Internal Pipe Lining Apparatus with Expandable Shaping Frame
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe producing apparatuses face challenges in producing a tubular structure within existing pipes without gaps, especially when water is flowing, and require complex structures that are difficult to disassemble and assemble, leading to inefficiencies and increased maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
A pipe producing apparatus with a shaping frame and a bending link that expands or contracts to apply tension to the profile strip, allowing for continuous feeding and winding without an outer roller, and a joint unit for pinching previous windings to form a tubular structure with any external diameter, enabling easy assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an outer roller is used to press and expand the profile strip, then the profile strip can be joined by reactive force, but the outer roller may get stuck by pits or projections and be damaged, or the formed tubular structure may have an internal diameter smaller than that of the existing pipe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the outer roller from the system entirely. Instead of using an outer roller to press and expand the profile strip, the invention uses only guide rollers supported by a shaping frame to guide the helical winding of the profile strip from the inside, eliminating the problem of outer roller damage while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by feeding and winding the profile strip from the inside of the existing pipe rather than from the outside. The shaping frame and guide rollers are positioned inside the existing pipe, allowing the tubular structure to be formed by internal guidance rather than external pressing.
2Manufacturing precision
If a complex structure with reduced space between guide rollers is used to prevent gaps, then the tubular structure can be formed along the inner peripheral surface, but the structure becomes difficult to disassemble and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The shaping frame is divided into multiple independent guide rollers that can be individually positioned and adjusted. Each guide roller is supported by the shaping frame structure, allowing them to be segmented and repositioned easily for different pipe diameters and conditions, maintaining alignment precision while improving disassembly and assembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rollers are designed to be rotatable and adjustable on the shaping frame, providing dynamic adaptability to different existing pipe conditions. This allows the space between guide rollers to be optimized for each specific application without requiring a completely different complex structure.
3Reliability
If the shaping frame is provided at the center with guide rollers pressed toward the outer peripheral direction, then adjacent joint portions can be joined by reactive force, but the structure blocks water flow and is difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the feeding direction by positioning the shaping frame inside the existing pipe and feeding the profile strip from the inside outward. The guide rollers guide the profile strip helically along the inner peripheral surface, allowing water to flow freely outside the shaping frame while maintaining joint portion bonding through the winding tension and guide roller pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaping frame is designed as a segmented structure with multiple independently supported guide rollers rather than a solid central structure. This segmentation allows water to flow through and around the components, maintaining productivity while still providing the necessary guidance and pressure for reliable joint bonding.
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 the production of tubular structures without gaps, even when water is flowing, and simplifies the assembly and disassembly process, reducing maintenance time and preventing clogging of existing pipes.
Implementation Method 1
a bending link (30) which is bent toward an inside of the shaping frame (2), and includes an actuator (34) for changing a bent shape; wherein a diameter of the shaping frame (2) is expanded or contracted by the bending link (30), thereby applying tension to a previous winding of the profile strip (100)
Implementation Method 2
adjacent joint portions are joined with each other by means of reactive force provided by tension when the previous winding of the profile strip is pressed and expanded in an outer peripheral direction by a guide roller
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
In an embodiment, a shaping frame (2) of a pipe producing apparatus (1) includes a plurality of linking bodies (20) in which a pair of linking elements (21, 22) are rotatably coupled via a coupling shaft (23), a bending link (30) with opposite ends of which coupling elements are rotatably coupled via coupling shafts (23) and which expands or contracts the shaping frame (2), a drive unit (40) with opposite ends of which coupling elements (25, 25) are rotatably coupled via coupling shafts (23) and which forcedly sends out a profile strip (100) from the inside, and a joint unit (80) with opposite ends of which coupling elements (21, 22) are rotatably coupled via coupling shafts (23) and which is provided at a joint portion (120) of a winding of the profile strip.