Socket With Inclined Protrusion Faces For Worn Object Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sockets cause wear and damage to objects due to size mismatches and inadequate contact areas, leading to instability and potential damage during rotation, especially when dealing with worn objects.
Innovation Solution
A socket design featuring radially protruding elements with inclined faces and obtuse corner angles, which provide increased contact area and distribution to stabilize and rotate worn objects without causing damage, using a cylindrical body with grooves between protrusions and a peak point contact mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the central hole size is designed to be slightly larger than the object to easily accommodate it, then the ease of operation is improved, but the contact area between the socket and object becomes insufficient, causing the object corners to be easily worn out
Solution Approach 1:
The socket's central hole is segmented into multiple protrusions (typically 6) with encounter faces, transforming a single large contact surface into multiple localized contact points. This segmentation allows the socket to maintain a slightly larger overall hole size for easy accommodation while creating concentrated contact areas at the protrusion encounter faces that prevent object corner wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The encounter faces of the protrusions are designed with specific angular geometry (typically 60-degree angles) to concentrate contact force at precise locations on the object corners. This local quality enhancement ensures that despite the overall hole being larger than the object, the critical contact zones have sufficient pressure distribution to prevent wear.
2Reliability
If rectangular protrusions with right angle corners are used to increase contact area with worn objects, then the contact area is improved, but the right angle corners of the protrusions are directly contacted by large torque, causing damage to the protrusions
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions are designed with asymmetric geometry: the encounter faces have inclined surfaces meeting at an angle (typically 60 degrees) rather than right angles. This asymmetry allows the encounter faces to contact worn objects with sufficient area while the angled configuration distributes torque away from any single corner point, preventing protrusion damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The encounter faces of the protrusions feature curved or rounded transition zones rather than sharp right angle corners. This curvature allows for more gradual stress distribution when torque is applied, preventing concentrated stress at the protrusion corners that would lead to damage, while still maintaining adequate contact area with worn objects.
3Strength
If the socket is designed to contact worn objects with larger contact area using encounter faces, then the engagement strength is improved, but the complexity of the socket structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex requirement of engaging worn objects is solved by segmenting the contact function into multiple identical protrusions with encounter faces. Rather than designing a completely complex custom contact surface, the segmentation approach uses repeated simple geometric elements that collectively provide the necessary engagement strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions with encounter faces serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide contact area for worn objects, distribute torque to prevent damage, and maintain engagement stability during rotation. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in overall structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A socket includes multiple protrusions and grooves alternatively formed in the inner periphery of the central hole of the socket. Each protrusion has an encounter face formed on the distal end thereof. The encounter face includes two inclined faces which intersect at a peak point by a top angle. Each protrusion includes two lateral sides which respectively face the grooves corresponding thereto. The two inclined faces respectively intersect the two lateral sides at a corner by a corner angle which is an obtuse angle. An angle of 2 to 9 degrees is defined between each of the inclined face and a chord that passes the peak point and is perpendicular to an axis of the protrusion. The center angle between the two lateral sides of each protrusion is 25 to 44 degrees and the engagement between the two inclined faces and the worn object can be enhanced.