Socket Reinforced Sleeve Conical Section Crack Resistance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sockets are prone to cracking under repeated impact and collision with fasteners, leading to insufficient tightening torque, potential worker injury, and frequent replacements, resulting in increased costs.

Innovation Solution

A socket design featuring a metal body with a conical section and a metal reinforcing sleeve of greater hardness, mounted around the conical section to enhance strength, with a deformation section and engagement portion for secure coupling, ensuring the socket's structural integrity and functionality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a socket is made with a fastener receiving recess, then it can perform tightening or loosening operations, but the recess is liable to crack in corners due to repeated impact and collision with fasteners

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetightening or loosening capabilityVSAvoidcrack resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The socket is divided into two distinct parts: the body (containing the fastener receiving recess) and the reinforcing sleeve (a separate protective component). The reinforcing sleeve is fitted over the body to specifically protect the vulnerable corners of the recess, allowing the socket to maintain its operational functionality while significantly improving crack resistance through this segmented structural approach.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Strength

If the socket material is made stronger to prevent cracking, then the strength increases, but the cost increases and the size increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecrack resistanceVSAvoidmanufacturing cost
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The socket employs a composite structure consisting of the body made from standard socket material and the reinforcing sleeve made from high-strength material with greater hardness. This composite approach allows the vulnerable areas to be reinforced with superior material properties without requiring the entire socket to be made from expensive high-strength material, thus achieving enhanced crack resistance while controlling manufacturing costs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Strength

If the socket is made with larger dimensions to increase strength, then the strength increases, but the weight increases and the size increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoverall strengthVSAvoidsocket weight
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of uniformly increasing the size and weight of the entire socket to improve strength, the reinforcing sleeve is designed to provide localized reinforcement only at the vulnerable corners and edges of the fastener receiving recess. This local quality approach concentrates the additional strength where it is most needed, preventing cracking in critical areas without unnecessarily increasing the overall dimensions and weight of the socket.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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 reinforced socket design significantly increases strength, reduces deformation, and extends service life by maintaining functionality even if the actuating hole cracks, while allowing for lower-cost, high-strength body materials and reduced size and weight.

Implementation Method 1

The reinforcing sleeve has a hardness greater than a hardness of the body

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHardness:

Implementation Method 2

The conical section has increasing diameters perpendicular to the longitudinal axis away from the second coupling end

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectConical geometry reinforcement: Geometry

Data Source

PatentEP2727684B1Socket with a reinforced strength
Publication Date: 2017.11.08 SUMG LI YUAN
  • EP2727684B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2727684B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2727684B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A socket (10) includes a body (20) and a reinforcing sleeve (30). The body (20) includes first and second coupling ends (21, 22) for respectively coupling with a fastener and a driving tool. The first coupling end (201) includes a conical section (26) having a small diameter end (261) and a large diameter end (262). A spacing between the small diameter end (261) and the second coupling end (202) along the longitudinal axis is smaller than a spacing between the large diameter end (262) and the second coupling end (202) along the longitudinal axis. The conical section (26) has increasing diameters perpendicular to the longitudinal axis away from the second coupling end (202). The reinforcing sleeve (30) is mounted around the conical section (26) of the body (20) to reinforce the socket (10).