Lifting and Lowering Tool With Spaced Release Actuator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lifting and lowering tools lack precise control mechanisms for incremental movement and inadvertent release, which can lead to accidental drops and potential damage or injury.
Innovation Solution
The tool incorporates a movable assembly with a lifting actuator, lowering actuator, and release actuator, featuring ergonomic design and spaced actuators to prevent accidental release, allowing controlled incremental movement and secure load handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional lifting and lowering tools are used, then basic lifting function is provided, but precise control mechanisms for incremental movement are lacking leading to accidental drops
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting and lowering tool is divided into distinct functional segments: a lifting actuator for incremental upward movement, a lowering actuator for incremental downward movement, and a release actuator for complete disengagement. Each actuator operates independently through locking plates that engage with the bar at different positions, enabling precise control while maintaining manageable complexity through modular functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool employs dynamic locking mechanisms where locking plates can be selectively engaged or disengaged from the bar based on the actuator's position. The locking plates extend through the flange and can lock at multiple positions along the bar, providing adaptive control that adjusts to the desired lifting or lowering increment while maintaining structural integrity.
2Reliability
If actuators are positioned close together, then device size is reduced, but inadvertent actuation of release actuator may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The release actuator is positioned at a specific location spaced from the lifting and lowering actuators, creating distinct operational zones. This spatial differentiation ensures that the release actuator cannot be inadvertently activated during normal lifting or lowering operations, as each actuator occupies and operates within its own localized control region.
Solution Approach 2:
The flange structure serves as an intermediary element that houses and positions the actuators. The locking plates extend through the flange to engage with the bar, and the flange's geometry and positioning create physical separation between the release actuator and the lifting/lowering actuators, preventing accidental activation while maintaining a compact overall assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A lifting and lowering tool includes a foot configured to be supported on a surface, a bar extending therefrom, and a movable assembly including a housing, a movable platform shaped to support a load that extends from the housing, a lifting actuator configured to incrementally move the movable assembly along the bar away from the foot, a lowering actuator configured to incrementally move the movable assembly along the bar towards the foot, and a release actuator configured to disengage the movable assembly from the bar to allow free movement of the movable assembly along the bar. In embodiments, the movable assembly engages the bar through locking plates that extend through a flange of the movable assembly. In embodiments the release actuator is spaced from the lifting actuator and the lowering actuator to prevent inadvertent actuation of the release actuator. In embodiments a flange of the movable assembly surrounds the bar.