Power Tool Attachment Mechanism for Secure Sleeve Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rotary power tools lack a reliable and user-friendly attachment mechanism that securely locks and unlocks accessories, leading to issues with axial and rotational alignment, which affects tool compatibility and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The attachment mechanism includes a spindle driven by the power tool's motor, with an inner sleeve for axial locking and an outer sleeve for rotational locking, utilizing ball detents and mating members to securely engage and disengage accessories, ensuring both axial and rotational stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a simple attachment mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of accessory locking is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is divided into two independent sleeve components: an inner sleeve for axial locking and an outer sleeve for rotational locking. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function reliably without requiring a complex integrated system, as each sleeve can be designed and manufactured independently with optimized simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner sleeve is nested within the outer sleeve, creating a compact concentric arrangement where the smaller axial locking component is housed inside the larger rotational locking component. This nesting reduces overall mechanism complexity while maintaining both locking functions, as the components share the same space and can be actuated through coordinated movement.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a secure locking mechanism is implemented, then axial and rotational stability is improved, but ease of operation for accessory switching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The axial locking function (inner sleeve) and rotational locking function (outer sleeve) are merged into a single coordinated attachment mechanism. When the accessory is installed, both sleeves engage simultaneously to provide stable locking, but the merging allows the user to operate the system through a unified action sequence, improving ease of operation while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism transitions dynamically between locked and unlocked states through the coordinated movement of the inner and outer sleeves. The sleeves can be independently actuated to change the locking state, allowing the system to adapt between providing maximum stability during operation and enabling easy accessory switching when needed, thus balancing both requirements.
3Reliability
If ball detents are used for locking, then manufacturing precision is reduced, but reliability of engagement is improved
Solution Approach 1:
The ball detents are spring-loaded to automatically engage with the recesses in the accessory shaft when the accessory is inserted. This self-service mechanism ensures reliable engagement without requiring high manufacturing precision, as the springs compensate for minor variations in ball radius or recess positioning, allowing the system to maintain reliability while reducing manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An accessory for use with a rotary power tool having a rotatable spindle and a first mating member. The accessory includes a housing having a body and a plurality of arms extending therefrom, a hub selectively engagable with the spindle to lock the accessory to the power tool, and a sleeve slidable along the arms between a first position and a second position, where the sleeve includes a plurality of apertures through which the corresponding plurality of arms extend. When the sleeve is in the first position the sleeve locks the hub to the spindle to secure the accessory to the power tool, and wherein when the sleeve is in the second position the sleeve disengages the hub from the spindle to release the accessory from the power tool.