Outer Protective Tube for Electric Wire with Stiffness Protrusions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing outer protective tubes for electric wires lack sufficient stiffness in non-bendable straight tube portions, making it difficult to securely fix fixing members, and the addition of protrusions to address this issue introduces variability in stiffness.
Innovation Solution
The outer protective tube features alternately connected bendable and non-bendable straight tube portions with longitudinal and peripheral movement restriction protrusions, ensuring uniform stiffness and easy fixation of fixing members, while allowing for adjustable positioning due to slidable intervals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If protrusions are partially provided in the non-bendable straight tube portion to enable fixing members to be mounted, then fixing members can be fixed to the tube, but variations occur in the stiffness of the tube
Solution Approach 1:
The non-bendable straight tube portion is segmented into multiple identical intervals, each containing the same arrangement of longitudinal movement restriction protrusions and peripheral movement restriction protrusions. This segmentation ensures that stiffness is uniformly distributed across all segments while providing multiple standardized locations for fixing member attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions are designed with specific dimensional parameters (height, spacing, circumference distribution) that are consistently applied across all segments. By controlling these parameters, the tube maintains uniform stiffness characteristics while enabling reliable fixing member fixation at multiple positions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the outer protective tube is made completely rigid to ensure stability, then fixation is improved, but the tube cannot be bent to apply to three-dimensional arrangement paths
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is divided into alternating bendable portions and non-bendable straight tube portions. The non-bendable portions provide stiffness for stable fixing member attachment, while the bendable portions enable the tube to conform to three-dimensional arrangement paths in vehicle bodies.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the tube have different mechanical properties: non-bendable straight tube portions have high stiffness for fixation stability, while bendable portions have low stiffness for adaptability. This local differentiation allows the tube to simultaneously achieve both fixation stability and conformability to complex paths.
Data Source
AI summary
At least one section of non-bendable straight tube portion includes longitudinal movement restriction protrusions which are provided to protrude from an outer peripheral surface of the non-bendable straight tube portion and are provided with an interval which is equal to a width of a fixing member. In addition, the non-bendable straight tube portion further includes a peripheral movement restriction protrusion provided to protrude from the outer peripheral surface to linearly extend from one end to the other end of the non-bendable straight tube portion along the longitudinal direction of the non-bendable straight tube portion in order to restrict movement of the fixing member in a peripheral direction with respect to the non-bendable straight tube portion.