Hole Gripper Integrated Diaphragm and Stop Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hole grippers face challenges in manufacturing ease, functional reliability, and ensuring jaws assume defined retracted and extended positions, with issues related to tightness and potential damage from overpressure.
Innovation Solution
A hole gripper design where the housing, membrane, and jaw are formed in one piece, with stop sections and a bellows-like membrane, ensuring defined positions and preventing damage from overpressure, and utilizing additive manufacturing for cost-effective production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the housing, membrane and jaw are designed as separate parts, then assembly flexibility is improved, but tightness and functional reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the housing, membrane, and jaw into a single integrated component formed in one piece. This merging eliminates interfaces between separate parts, thereby ensuring high tightness and functional reliability while maintaining manufacturability through additive manufacturing processes.
2Device complexity
If stop sections are not provided, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to define retracted and extended positions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stop sections are integrated into the housing structure during the initial forming process, establishing predetermined stop positions for the jaw before operation begins. This preliminary positioning ensures accurate definition of retracted and extended positions without requiring additional complex positioning mechanisms.
3Force
If the membrane is made highly elastic to deform under pressure, then gripping force is improved, but susceptibility to damage from overpressure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stop sections serve as pre-positioned protective elements that limit the deformation of the membrane. When the membrane expands under pressure, the stop sections engage to prevent excessive expansion, thereby cushioning against overpressure damage while still allowing sufficient elastic deformation for effective gripping.
4Area of moving object
If the jaw is made large for better gripping, then gripping capability is improved, but ease of insertion into holes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The jaw is designed to be dynamically movable, transitioning from a retracted position during insertion to an extended position during gripping. The membrane enables the jaw to expand radially when needed for gripping while allowing easy retraction for insertion, combining large gripping capability with ease of insertion through dynamic positioning.
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 design ensures high reliability, defined jaw positions, and increased flexibility, preventing damage from overpressure while maintaining functional stability and ease of manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
at least one membrane (16) delimiting a pressure space (14) and elastically deformable when pressure is applied to the pressure space (14)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~7
Figure 8~12
AI summary
The internal hole gripper (10) has a housing (12) with an elastically deformable diaphragm (16) that is used for defining a compartment during pressurization, where a flange (24) is connected with the diaphragm. The flange is displaced in radial direction during pressurization of the compartment (14), where the housing, diaphragm and flange are formed as a single piece. The stopper sections (32,34) are provided such that the flange is defined at a ascending end position in the radial extended position.