Universal Tool Connecting Assembly with Flow-Through Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting assemblies for tools and handles are difficult to use, clean, and unreliable, often limited to specific handle types, requiring users to purchase handles tailored for each tool.
Innovation Solution
A universal connecting assembly with a socket connection and tightening member that accommodates various handle sizes and configurations, featuring a 'flow through' design for easy cleaning and anti-creep mechanisms to ensure secure attachment without material deformation, allowing for quick disconnection and reconnection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prior art connecting assemblies are used to removably connect tools and handles, then the tool can be used with or without the handle, but the connecting assembly is difficult to use, difficult to clean, and unreliable for extended cycles of connecting and disconnecting
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting assembly incorporates a spring-loaded plunger mechanism that dynamically adapts to different handle diameters. The spring allows the plunger to exert variable force during insertion and locking, providing automatic adjustment that ensures reliable connection while maintaining ease of operation across extended use cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The design enables self-aligning and self-locking features where the tapered bore guides the handle into proper position and the spring-loaded plunger automatically engages retention notches. This self-service mechanism reduces user effort while ensuring consistent, reliable connections without requiring precise manual alignment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If prior art connecting assemblies are configured to work with only one type of handle, then the connection may be reliable for that specific type, but the user must buy handles specific for that tool, reducing versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting assembly is designed as a universal interface with a tapered bore that accommodates handles of various diameters and configurations. The spring-loaded plunger mechanism and adjustable retention notches provide consistent locking action across different handle types, ensuring both versatility and reliable connection for multiple tool-handle combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows adjustment of the retention notches to different positions along the tapered bore, enabling the same connecting assembly to reliably secure handles with different diameters and geometries. This parameter adjustment capability maintains connection reliability while expanding adaptability to various handle specifications.
3Ease of manufacture
If prior art connecting assemblies are used, then connection may be achieved, but they are difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting assembly is divided into separable components including the socket, spring-loaded plunger, and retention notches that can be easily disassembled for cleaning. This segmentation allows each component to be accessed and cleaned independently, maintaining ease of cleaning while managing structural complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded plunger and retention notches are designed to be removable from the socket, allowing complete disassembly for thorough cleaning. This extraction of internal components eliminates difficult-to-reach areas where debris could accumulate, ensuring ease of cleaning without requiring overly simple structural design.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 1d~1e
AI summary
A connecting assembly is provided that includes a tool receiving portion, a handle receiving portion, a tightening member, a first open region, and a second open region. The handle receiving portion has a first engaging portion, a clamping portion with a first cam, and a longitudinal axis. The tightening member has a second cam and a second engaging portion. The second engaging portion is engagable with the first engaging portion so that the tightening member moves to cause the first and second cams to interact with one another biasing the clamping portion in a desired direction. The first open region is defined at the first engaging portion, while the second open region is defined at the clamping portion so that the open regions are in fluid communication with one another.