Resilient Foot With Insert And Flange For Travel Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing resilient feet for devices fail to limit total travel effectively, leading to resonance or damage due to uncontrolled compression, and often require complex constructions or higher costs to prevent slipping and vibration absorption.
Innovation Solution
A resilient foot design featuring a tubular member of elastomeric material with an insert of lower resiliency, where the insert is spaced from the surface to limit compression and prevent resonance, and a flange with a larger footprint for non-slip characteristics, along with radial grooves to enhance friction and liquid drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a resilient foot is made completely resilient to absorb vibrations, then vibration absorption is improved, but total travel becomes uncontrolled leading to resonance and device walking
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient foot is segmented into two distinct components: an outer resilient body made of elastomeric material for vibration absorption, and an inner insert made of harder material with lower resiliency to limit total compression travel. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, resolving the contradiction between vibration absorption and travel control.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient foot uses a composite construction combining two materials with different mechanical properties: a softer elastomeric material (such as rubber with 50-70 Shore A durometer) for the outer body to provide vibration damping, and a harder material (such as plastic or metal) for the inner insert to provide mechanical support and limit travel. This composite approach enables both vibration absorption and travel control to coexist.
2Reliability
If the resilient foot surface is increased to prevent slipping, then non-slip characteristics are improved, but the footprint area increases leading to larger device size
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is designed with a smaller cross-sectional area than the outer resilient body, creating a local quality difference. This allows the outer body to provide a large footprint for non-slip characteristics while the insert provides structural support with minimal material. The insert's terminal end is spaced from the mounting surface, allowing the outer body's flange to contact the surface over a larger area for enhanced friction and slip prevention.
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 design effectively limits total travel, prevents resonance and slipping, while maintaining vibration absorption and allowing for height adjustments, thus ensuring device stability and longevity at minimal cost.
Implementation Method 1
a bore that extends from the surface of the foot and being of a predetermined resiliency to be resiliently compressible under a load placed on the leg to absorb vibrations between the leg and the horizontal mounting surface
Implementation Method 2
The insert has a roughened exterior surface, for example, provided by striations or knurling, for frictionally engaging within the bore of the tubular member
Implementation Method 3
The flange of the tubular member has a proportionally larger footprint than the terminal end of the insert in order to provide a sufficient elastomeric surface in contact with the mounting surface to prevent slipping of the piece of equipment with respect to the mounting surface
Data Source
AI summary
The resilient foot has a rubber tubular member to provide a resilient support and an insert of solid material within the tubular member to limit the travel of the resilient foot under load. The insert is disposed in a bore of the tubular member and is inwardly spaced a small distance from the support surface of the tubular member to limit the vertical motion. The resilient foot has an enlarged elastomeric flange to provide non-slip characteristics and radial grooves are provided in the flange for the squeezing out of fluid between the foot and a mounting surface.