Hollow Handle Cable Routing for Garden Machine Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cutting machines for gardening and land maintenance often have exposed cables that can be damaged in hostile environments, such as reeds or areas with branches, leading to potential cuts or cable failure during operation.
Innovation Solution
A cutting machine design where cables are routed entirely inside a hollow handle and main body, with a control unit and work head connected via internal cables, allowing for secure operation in challenging environments and improved operator comfort through adjustable handle positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cables are routed outside the handle for easier access and control, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to cable damage from branches and reeds
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is nested inside the hollow handle structure, with the cable running through the internal cavity of the handle from the control portion to the constraining portion. This nesting protects the cable from external damage while maintaining functional connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle acts as an intermediary protective structure between the cable and the hostile external environment. The handle's hollow structure serves as a protective channel that mediates between the need for cable protection and the need for control signal transmission.
2Reliability
If cables are routed inside the handle, then reliability is improved by protecting from environmental damage, but device complexity increases due to internal routing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The handle serves multiple functions: it provides operator grip, contains control elements, and acts as a protective conduit for the cable. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate protective cable conduits, thereby reducing overall device complexity despite the internal routing requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable is nested within the existing hollow handle structure rather than requiring an additional external conduit. This nesting approach leverages the existing handle geometry to provide cable protection without adding separate protective structures.
3Ease of operation
If the handle is fixed in position, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates due to inability to adjust to comfortable positions
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is made rotatable relative to the main body, allowing it to change orientation dynamically. This rotational freedom enables the operator to adjust the handle to various comfortable positions while maintaining a relatively simple connection mechanism through the plug and slot design.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds rotational freedom in a different dimension (angular orientation around the longitudinal axis) rather than complicating the linear connection. The plug inserted in the elongated slot allows rotation about the longitudinal axis, adding orientational flexibility without significant structural complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The present invention relates to a machine for executing maintenance operations on a land or garden, which comprises a main body (2), a work head (3) carried by the main body and configured to execute maintenance operations on the land or garden, a handle (4) at least partly internally hollow, carried by the main body to allow gripping the machine. The handle comprises a control portion (4a) for allowing a user to drive the work head, as well as a constraining portion (4a) in which the handle is constrained to the main body. The machine comprises a cable (6) extending inside the handle between the control and the constraining portion.