Safety Anchor Cable Assembly for Vibration-Prone Sensor Mounts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial mechanical components, such as sensors, often experience mounting failures due to intense vibrations and mechanical impacts, leading to safety hazards, operational risks, and additional costs, especially in environments where sensors are installed in elevated or hard-to-reach areas.
Innovation Solution
A safety anchoring accessory comprising a plate, cable, and cable clamps is used to provide a secondary coupling arrangement between mechanical components and assets, anchoring them to a separate structure to prevent falling in case of primary coupling failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional mounting methods (threaded couplings, magnetic attraction, adhesive attachments) are used to mount sensors, then initial mounting strength is achieved, but mounting reliability deteriorates over time due to vibrations and mechanical impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by implementing a safety cable and anchoring mechanism that is pre-installed with the primary mounting system. This secondary safety feature is prepared in advance to catch the sensor if the primary mounting fails due to vibration or impact, thus cushioning against the harmful effect of mounting failure without interfering with the primary mounting's initial strength.
2Measurement precision
If sensors are mounted in elevated or hard-to-reach areas to achieve proper monitoring coverage, then measurement effectiveness is improved, but safety risks worsen due to potential falling hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary safety cable system that acts as a mediator between the sensor and the mounting surface. This intermediary element provides an additional safety pathway that does not interfere with the sensor's monitoring function while effectively mitigating the safety risk of sensors falling from elevated or hard-to-reach locations.
3Ease of manufacture
If primary coupling arrangements are used to mount mechanical components, then ease of installation is achieved, but component security deteriorates when mounting failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the primary coupling arrangement with a secondary safety anchoring system into a unified mounting solution. The safety cable and anchoring mechanism are integrated with the primary mounting components, allowing both systems to work together seamlessly. This combination maintains the ease of installation of the primary system while adding the security layer of the secondary system to prevent component loss upon mounting failure.
Data Source
AI summary
A safety anchoring accessory includes a plate, cable, and cable clamp. The plate has a first opening for placement over a separate mechanical component protrusion and a second opening spaced apart from the first opening and movable relative to the mechanical component. The cable includes a first distal end inserted through the second plate opening and a second distal end to be fastened to a separate structure. The cable length is longer than a distance from the separate structure to the second plate opening when the first plate opening is placed over the protrusion and the mechanical component is mounted to a separate mechanical asset. The cable clamp is coupled to the first distal end of the cable to secure the cable to the plate at the second plate opening. The accessory anchors the mechanical component to the separate structure in the event of mounting failure at the mechanical asset.