Protective Cover With Segmented Bellows Valleys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional protective covers for components like shock absorbers and robot arms face challenges in achieving a large extension/contraction stroke while maintaining sufficient elasticity, as they often struggle to balance axial dimensions during extension and contraction.
Innovation Solution
A tubular protective cover with a bellows portion featuring alternating large, intermediate, and small valleys, where the apexes of the peaks are thinner than the bottoms of the large valleys, allowing for a large axial dimension during extension without increasing the diameter, and minimizing the axial dimension during contraction by positioning the valleys' bottoms away from each other.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If large valleys and small valleys are just alternately formed to simplify structure, then manufacturing is easier, but sufficient elasticity and extension/contraction stroke cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using a simple alternating pattern of large and small valleys, the bellows portion is segmented into three valley types arranged in a systematic sequence (large-valley-small-valley-intermediate-valley). This refined segmentation provides more degrees of freedom in controlling the extension/contraction behavior, ensuring sufficient elasticity and stroke while remaining manufacturable through standard molding techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameters by introducing three distinct valley depth levels instead of two. This parameter change (from binary to ternary valley structure) fundamentally alters the deformation characteristics, enabling sufficient extension/contraction stroke and elasticity. The systematic arrangement of these three parameter levels provides controlled mechanical behavior that the simpler alternating structure cannot achieve.
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
This design ensures a large extension/contraction stroke in the axial direction while maintaining excellent elasticity, preventing interference and minimizing the axial dimension during contraction, thus enhancing the cover's ability to follow the motion of attached components.
Implementation Method 1
the protective cover includes, in at least a portion thereof, a bellows portion having peaks and valleys formed in continuous fashion, and is endowed with elasticity in the axial direction owing to deformation of the bellows portion
Data Source
AI summary
A protective cover including a bellows portion wherein a plurality of valleys and peaks are arranged alternately. The valleys include a plurality of large valleys and a plurality of intermediate valleys whose inside and outside diameter dimensions at bottoms are greater than those of the large valleys, and the large valleys and the intermediate valleys are arranged alternately. Small valleys whose inside and outside diameter dimensions at bottoms are greater than those of the intermediate valleys are respectively arranged between the large valleys and the intermediate valleys. The peaks are respectively arranged between the large valleys and the small valleys as well as between the intermediate valleys and the small valleys, and apexes of the peaks have a same outside diameter dimension as one another. The apexes of the peaks are made thinner than the bottoms of the large valleys.