Hook-Shackle Rigging Connector for Slack Load Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rigging connectors, such as hooks and shackles, are prone to load escape due to momentary slack, especially in applications like off-road vehicles with recovery winches, as existing safety latches are weak and not designed to handle high loads, leading to potential disengagement of towing straps or chains.
Innovation Solution
A rigging connector design incorporating a combination hook and shackle mounting with a shear pin and safety latch, featuring a shackle mounting hole and fairlead engagement pads, which provides secure attachment options and enhanced load-bearing capabilities by using a shear pin in double shear engagement and a fortified shackle mounting hole.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety latch is added to prevent load escape, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases and the latch itself becomes vulnerable to high loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vulnerable safety latch mechanism entirely and replaces it with a simple开口 hook design that relies on the inherent geometry of the hook to prevent load escape. The load is contained within the hook's opening without requiring additional locking components, thus eliminating the complexity and vulnerability associated with latches while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding a locking mechanism to prevent load escape, the patent inverts the approach by designing the hook opening itself to naturally contain the load. The开口 (open) design paradoxically provides better safety by allowing the load to be retained through geometric constraint rather than mechanical locking, eliminating the need for vulnerable latch components.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism is implemented to prevent load escape, then safety is improved, but the mechanism may fail under high loads or momentary slack
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the locking mechanism entirely, replacing it with a simple开口 hook that relies on geometric containment. This removes the vulnerability of mechanical locking systems to high loads and momentary slack, as there are no moving parts or weak points in a latch mechanism that can fail under extreme conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a simple, robust hook design that prioritizes strength and reliability over complex locking mechanisms. The hook is designed as a single, strong component that can withstand high loads without the need for additional locking parts, effectively replacing complex vulnerable systems with a simpler, more reliable structure.
3Strength
If a shackle is combined with a hook to provide secure attachment, then load-bearing capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the functions of a shackle and a hook into a single integrated component. The rigging connector features a U-shaped body that provides both the structural strength of a shackle and the attachment capability of a hook, eliminating the need for separate components while maintaining load-bearing capability and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigging connector is designed as a multi-functional component that performs both shackle and hook functions simultaneously. The U-shaped body with its opening can accommodate loads like a shackle while the hook portion provides secure attachment points, allowing a single component to replace multiple specialized parts and simplify the overall rigging system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A rigging connector having combination hook and shackle mounting is provided. The rigging connector may include an elongate body having a central bridge portion and opposing first and second end portions extending from the central bridge portion, a securement member formed in the first end portion of the body and defining a throat opening with the central bridge portion, first and second anchor legs formed in the second end portion of the body, the first and second anchor legs defining a gap therebetween for receiving a portion of a support line, a shear pin operable to retain the support line at least partially within the gap, and a shackle mounting hole defined in the first end portion and having a center axis extending transverse to the shear pin.