Lead Screw Jack Stand for Heavy Wire Spools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for handling large and heavy spools of flexible elongate materials, such as six-foot diameter spools weighing three thousand pounds, are inefficient in lifting and rotating them to facilitate unwinding, as they require significant manual effort and struggle with uneven surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A jack stand apparatus with an upright frame and a lead screw mechanism that allows for selective rotation, featuring a mechanical power transmission system with gears that amplify torque from a user input, enabling the carrier to lift and lower the spool, and a dynamic attachment system to accommodate varying spool sizes and surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If manual lifting methods are used for heavy spools, then device complexity is reduced, but the force required exceeds what a single person can provide
Solution Approach 1:
The jack stand employs a dynamic lead screw mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear lifting motion. The screw thread geometry provides mechanical advantage that amplifies the input force applied by the user, enabling a single person to lift extremely heavy spools that would otherwise require multiple people or complex hydraulic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The lead screw acts as an intermediary mechanical element between the user's manual input and the heavy spool load. By introducing this intermediate component with threaded geometry, the system transforms small rotational forces into large linear lifting forces, resolving the contradiction between simple operation and high force requirement.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fixed lifting mechanisms are used, then device complexity is minimized, but adaptability to different spool sizes and uneven surfaces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The jack stand incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities through its screw mechanism, which allows the lifting height to be precisely adjusted by rotating the lead screw. This enables the device to adapt to different spool sizes and uneven ground conditions without requiring multiple fixed-height mechanisms, maintaining simplicity while providing versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameter of the carrier by rotating the lead screw, allowing continuous adjustment of the lifting height. This parameter change capability enables the jack stand to accommodate varying spool diameters and compensate for uneven surfaces, providing adaptability without complex mechanical adjustments.
3Power
If direct lifting without mechanical advantage is used, then the structure remains simple, but the torque required to lift heavy spools becomes unmanageable
Solution Approach 1:
The lead screw mechanism provides dynamic torque amplification through its threaded geometry. As the user applies rotational torque to the screw, the thread geometry converts this rotational motion into linear lifting force, amplifying the effective torque by a factor determined by the thread pitch and screw diameter. This allows manageable manual torque to lift thousands of pounds.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces complex hydraulic or electric power transmission systems with a simple mechanical screw thread system. The lead screw acts as a mechanical advantage device that substitutes for complex power transmission components, providing torque amplification through pure mechanical geometry rather than complex systems.
4Reliability
If spools are handled on uneven surfaces without adjustment capability, then the device remains simple, but reliability of lifting operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The jack stand allows adjustment of the carrier position along the lead screw axis to compensate for uneven surfaces. By changing the vertical position parameter of the carrier, the system can adapt to varying ground heights and maintain stable lifting contact with the spool, ensuring reliable operation on uneven terrain without adding complex surface-leveling mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus efficiently lifts and rotates heavy spools, allowing for easy unwinding and repositioning, reducing manual effort and accommodating uneven surfaces, while supporting the spool to prevent damage and facilitate transportation.
Implementation Method 1
a lead screw that is supported for selective rotation by the frame. A carrier threadingly engages the lead screw so that rotation of the lead screw in a first rotational direction linearly moves the carrier in a lifting direction
Implementation Method 2
A mechanical power transmission has a first gear fixed in rotation with the mechanical power inlet and a different second gear fixed in rotation with the lead screw, the first and second gears sized so that the input torque imparted on the first gear is less than an output torque imparted by the second gear to the lead screw
Implementation Method 3
the first and second gears sized so that the input torque imparted on the first gear is less than an output torque imparted by the second gear to the lead screw
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and associated method for lifting a workpiece. An upright frame operably supports a lead screw for selective rotation. A carrier threadingly engages the lead screw so that rotation of the lead screw in one rotational direction linearly advances the carrier in a lifting direction and rotation of the lead screw in the opposite rotational direction linearly advances the carrier in a lowering direction. A mechanical power inlet is adapted for receiving an input torque from a user. A mechanical power transmission assembly has a first gear fixed in rotation with the mechanical power inlet and a different second gear fixed in rotation with the lead screw, the first and second gears sized so that the input torque imparted on the first gear is less than an output torque imparted by the second gear to the lead screw.