Pull-up Bolt Assembly for Manway Cover Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for handling manway covers, which are often heavy and hazardous, fail to securely support the weight and prevent hazardous situations during removal and installation without altering the structural integrity of the covers or flanges, and require costly recertification for machining.
Innovation Solution
A pull-up bolt assembly with a threaded shaft, tapered member, and radially expandable friction member that frictionally supports manway covers to a hinge device, resisting pull-out forces and maintaining safety without altering the structural integrity or requiring additional machining.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing devices for handling manway covers are used, then the covers can be removed and installed, but the devices fail to securely support the weight and prevent hazardous situations, and require costly recertification for machining
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-up bolt assembly acts as an intermediary device between the manway cover and the handling mechanism. It includes a pull-up bolt with external threads that engage with the cover, a tapered member that provides mechanical advantage, and a radially expandable friction member that creates secure frictional engagement within the cover material without requiring structural alteration. This intermediary assembly securely supports the cover weight while avoiding direct modification of the cover itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The radially expandable friction member changes its dimensional parameters by expanding radially outward to engage the inner surface of the manway cover. This expansion creates a friction fit that securely holds the cover without requiring machining. The tapered member also utilizes parameter change through its geometric taper to convert rotational motion into linear pull-up force.
2Ease of operation
If existing devices for handling manway covers are used, then the covers can be removed and installed, but they alter the structural integrity of the covers or flanges
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fastening and securing function from the manway cover structure itself. Instead of modifying the cover or flange to achieve secure attachment, the pull-up bolt assembly is inserted into an existing opening and secures the cover through frictional engagement of the expandable member with the opening surface. This extracts the structural modification requirement from the cover while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull-up bolt assembly serves as an intermediary that bridges the gap between the need for secure attachment and the requirement to preserve structural integrity. The tapered member and expandable friction member work together to create a secure connection without altering the cover's structural composition, as the expansion occurs within the existing opening rather than requiring material removal or addition.
3Ease of manufacture
If a pull-up bolt assembly with radially expandable friction member is used, then the structural integrity is maintained without machining, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-up bolt assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the pull-up bolt with external threads for engagement, the tapered member for mechanical advantage, and the radially expandable friction member for secure attachment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while simplifying the manufacturing of individual parts, as each segment can be produced separately without requiring complex integrated machining.
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
The pull-up bolt assembly securely supports and holds manway covers without altering the structural integrity, ensuring safety during handling and installation, and eliminates the need for costly recertification, providing a reliable and efficient solution for handling heavy manway covers.
Implementation Method 1
At least a portion of the expandable friction member expands outwardly in a radial direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the threaded shaft when the nut component is threadably moved toward the abutting member of the pull-up bolt member
Implementation Method 2
a tapered member disposed around the threaded shaft between the nut component and the abutting member end
Implementation Method 3
a radially expandable friction member disposed around the threaded shaft between the tapered member and the abutting member end
Data Source
AI summary
An improved pull-up bolt assembly adapted to be used for supporting a high-weight structure to a hinge component using an opening or recess in the high-weight structure, the bolt assembly having a pull-up bolt member, a nut component, a tapered member, and an expandable friction member, where the improvement includes one or more threads helically disposed about the expandable friction member, the one or more threads each having a height, a width and a helical angle.