Multi-Tier Torque Driver Geometry to Prevent Slippage and Stripping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing torque generation and reception devices face issues such as slippage, difficulty in inserting or extracting fasteners, camming out, and stripping, particularly in industrial and medical settings, due to degradation, corrosion, and varying torque requirements during insertion and extraction.
Innovation Solution
The development of driver and reception components with coordinated meshing geometries that provide enhanced torque generation, self-centering, and resistance to stripping, featuring longer and shorter length side walls with a specific L2/L1 ratio, and multiple torque force contact relationships to accommodate different torque levels and environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional driver and recipient geometries are used, then ease of insertion is maintained, but slippage and stripping occur under high torque conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The driver and recipient geometries are segmented into multiple contact surfaces arranged at different orientations. Instead of a single contact point, multiple discrete contact surfaces distribute the torque load, preventing slippage and stripping while maintaining insertion ease through the segmented contact architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver and recipient features utilize asymmetric geometries with contact surfaces of different lengths and orientations. The longer and shorter side walls create asymmetric contact patterns that enhance torque transmission reliability while the asymmetric design facilitates self-centering during insertion.
2Reliability
If higher torque generation is achieved through increased contact surface area, then torque reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly increasing contact surface area throughout the entire driver and recipient interfaces, the invention applies enhanced contact surfaces locally at specific critical locations. The longer and shorter side walls provide localized torque enhancement where needed, maintaining overall geometric simplicity while achieving reliable torque generation.
3Ease of operation
If self-centering capability is enhanced through geometric design, then ease of operation improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The driver and recipient geometries are designed with preliminary self-centering features that automatically align the components during the insertion process. The asymmetric contact surfaces and longer/shorter side walls create inherent guidance that centers the driver in the recipient before full engagement, reducing the need for high manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A torque enhancing device that includes a torque contact body having one or more torque driver and/or recessed recipient torque contact surface configurations, inclusive of those in a multi-tier arrangement. The body having a Z-axis depth or thickness, and each of the torque contact surface configurations includes a pair of X-axis extending torque contact side walls that are spaced apart by L1 along a Y-axis, and a pair of Y-axis extending torque contact side walls that are spaced apart by L2 along the X-axis, with at least one of the one or more torque contact surface configurations having four concave contoured surface portions positioned between respective adjacent most ends of the X-axis extending torque contact side walls and the Y-axis extending torque contact side walls, and a length ratio L2/L1 is less than 1 as to provide a torque enhancement contact surface configuration. A method of driving such as insertion or removal of the recessed recipient such as in fastener form is included.