Trekking Pole Tip Attachment With Threaded Carrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing trekking stick and ski tips are difficult to manufacture efficiently and maintain, as they often require separate plastic and metal components that are glued or pressed in, making replacement of worn elements challenging.
Innovation Solution
A top attachment featuring a plastic sleeve with a press-on thread mechanism that allows for easy assembly and replacement of tips, using a carrier element with a conical tip that can be pressed or glued into the sleeve, and a thread design with different flank angles for secure attachment and easy removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tips are glued or pressed into the plastic using conventional methods, then the tip attachment is secure and durable, but the plastic is damaged and replacement becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The tip attachment is divided into separate components: a plastic sleeve that remains on the pole and a tip insert that can be removed. The tip insert includes a carrier element with a threaded portion that engages with a corresponding thread in the plastic sleeve, allowing the tip to be segmented from the pole structure for easy replacement while maintaining secure attachment during use.
Solution Approach 2:
A threaded connection mechanism serves as an intermediary between the tip insert and plastic sleeve. The thread on the carrier element engages with a thread in the plastic sleeve to provide secure attachment, but unlike direct pressing or gluing, this intermediary mechanism allows for easy disengagement and replacement by simply unscrewing the tip insert.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate plastic and metal components are used for tips, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but assembly complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tip insert combines multiple functions into a single component: the carrier element integrates the threaded attachment portion with the tip element. This merging reduces the number of separate parts that need to be assembled, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining the flexibility to use different tip materials (metal, ceramic, plastic) in the same basic structure.
3Loss of time
If conventional threaded structures are used on the nail bar, then installation time is reduced, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the tip insert with a thread that screws into the plastic sleeve (conventional approach), the invention inverts the relationship: the plastic sleeve has an internal thread that receives the threaded carrier element. This inversion allows the tip insert to be easily removed by unscrewing, providing both quick installation and easy replacement without complex multi-step procedures.
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 solution enables efficient manufacturing and easy replacement of worn tips without damaging the plastic sleeve, ensuring durability and cost-effectiveness for trekking sticks and ski tips.
Implementation Method 1
held in the plastic sleeve without a material connection and solely by frictional connection and/or form closure
Implementation Method 2
held in the plastic sleeve without a material connection and solely by frictional connection and/or form closure
Data Source
Figure 1a~3
AI summary
Tip attachment (1) for a pole, in particular for a trekking pole, cross-country-skiing pole, Nordic-walking pole or downhill-skiing pole, having a plastic sleeve (3), which can be fastened at the lower, free end of a pole tube (2) and, at an upper end, has an upwardly open hole (6, 16) for accommodating the lower, free end of the pole tube (2), and a tip insert (8) is fastened in an opening (25) at the lower end of the pole tube, characterized in that the tip insert (8) has a carrier element (9), which is releasably fastened in the opening (25) by means of a drive-in thread (19) provided on a retaining region (14) in a substantially cylindrical region (15).