Slit Locking Clamp for Stable Deployable Tube Masts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Larger slit tube members used as masts face instability issues during deployment and in their final position, posing hazards to personnel and risking damage, especially when supporting heavier loads, due to local shear between edges, which existing technologies fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A mast assembly with slit locking clamps that stabilize one edge relative to the other by engaging with corresponding features on the mast, preventing axial movement and enhancing global strength and stiffness, allowing for longer, heavier loads to be supported safely with fewer personnel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If larger STEMs are deployed to support heavier loads, then the load capacity increases, but the stability of the structure during deployment and in final position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mast is divided into multiple segments by introducing slit locking clamps at intervals along its length. Each clamp creates a localized stable region that prevents shear between edges, while the overall mast remains a single extendible structure. This segmentation allows the mast to maintain global strength for heavy loads while achieving local stability through distributed clamp positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The slit locking clamps provide localized stabilization at specific positions along the mast without requiring stabilization along the entire length. The clamps create regions of increased local stiffness where edges are locked relative to each other, preventing local shear while maintaining the overall flexibility and extendibility of the mast structure.
2Strength
If the mast length and diameter are increased to support heavier loads, then the global strength increases, but the local shear between edges causes instability
Solution Approach 1:
By introducing multiple slit locking clamps at strategically positioned intervals along the mast, the structure is segmented into stable zones. Each clamp prevents local shear between edges in its vicinity, while the mast as a whole maintains increased length and diameter for global strength. The segmentation transforms the continuous instability problem into discrete, controlled stable regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamps provide localized intervention to prevent edge shear at critical positions without requiring the entire mast wall to have uniformly increased thickness. This allows the mast to achieve necessary global strength through increased dimensions while maintaining cost-effective local stabilization only where needed at clamp positions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional personnel are deployed to stabilize the mast during deployment, then the stability improves, but the complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slit locking clamps are designed to be attached to the mast as it is being deployed, converting the mast itself into its own stabilization system. The clamps lock edges relative to each other autonomously once attached, eliminating the need for continuous manual stabilization by multiple personnel throughout the deployment process. The structure stabilizes itself through the mechanical action of the clamps.
Solution Approach 2:
The slit locking clamps act as intermediary devices between the mast edges and the deployment process. Rather than requiring direct human intervention to stabilize edges, the clamps mediate the stabilization function mechanically, allowing controlled deployment with reduced personnel requirements while maintaining stability.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the wall thickness is increased to prevent local shear, then the local stiffness improves, but the ease of coiling and compact storage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing wall thickness along the entire mast, the stabilization function is segmented into discrete clamp components. The clamps provide localized stiffness enhancement at specific positions without requiring the entire mast wall to be thicker, preserving the thin-walled construction that enables easy coiling and compact storage while achieving necessary local stability where clamps are attached.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution applies local quality by concentrating stiffness enhancement only at clamp positions rather than throughout the entire mast. The thin-walled mast maintains its coiling advantages in non-clamped regions, while localized clamp attachments provide the necessary edge stabilization, optimizing both storage efficiency and structural stability.
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 slit locking clamps significantly contribute to the global strength and stiffness of the mast, enabling the deployment of longer, heavier masts with increased stability, reducing the risk of failure and personnel injury, and allowing for safer, more efficient deployment in demanding applications.
Implementation Method 1
at least one feature for engaging with a corresponding feature of the mast on one or both sides of the slit to resist axial movement of one edge relative to the other when clamping the mast
Implementation Method 2
when extended the mast is resiliently biased in the form of an elongate tube having a slit along its length and wherein when coiled the mast is opened out at the slit to a flattened cross section
Data Source
AI summary
A mast assembly (10), a method of deploying a mast (20), a slit locking clamp (50) for a mast and to a support assembly (14) for an extendible member (20) are provided. The mast assembly (10) comprises an extendible mast (20) configurable between a coiled form and an extended form. When extended the mast is resiliently biased in the form of an elongate tube having a slit along its length defined by longitudinal edges of the mast. When coiled the mast is opened out at the slit to a flattened cross section and wound about an axis extending transversely to the longitudinal extent of the mast. A slit locking clamp (50) clamps across the slit in the mast at a position along the length of the mast so as to stabilise one edge relative to the other.