the fastening element and a driving element that is moved between a starting position and a setting position towards the bolt receptacle, the apparatus comprising a cylindrical container which defines a cylinder axis, the driving element comprising a piston which is mounted in the cylindrical container so as to be movable along the cylinder axis such that the piston closes off a partial volume of the cylindrical container and a gas located in the closed-off partial volume of the cylindrical container forms a gas spring, the cylindrical container being moved along the cylinder axis towards the bolt receptacle in order to load the gas spring when the driving element is in the starting position.