Variable Cover for Wire Cable Wear Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing load-relieving apparatuses for walking training systems expose wound wire cables, leading to wear and increased maintenance costs, especially when the wire cables are repeatedly paid out and pulled in contact with the winding drum cover.
Innovation Solution
A load-relieving apparatus with a cover that has a variable through hole to follow the movement of the wire cable, preventing direct contact with the pulley and reducing wear by allowing the cover to adjust its position relative to the pulley's rotation axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cover is added to eliminate exposure of the wire cable winding part, then safety is improved, but wire cable wear increases due to repeated contact with the cover
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is designed to rotate together with the pulley, making the cover's position dynamic rather than fixed. This dynamic configuration allows the cover to move synchronously with the pulley rotation, preventing the wire cable from being repeatedly pinched and worn between the cover and pulley, thus extending wire cable service life while maintaining safety coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The cover serves multiple functions: it covers the wound wire cable to eliminate safety hazards, and simultaneously rotates with the pulley to prevent wire cable wear. By integrating the cover into the pulley rotation system, a single component achieves both safety coverage and wear prevention functions
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 effectively suppresses wire cable wear, reducing maintenance costs and extending the apparatus's lifespan by minimizing friction and contact points that cause wear.
Implementation Method 1
a pulley interposed between the winding part and the locking part, and configured to stretch the wire cable therebetween
Implementation Method 2
the cover is configured so that a relative position of the cover (the through hole) with respect to a rotation axis of the pulley changes
Data Source
AI summary
A load-relieving apparatus includes a wire cable 36 with a free end and a fixed end opposite to the free end, a locking part 361 being attached to the free end, a winding part 334 configured to wind the wire cable 36 from a fixed-end side thereof, a pulley 335 interposed between the winding part 334 and the locking part 361, and configured to stretch the wire cable therebetween, and a cover 336 with a through hole 338H formed therein through which the wire cable 36 is inserted, the cover 336 being interposed between the locking part 361 and the pulley 335, and formed so as to cover at least a part of the pulley 335. Further, the through hole 338H is configured so that a relative position of the through hole 338H with respect to a rotation axis of the pulley 335 changes.