Removable Two-Part Pullhead Adapter for Pipe Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for installing underground pipes, such as Horizontal Directional Drilling and pipe bursting, require cumbersome and time-consuming processes for attaching and removing pullhead adapters, which hinder efficiency and labor productivity.
Innovation Solution
A removable two-part pullhead adapter with a pivotally coupled housing and interior retainer flange design allows for quick attachment and detachment without fasteners, enabling efficient pulling operations and reducing the need for complex installation procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional pullhead adapter is used and then removed to install an MJ adapter, then the pipe can connect to other piping, but the process becomes cumbersome and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The pullhead adapter is divided into two separable bodies that can be attached and detached independently. This segmentation allows the pullhead to be removed after pulling operations without requiring installation of a separate MJ adapter, thereby reducing installation time while maintaining pipe connection capability through the modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The pullhead adapter is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as both the pulling device during installation and as a permanent connection component. The universal design eliminates the need for separate MJ adapter installation, allowing the same component to fulfill both pulling and connection requirements
2Speed
If a pullhead adapter is fused to the product pipe and then removed, then the pipe can be pulled through the pilot hole, but labor productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The pullhead adapter incorporates a dynamic hinged design where the two bodies can pivot relative to each other. This dynamic structure allows for rapid attachment and detachment operations, maintaining high pulling speed while significantly improving labor productivity by eliminating cumbersome removal and reinstallation processes
Solution Approach 2:
The pullhead adapter is designed to be self-retaining through its hinged closure mechanism, which automatically secures the adapter to the pipe during pulling operations. This self-service design reduces the need for additional fasteners or complex attachment mechanisms, thereby improving labor productivity while maintaining effective pulling capability
3Reliability
If a pullhead adapter with fasteners is used, then the adapter can be securely attached to the pipe, but the attachment process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The design extracts the fastening function from separate fasteners and integrates it into the hinged closure mechanism itself. The hinge action provides both the attachment and securing functions in a single motion, eliminating the need for additional fasteners while maintaining attachment reliability and reducing process complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment mechanism merges the closure and fastening functions into a single hinged joint. By combining these functions, the design achieves reliable attachment without requiring multiple components or complex assembly steps, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining attachment reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A pullhead includes a housing that has a first end and a second end. The housing is separable between a first body and a second body. The first and second bodies are pivotally coupled at a joint and the first and second bodies together define an interior pocket of the housing. The interior pocket has an interior pocket width. The pullhead head includes a pulling feature at the first end. The interior pocket includes an interior retainer flange that has an inner width and is disposed within the interior pocket. The inner width is less than the interior pocket width. The first body and second body are pivotable relative to each other around an axis at the joint that is transverse to a pulling direction.