Spring-Loaded Wedge Overhead Line Clamp
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clamps for overhead messenger wires require screws or multiple components, leading to complex installation processes, potential component loss, and significant time expenditure during tightening, which complicates the assembly and increases the risk of operator error.
Innovation Solution
A clamp design featuring a main body with a groove and tapered regions, where wedges are pushed by springs to tighten the messenger wire, eliminating the need for screws and simplifying the installation process by using a safety plug to control the spring action, allowing for easy tightening and release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screws are used to lock the messenger wire in the clamp, then the wire can be securely fixed, but the installation time increases significantly and the process becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the screw component entirely from the clamp system. Instead of using screws to lock the wire, the invention uses a spring-loaded wedge mechanism that automatically secures the messenger wire through friction and mechanical pressure, eliminating the time-consuming screw tightening process while maintaining secure fixation
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp is designed to automatically secure the wire through its spring-loaded wedge mechanism. The spring provides continuous pressure on the wedge, which in turn applies frictional force to the wire, creating a self-securing system that does not require manual screw tightening or additional locking operations
2Ease of operation
If multiple components are used in the clamp design, then the wire can be secured without screws, but the risk of component loss during transportation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the spring, wedge, and wire-hosting groove into a single monoblock clamp body. This unified structure eliminates the need for separate components that could be lost during transportation, while still providing the screwless securement function through the integrated spring-loaded wedge mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
While the clamp body is integrated, the wire itself is segmented into multiple strands within the groove, allowing the single clamp to secure a multi-component wire structure. This approach maintains ease of operation with a single clamp installation while accommodating the segmented nature of the messenger wire
3Reliability
If the operator must return to each clamp to tighten screws after tensioning the wire, then secure fixation is achieved, but the installation process becomes multi-step and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp is pre-configured with the spring-loaded wedge mechanism ready to secure the wire immediately upon installation. The spring is pre-compressed and the wedge is positioned to engage the wire as soon as the clamp is placed on the messenger wire, eliminating the need for subsequent tightening operations
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp automatically performs the fixation function through its spring-loaded mechanism. As the wire is tensioned, the spring pressure increases, causing the wedge to press harder against the wire, creating a self-adjusting, self-securing system that eliminates the need for manual intervention to tighten or adjust the clamp
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 clamp reduces installation time, enhances operator safety, and simplifies the process by eliminating the need for screws, ensuring a faster and more reliable tightening mechanism without losing components, thus streamlining the overhead line assembly.
Implementation Method 1
pushed in opposite directions along a longitudinal axis X of the groove by respective first and second springs (10a, 10b)
Implementation Method 2
A first and a second wedges (8a, 8b) are arranged for tightening the messenger wire (6) being pushed in opposite directions
Data Source
AI summary
A clamp for a wire of an overhead line comprising a main body has a groove for hosting the wire, a first and a second tapered region located in respective ends of the groove, and a first and a second spring placed in respective holes on opposite sides of the groove. The first and second springs are located in a central portion of the groove and are arranged for pushing respective wedges into the tapered regions in opposite directions. The wedges are arranged for tightening the wire by blocking between the wire itself and a wall of the respective first and second tapered region.