Protective Tube Overlapping Edges Curvature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current protective tubes for elongated elements require additional treatments like sewing or thermal processes to achieve a permanent tubular shape, limiting their curvature and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A protective tube formed from a strip with overlapping longitudinal edges that can achieve a greater curvature without the need for final treatments, utilizing specific stitch patterns and monofilament threads to create a closed tubular shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a protective tube is formed from a strip with overlapping longitudinal edges, then the tube can achieve a closed tubular shape, but additional treatments like sewing or thermal processes are required to achieve a permanent tubular shape
Solution Approach 1:
The strip is pre-formed with overlapping longitudinal edges during the manufacturing process, creating the tubular shape before final assembly. This preliminary formation eliminates the need for subsequent sewing or thermal treatments to achieve the basic tubular structure, reducing additional processing steps while maintaining shape integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The overlapping edges of the strip self-align and self-secure to maintain the tubular shape through the layered construction and material properties, eliminating the need for external fixation mechanisms like sewing or thermal bonding. The structure serves its own shaping function without requiring additional treatment processes
2Stability of the object's composition
If the longitudinal edges are joined to achieve a permanent tubular shape, then the tube structure is stabilized, but the curvature capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The protective tube incorporates overlapping longitudinal edges that can dynamically adjust and flex relative to each other, allowing the tube to bend and curve while maintaining structural stability. This dynamic edge configuration enables the tube to adapt to various curvature requirements without compromising the permanent tubular shape or requiring additional joining treatments
3Shape
If thermal treatment is applied to acquire final tubular shape, then the threads are heated for the strip to curve, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the thermal treatment step from the manufacturing process by using overlapping longitudinal edges that form the tubular shape through mechanical construction alone. This removal of the thermal processing step reduces manufacturing time and complexity while still achieving the desired final tubular shape and curvature capability
Data Source
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AI summary
The protective tube comprises a plurality of warp-knitted threads that define a strip the longitudinal edges of which are in contact with or overlap each other, defining a substantially circular cross-section, wherein at least one of said threads is monofilament thread, characterised in that at least one of the threads is carried on two or more needles, forming a mesh at least every two passes and a maximum of every twenty-five passes. It gives the protective tube greater curvature than that of currently known tubes, closing completely without need for heating for the strip to acquire its tubular shape.