Segmented Cable Chain With Central Element For Easy Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for guiding and protecting lines, such as energy chains and protective hoses, face challenges including susceptibility to wind, high engineering effort for integration, limited mobility, difficulty in assembly and disassembly, maintenance intensity, inability to replace individual lines, and material selection issues, especially in extreme conditions.
Innovation Solution
A cable guideline chain with a link chain or steel rope as a central element, featuring cable guide elements with a central element contact area that surrounds and fixes the central element, allowing for two-point attachment, easy assembly and disassembly, and the ability to add, remove, or repair lines without specialized tools, while providing protection and heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an energy chain is used to guide cables, then cable guidance and protection is achieved, but the device becomes complex to manufacture, install and maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The energy chain is divided into individual link elements that can be separately manufactured and then assembled together. Each link element is a simple U-shaped component that can be produced independently, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the overall functionality of cable guidance and protection.
2Reliability
If an energy chain is used to guide cables, then cable protection is provided, but maintenance becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The chain is composed of modular link elements that can be individually removed and replaced. If one link becomes damaged or worn, only that specific link needs to be replaced rather than the entire chain, significantly reducing maintenance time and effort.
3Reliability
If an energy chain is used, then cables can be guided, but the chain is heavy when using metallic links
Solution Approach 1:
The material of the link elements can be changed from heavy metallic materials to lighter materials such as reinforced plastics or composite materials. This parameter change maintains the structural integrity and cable guidance functionality while significantly reducing the overall weight of the chain.
4Device complexity
If protective conduit is used instead of energy chain, then fewer individual parts are involved, but individual wires cannot be replaced or repaired
Solution Approach 1:
The protective structure is segmented into individual removable link elements rather than being a continuous conduit. This segmentation allows the links to be opened and reconfigured, enabling access to individual wires for replacement or repair while maintaining overall structural protection.
5Reliability
If an energy chain is used, then cables can be guided, but significant engineering effort is required for integration with specified radii and guides
Solution Approach 1:
The chain structure provides inherent flexibility and adaptability, allowing it to conform to various installation paths and radii without requiring precise pre-engineering of guide structures. The individual links can articulate to accommodate different geometries, reducing the engineering effort needed for integration.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
The invention is a device (10), referred to here as cable-guiding chain (10), for guiding lines (12), which device has a tension-resistant central element (14) and a multiplicity of cable-guiding elements (16) which are fixed to the central element (14), wherein each cable-guiding element (16) has a central element contact region (24) which surrounds a portion of the central element (14), and wherein each cable-guiding element (16) has a cable-guiding edge (26) which surrounds the central element contact region (24) with a spacing.