Nested Linear Actuator Structure for Flexible Table Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing linear actuators for height-adjustable tables lack flexibility in mounting and installation, limiting their versatility and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A linear actuator design featuring a drive unit with a hollow drive shaft, a profiled tube, a threaded hollow spindle, and spindle nuts, where the center part has the largest outer radius, allowing for simplified mounting and flexible installation, and utilizing a gear unit and electric motor for efficient torque transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional linear actuator design is used, then the structure is simple, but the mounting flexibility and installation versatility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested configuration where the threaded hollow spindle is positioned inside the profile tube, and the spindle nut moves along the threaded hollow spindle within the profile tube's interior space. This nesting arrangement allows multiple functional components to occupy different spatial levels, enabling flexible mounting orientations without increasing the actuator's external footprint, thus resolving the contradiction between mounting flexibility and structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a three-dimensional spatial arrangement where the profile tube with largest outer radius serves as the central structural element, with the threaded hollow spindle extending in the longitudinal dimension inside it, and the spindle nut providing movement in the radial dimension. This multi-dimensional configuration enables arbitrary extension directions and flexible installation orientations, achieving mounting versatility while maintaining a compact overall structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the profile tube has the largest outer radius, then mounting flexibility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric design by making the profile tube's outer radius larger than both the driveshaft and threaded hollow spindle radii, creating an unequal radial distribution. This asymmetric configuration positions the profile tube as the dominant structural element that can accommodate various mounting orientations, while the smaller threaded hollow spindle fits inside it, reducing the need for complex external mounting structures and actually simplifying the overall arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The spindle system is segmented into distinct functional components: the driveshaft for rotation, the threaded hollow spindle for linear motion generation, and the spindle nut for movement conversion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and assembled in a modular fashion, reducing the complexity of the overall system while enabling flexible installation configurations.
3Productivity
If opposite thread directions are used, then linear movement efficiency is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies opposite thread directions (one right-handed, one left-handed) to the threaded hollow spindle and threaded spindle, which inverts the conventional single-thread-direction approach. This inversion causes both the profile tube and threaded spindle to move in the same longitudinal direction when the driveshaft rotates, doubling the linear movement efficiency. The manufacturing precision challenge is mitigated by using standard opposite-thread configurations that are well-established in manufacturing practice.
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
Enables flexible and efficient height adjustment with reduced production costs and improved sliding properties, allowing for arbitrary extension direction and enhanced durability across a wide temperature range.
Implementation Method 1
a threaded hollow spindle (3) with an outside thread, arranged between the drive shaft (1) and the profile tube (2)... A hollow-spindle nut (4) cooperates with the outside thread of the threaded hollow spindle (3)... A threaded spindle (5)... cooperates with a thread of the spindle nut (6)
Implementation Method 2
The hollow-spindle nut (4), which is in turn fixedly connected to the profile tube (2), causes a longitudinal movement of the profile tube (2) on the drive shaft (1) due to the rotation on the threaded hollow spindle (3)
Data Source
AI summary
A linear actuator comprises a drive unit housing (10) with a drive unit (7, 8) arranged therein, a driveshaft (1), hollow on the inside, driven by the drive unit (7, 8), and a profile tube (2) non-rotatably and longitudinally movably connected on the outside to the driveshaft (1). A threaded hollow spindle (3) with an outside thread is arranged between the driveshaft (1) and the profile tube (2) and fixedly connected to the drive unit housing (10). A hollow-spindle nut (4) is fixedly connected to the profile tube (2) at a first end of the profile tube (2) and cooperates with the outside thread of the threaded hollow spindle (3). A spindle nut (6) is fixedly connected to the profile tube (2) at a second end thereof. A threaded spindle (5) is arranged in the interior of the driveshaft (1) and cooperates with a thread of the spindle nut (6).