Pipe Cable Clamping with Mechanical Jaw Actuation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cable clamping systems in deep-sea mining systems are tedious and dangerous for operators, with a risk of cable degradation due to manual operation and incorrect jaw opening, leading to potential injuries and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A cable managing and clamping system that uses a mechanical command system to automatically open and close clamping devices on a rigid pipe, eliminating the need for manual operation by positioning the clamping devices relative to mechanical faces that control the jaws' movement, ensuring safe and efficient cable deployment and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operation of clamping devices is used, then the operator can control the clamping process, but the operator is exposed to injury risk and cable degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping device is designed to automatically open and close through mechanical interaction with the pipe's movement, eliminating the need for manual operation. The device uses the pipe's own movement to trigger the clamping action through mechanical faces and springs, making the system self-servicing and removing the operator from the hazardous task.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operation with an automated mechanical system. The mechanical command system uses the pipe's displacement to automatically actuate the clamping device through mechanical faces, rollers, and springs, substituting human intervention with an automated mechanical sequence.
2Reliability
If the jaws are not correctly opened before cable introduction, then the clamping device structure remains simple, but the cable is degraded or damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical command system ensures the jaws are preliminarily opened before the cable arrives. The sequence is predetermined by the mechanical faces: the pipe's movement first triggers jaw opening through the first mechanical face, then the cable passes through the opened jaws, and finally the second mechanical face closes the jaws around the cable.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical faces act as intermediaries between the pipe's movement and the clamping device's jaws. These mechanical faces translate the pipe's linear movement into controlled jaw opening and closing actions, ensuring proper timing and sequence without requiring complex control systems.
3Ease of operation
If automated clamping system is implemented, then operator safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the pipe's own movement to power and control the clamping device, eliminating the need for external power sources or complex control systems. The mechanical faces and springs convert the pipe's displacement directly into jaw opening and closing actions, making the system self-servicing.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical faces serve as simple intermediaries that translate pipe movement into clamping device actuation. This mechanical mediation approach avoids complex electronic controls while achieving automated operation, maintaining relative simplicity in the overall system architecture.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A cable managing and clamping system and corresponding method for clamping at least one cable (53) on at least one piece (42) of a pipe (4). The cable managing and clamping system comprises a cable managing device (10) for unwinding and winding up the cable (53); a clamping device (2) having jaws (21), a piece (42) of a pipe (4) on which said clamping device (20) is fixed, said at least one piece (42) of the pipe (4) having a longitudinal axis (A42), and being intended to be moved (M42) in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis. A mechanical command device (30) is configured to command the relative position of the jaws of said clamping device (20) in function of the position of said clamping device (20) during the movement of said at least one piece (42) of the pipe (4).