Noncircular Tape Removal Hub for Efficient Winding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines are ineffective in efficiently and safely removing temporary marking tapes from paved surfaces due to issues like tape separations, factory splices, and surface irregularities, posing hazards to workers and requiring excessive labor and time.
Innovation Solution
A spool spindle shaft and tape removal hub design with a noncircular shaft portion and a hub plug with a complementary through bore, allowing for efficient winding and removal of temporary tapes, accommodating dynamic pulling forces and heavy tape weights, and enabling safe operation in construction zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual removal methods are used, then labor intensity and time consumption are reduced, but worker safety and efficiency deteriorate due to hazardous conditions and physical exhaustion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical removal with an automated mechanical removal system featuring a rotating blade that mechanically cuts and removes tape. The system uses motorized power transmission to drive the blade, substituting human physical labor with automated mechanical systems that improve safety and efficiency simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal machine is designed to operate autonomously without continuous human intervention. The blade automatically cuts through tape, the take-up spool automatically winds removed tape, and the system can handle multiple tape lines continuously, making the removal process self-sufficient and reducing worker exposure to hazards.
2Extent of automation
If existing removal machines are used, then some mechanization is achieved, but they are ineffective due to inability to handle tape separations, factory splices, and surface irregularities
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly is designed with dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing the blade depth and angle to be adjusted based on varying tape conditions. The take-up spool system dynamically adapts to different tape tensions and severities, enabling the machine to handle irregularities, splices, and separations effectively while maintaining automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal system processes tape in segmented fashion, with the blade cutting through tape line by line and the take-up spool winding each segment separately. This segmentation allows the system to handle individual tape variations, splices, and separations independently, maintaining overall reliability even when encountering problematic sections.
3Device complexity
If heavy tape rolls are handled manually, then equipment cost is reduced, but labor time and physical demand increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual tape handling with automated mechanical systems. The take-up spool automatically winds removed tape onto itself, and the power transmission system automatically advances the blade through tape lines. This substitution dramatically reduces handling time while the modular design keeps equipment relatively simple and maintainable.
Data Source
AI summary
A tape removal hub for a temporary tape removing apparatus which includes a hub plug having a noncircular through bore complementarily shaped to receive the noncircular shaft portion of a spool spindle shaft of the temporary tape removing apparatus and a length of pipe or tubing into which the hub plug is inserted.