Spring-Reset Shaft Locking for Safe Electric Tool Servicing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric tools, particularly gardening tools like edgers and mowers, lack effective safety mechanisms for preventing accidental operation during component replacement and have inadequate height adjustment capabilities for uneven operating surfaces.
Innovation Solution
An electric tool with a simple and safe stop mechanism that locks the output shaft or transmission gear using a protrusion and groove system, combined with independent height adjustment mechanisms for the body and wheels, ensuring safe operation and adaptability to different terrain heights.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional safety measures are provided to avoid accidental operation during disassembly, then safety performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stop mechanism is designed to automatically spring back to a non-stop position when external force is lost, preventing damage without requiring additional safety measures. The elastic component automatically resets the protrusion to its initial position, making the system self-regulating and eliminating the need for complex interlocks or multiple safety devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety function is extracted as a separate stop mechanism that can be independently activated during disassembly. The protrusion and groove structure provides a dedicated locking feature that operates only when needed, rather than requiring the entire machine structure to be complex. This extracted safety mechanism can be easily engaged or disengaged from the main body.
2Reliability
If a stop mechanism is provided to prevent operation during component replacement, then safety performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stop mechanism automatically resets when the external pressing force is removed, springing back to the non-stop position through the elastic component. This self-resetting feature prevents damage from accidental operation without requiring additional control systems or complex safety interlocks.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex locking mechanism that requires active engagement, the design uses a simple protrusion that passively engages with the groove when pressed. The normal state is unlocked, and locking occurs only when external force is applied, inverting the traditional approach where locked is the default state.
3Device complexity
If only body height adjustment is provided, then device complexity is kept simple, but adaptability to uneven operating surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The height adjustment system is segmented into independent adjustments for the body and for each wheel. This allows each component to be adjusted separately to accommodate uneven surfaces, rather than requiring a single complex mechanism that adjusts the entire machine as one unit. The segmentation enables flexible adaptation to various terrain conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment mechanisms are designed to be dynamically adjustable during operation, allowing the user to modify body height and wheel heights as needed for different operating conditions. This dynamic adjustability enhances adaptability without requiring a completely reconfigurable system.
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 stop mechanism provides enhanced safety by automatically releasing when not in use, preventing damage, and the height adjustments allow the tool to operate on uneven surfaces, improving safety and usability.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic component, which is connected to the operating component and/or the protrusion and provides the protrusion with a restoring force offset towards the direction in which the protrusion detaches from the groove
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides an electric tool comprising a body, an operating component, an output shaft, and a stop mechanism. An arresting disc is disposed on the output shaft, and a groove is formed on the arresting disc; the stop mechanism comprises a protrusion, for example, a pin, which is operable so that the protrusion extends to insert into the groove to lock the output shaft. A stop mechanism of the present invention is easy to operate, delivers good safety performance, and has a relatively simple structure, which allows convenient production and subsequent maintenance. Further, a stop mechanism of the present invention automatically springs back to a non-stop position at which it detaches from the output shaft or the transmission gear of the transmission mechanism when the external force is lost, which prevents possible damage to the output shaft or transmission mechanism when a user starts the electric tool before releasing the stop mechanism.