Pivoting Unwinding Mandrel for Coreless Bundle Alignment and Grip
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing unwinding devices for elongated materials face challenges such as difficulty in precise alignment, slippage, and bulkiness, especially when dealing with large or coreless bundles, leading to inefficient unwinding and cumbersome handling.
Innovation Solution
A rolling mandrel system with pivotably connected movable bodies and a detachable connection mechanism, allowing for easy alignment, stabilization, and secure attachment to the bundle, facilitating efficient unwinding and winding, and enabling compact transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the unwinding device is positioned at a suitable distance from the central opening of the upright bundle, then the bundle can be tilted over and onto the unwinding device, but the distance must be measured precisely to ensure the central opening aligns perfectly with the unwinding mandrel, making the process difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel is made dynamically adjustable through telescopic sections that can extend and retract. This allows the mandrel length to be adapted to match different bundle sizes and distances, enabling quick alignment without precise measurement. The movable sections provide dynamic adaptability to various operational conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The mandrel's physical parameter (length) is made variable through telescopic sections. By changing the extended length of the mandrel, the system can accommodate different bundle distances and sizes, eliminating the need for precise measurement and alignment procedures.
2Ease of operation
If smaller bundles such as cable bundles without spools are used, then they can be handled more easily, but they slip very easily on the unwinding device during unwinding, leading to jamming and requiring repeated readjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel features localized gripping elements including protrusions and grooves at specific positions along its length. These local structural features provide enhanced friction and mechanical interlocking with the bundle, preventing slippage while maintaining overall ease of handling for smaller bundles.
Solution Approach 2:
The mandrel incorporates curved or rounded surfaces that better conform to the shape of smaller bundles. This curvature increases contact area and friction between the mandrel and bundle, preventing slippage during unwinding operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If unwinding mandrels with movable bodies are used that can be unfolded for transport, then the slim unwinding mandrel and flat unwinding device are easy to store and transport, but with a heavy bundle, the connection between the unwinding mandrel and the unwinding device is subjected to considerable stress
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel incorporates movable bodies that can dynamically change position between transport and operational states. During transport, the movable bodies are retracted to create a compact form. During operation with heavy bundles, the movable bodies extend and engage to provide additional structural support and distribute connection stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The mandrel is divided into segmented sections including movable bodies that can independently position themselves. This segmentation allows the structure to remain compact for transport while providing distributed strength and multiple contact points when extended for heavy bundle support.
4Reliability
If a turntable is provided on the unwinding mandrel to allow movable bodies to rest, then the load on the movable bodies is relieved, but the embodiment becomes very bulky and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of a fixed turntable structure, the system uses dynamically positionable movable bodies that can pivot and adjust their positions. These movable bodies provide load distribution functionality only when needed during operation, while remaining compact and integrated into the mandrel structure during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The functions of load distribution and transport compactness are merged into a single integrated structure. The movable bodies serve dual purposes: they distribute loads when extended during operation, and they fold into the mandrel structure to maintain compactness during transport, eliminating the need for a separate turntable component.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an unwinding mandrel (1b) for connecting to an unwinding apparatus (1a) for unwinding elongate materials, such as cables or pipes, from a bundle, wherein the unwinding mandrel (1b) has a main part (1c) for arranging in the center of the bundle and a connecting portion (11) for detachably connecting the unwinding mandrel (1b) to the unwinding apparatus (1a), characterized in that the unwinding mandrel (1b) has at least one, preferably four movable bodies (18) which are pivotably connected by at least one joint to the main part (1c) transversely to a main extension axis (2) of the main part (1c).