Hydraulic Crimp Tool Traceability With Force and Image Records
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power tools lack effective monitoring and documentation of their operating cycles, particularly for hydraulic crimping tools, which can lead to uncertainty in ensuring the quality and traceability of electrical connections, especially in critical facilities like data centers.
Innovation Solution
A system that integrates portable power tools with a mobile platform and a centralized web-based computing system, enabling the tool to monitor and record operating cycles, capture images of workpieces, and link them to cycle data records, allowing for geographic location tracking, date, and time information, and comments for quality assurance and compliance reporting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If portable power tools are used to perform electrical connections, then mobility and flexibility are improved, but monitoring and documentation of operating cycles are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements digital copying of operating cycle information by capturing images of workpieces and creating electronic records of tool operations. These digital copies are stored and can be accessed later, replacing traditional manual documentation methods and providing permanent records of electrical connections made by portable tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary documentation system that bridges the gap between portable tool operation and quality assurance monitoring. This intermediary system captures operating cycle data, stores it electronically, and makes it accessible to inspectors and quality control personnel, enabling remote verification without compromising tool mobility.
2Reliability
If quality control sheets are completed to prove tool calibration and electrical connections, then compliance documentation is improved, but traceability and verification efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes of completing quality control sheets with automated electronic systems. The tool automatically captures operating cycle data and images, storing them in electronic format. This substitution eliminates manual paperwork and enables rapid verification through digital access to records.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary capture and storage of operating cycle information and images during the actual tool operation. By documenting everything in advance and storing it electronically, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming post-operation verification and allows inspectors to quickly access pre-documented evidence of compliance.
3Measurement precision
If images of electrical connections are taken and sent to inspectors, then visual verification is improved, but traceability and location tracking are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple information elements into a single integrated electronic record. Each workpiece image is combined with operating cycle data, location information, timestamps, and tool identification in one unified digital record. This merging ensures that visual verification and traceability are maintained together rather than separated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates comprehensive digital copies of the work environment by capturing not only images of electrical connections but also location data and operating parameters. These digital copies preserve all contextual information, enabling inspectors to verify both the visual quality and the traceability of each connection without physical presence at the worksite.
4Reliability
If detailed monitoring and documentation systems are implemented, then quality assurance and traceability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functional capabilities within the portable tool itself. The tool is designed to perform its primary electrical connection function while simultaneously capturing images, recording operating cycles, storing data electronically, and providing verification information. This universality consolidates multiple functions into one device, improving quality assurance without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Portable, hand-held, battery operated, hydraulic tools are provided with a tool frame, a force sensor, and a location detector. A piston actuated by a hydraulic system within the tool frame applies force to the working head to perform a task, such as to apply a crimp to an electrical connector. The tool determines the maximum force applied to the crimp and records that maximum force along with the geographic location of the tool when the crimp was formed. The maximum force provides an indication of the quality of the crimp and the recorded location allows a potentially defective crimp to be located. Images of crimps can be uploaded to a web service and linked to cycle information for retrieval and review at a later date.