Safety Strap Positioning Arm for Repeatable Tree Installation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for positioning straps around varying diameter structures, such as trees, are inefficient and unsafe due to factors like strap type, structure size, height, and environmental conditions, leading to unpredictable and unreliable installations.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a handle and arm portion that can extend and wrap around objects, featuring a coupling mechanism and retraction cord, allowing the arm to move between extended, wrapped, and retracted positions for secure strap placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a person manually slings a strap around a structure, then the installation can be completed, but the process is unpredictable and unsafe due to varying strap types, structure sizes, heights, and environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (strap positioning apparatus) that mediates between the user and the structure. This apparatus includes an arm portion that can wrap around structures of varying diameters, a coupling mechanism to secure the strap, and a retraction cord system to assist in positioning. The intermediary device standardizes the installation process across different conditions, eliminating the unpredictability of manual methods while maintaining ease of operation through simple user actions like pulling the retraction cord.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the arm portion wraps around objects of varying diameters, then adaptability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to multiple positioning states and components
Solution Approach 1:
The arm portion is designed as a dynamic component that can assume multiple positions (extended, wrapped, retracted) based on the diameter of the target structure. The arm includes pivot joints that allow it to adapt its configuration automatically as it wraps around different sized objects. This dynamic design enables a single apparatus to handle varying diameters without requiring multiple fixed-size components, thus achieving adaptability while controlling complexity through standardized mechanical joints.
Solution Approach 2:
The arm portion is divided into multiple segments connected by pivot joints, allowing each segment to rotate independently. This segmentation enables the arm to conform to structures of various diameters by adjusting the angle between segments. The modular segmented design provides adaptability while keeping individual components simple and manageable, avoiding the need for a single complex rigid structure.
3Measurement precision
If the arm portion extends beyond the far side of the object, then the strap can be positioned accurately, but the device requires more space and time for installation
Solution Approach 1:
The arm portion is pre-configured with the coupling mechanism and retraction cord system, allowing the strap to be attached in advance before the wrapping action. The retraction cord is pre-threaded through the arm segments, so when the user pulls the cord, the arm automatically wraps around the structure in a predetermined motion. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time adjustments during installation, achieving precise strap placement while reducing installation time through automated motion sequences.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for positioning a strap around an object includes a handle for being grasped by a user of the apparatus. The apparatus further includes an arm portion having a first end coupled to the handle portion and an opposite second end having a coupling mechanism coupled at or nearby for selectively coupling a portion of the strap to the second end of the arm portion. When the handle portion is grasped by the user of the apparatus adjacent a side of the object the arm portion is sized and configured to be movable among: a first positioning wherein the arm portion extends outward from the handle and the user such that the second end of the arm portion extends a distance beyond a far side of the object, and a second positioning wherein the arm portion wraps at least partially around the object.