Hydraulic Hose Guide Preventing Bend Radius Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic hoses tend to rupture or leak when bending within a specified distance of their fittings, leading to system failure due to inadequate flexibility and minimum bend radius constraints.
Innovation Solution
A hose guide system with a straight section to maintain hose straightness and a bell section to allow controlled bending, featuring varying diameters and grooves for secure fastening, preventing bending at harmful radii and ensuring hose integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hydraulic hoses are made flexible to replace rigid pipes, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to bending-induced rupture or leakage
Solution Approach 1:
A hose guide is introduced as an intermediary component between the hose and its mounting surface. The hose guide provides a predetermined path that allows the hose to bend only in controlled directions and at safe radii, preventing direct contact with sharp edges or rigid surfaces that could cause damage while maintaining the flexibility needed for installation and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose guide changes the geometric parameters of hose bending by providing a curved surface with a predetermined radius of curvature. This ensures the hose bends at an adequate radius that prevents wall stress concentration and rupture, while still allowing the necessary flexibility for routing and connection.
2Reliability
If hose guides are added to prevent bending damage, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hose guide is made from a flexible or semi-rigid material that can be formed into a curved shell shape. This thin-walled structure provides the necessary mechanical support to guide and protect the hose while adding minimal complexity to the overall system. The flexible nature of the guide itself allows it to conform to various mounting surfaces and hose sizes.
3Strength
If minimum bend radius is enforced to prevent rupture, then strength is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to restricted hose movement
Solution Approach 1:
The hose guide is divided into multiple sections or zones: a straight section that maintains hose alignment, a transition section that gradually introduces curvature, and a curved section that provides the protected bending path. This segmentation allows the hose to transition smoothly from straight to curved configurations without sudden directional changes that could cause stress concentration, thereby maintaining both strength and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose guide incorporates a curved surface with a predetermined radius of curvature that is optimized to match or exceed the minimum bend radius required by the hose manufacturer. This curved geometry allows the hose to bend naturally along the guide's contour, maintaining structural integrity while providing the flexibility needed for installation and adjustment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosed hose guide (100) may prevent a hose (110) from bending within a specified distance of a hose fitting (120), and therefore prevent weakening of the hose (110) at the hose fitting interface. The hose guide (100) may include a hose fitting stage (130A-130F;530A-530D), a straight hose stage (140;540), and a bell stage (150). The hose fitting stage (130A-130F;530A-530D) may secure the hose guide (100) around the hose fitting (120). The straight hose stage (140;540) may prevent the hose (110) from bending. The bell stage (150) may allow the hose (110) to bend at a radius greater than a minimum bend radius for the hose (110).