Pre-deformed Ear Clamp for Slip-resistant Pipe Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ear clamps face difficulties in achieving a tight connection between a pipe and an inserted object due to manufacturing tolerances, especially with smooth-surfaced PEX materials and vertical pipes, requiring manual assembly under cramped conditions, where the clamp must be held in place during tightening.
Innovation Solution
The ear clamp is pre-deformed during manufacturing to eliminate diameter clearance, leveraging its elasticity to ensure secure positioning and tightening without slipping, facilitating assembly by allowing easy alignment and secure clamping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the inner diameter of the ear clamp is adapted exactly to the outer diameter of the tube, then the connection tightness is improved, but the assembly difficulty increases due to unavoidable tolerances requiring precise positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The ear clamp is pre-deformed during manufacturing to eliminate diameter clearance between the clamp and tube. This preliminary action ensures that when the clamp is installed, it is already tightly fitted to the tube without requiring precise positioning or adjustment during assembly, thus resolving the contradiction between connection tightness and assembly ease
2Ease of operation
If the clamp is made loose to accommodate tolerances, then the assembly ease is improved, but the connection reliability deteriorates due to clearance and potential slipping
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-deformation of the ear clamp during manufacturing eliminates clearance while maintaining ease of assembly. The clamp is formed with the exact diameter needed for a tight fit, so during assembly it can be easily installed without requiring precise positioning, yet provides reliable connection without slipping
3Reliability
If the ear clamp is pre-deformed to eliminate clearance, then the connection reliability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-deformation is performed during the clamp manufacturing process itself, integrating the clearance elimination into the standard production workflow. This approach achieves reliable connections without requiring additional complex manufacturing steps or specialized equipment
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
This approach enables a secure, slip-resistant connection between the pipe and object, simplifying the assembly process, especially with smooth-surfaced PEX materials and vertical pipes, by ensuring the clamp can be easily positioned and fixed without additional handling challenges.
Implementation Method 1
The elasticity of the pre-formed ear is exploited so that the clamp can be moved to the desired position during assembly, but is still so tight on the pipe that it cannot slip by itself.
Implementation Method 2
the ear clamp is pre-deformed during manufacturing to eliminate diameter clearance, leveraging its elasticity to ensure secure positioning and tightening without slipping
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to an open ear clamp comprising a clamping device in the form of a so-called Oetiker ear (12). In order to make the installation of the clamp on a pipe (20) easier, the clamp is pre-deformed beforehand, for example in the course of production, to such an extent that the clamp surrounds the pipe (20) for which the clamp is intended without play. Because of the elasticity produced in the clamp by this pre-deformation, the clamp still can be moved effortlessly to the installation location on the pipe (20) and yet is retained there in the position of the clamp and in the desired orientation.