Hinge Assembly Detent Cover for Pliers Angle Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hand tools often require users to change the acting angle with their wrist, leading to wrist injuries due to varying work piece positions, as existing tools lack mechanisms to stabilize the angle between the tool and the work piece.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly with a detent cover is introduced, which pivotally connects acting members and stops rotational motion, allowing users to maintain a consistent angle by covering the hinge, thereby preventing unwanted pivoting between the handle and acting members in hand tools like pliers and wrenches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the hinge allows free rotational motion between acting members, then the tool can adapt to different work piece positions, but users must change the acting angle with their wrist leading to wrist injury
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly allows dynamic adjustment of the acting angle between the handle and acting member during operation. Users can rotate the detent cover to different positions to match different work piece orientations, enabling the tool to adapt dynamically to various working conditions without straining the wrist.
Solution Approach 2:
The detent cover acts as an intermediary mechanism between the user's hand and the hinge rotation. By providing discrete detent positions, it mediates the rotational motion to offer stable, pre-determined acting angles, reducing the need for continuous wrist adjustment while maintaining adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a detent cover is added to stop rotational motion, then the acting angle is stabilized, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detent cover is segmented into multiple discrete positions with corresponding detents on the hinge body. This segmentation allows the continuous rotational degree of freedom to be divided into discrete stable positions, providing angle stability while keeping each individual detent position simple and easy to engage.
Solution Approach 2:
The detent cover and detent mechanism are designed to be self-locking at each position. Once the user rotates the detent cover to a desired angle, the detent automatically engages to maintain that position without requiring additional locking actions or complex control mechanisms, thus achieving stability with minimal added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge assembly includes a hinge and a detent cover. The hinge pivotally connects a first acting member to a second acting member. The detent cover can cover the hinge to stop the rotational motion between the first acting member and the second acting member.