Wireless Spooling Machine for Conduit Wire Pulling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wire pulling methods require two people to manage the pulling and feeding of wire through conduit, leading to inefficiencies and wasted time due to the need for manual communication and intervention when encountering obstructions, and lack a remote control option for streamlined operation.
Innovation Solution
A wireless-controlled wire pulling machine with a spooling controller and motor-driven gear-wheel system that allows for remote activation and deactivation, enabling one person to efficiently pull wire through conduit by anchoring the spooling machine near the destination end and using RF signaling to manage the pulling process, including sensing completion or interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual wire pulling with two people is used, then the wire can be pulled through conduit, but labor time is doubled and communication efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical pulling with an automated motorized winch system. The winch mechanically pulls the wire through the conduit, eliminating the need for two people to manually pull and feed the wire, thereby reducing labor time while maintaining or increasing pulling speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables one person to perform both feeding and pulling functions simultaneously. The automated winch handles the pulling function while the operator manages wire feeding, creating a self-coordinating system that eliminates the need for separate manual pulling operations.
2Ease of operation
If two people manually pull wire, then wire feeding and pulling can be coordinated, but communication errors occur and intervention time is wasted when obstructions are encountered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensors that detect wire feeding status and obstruction conditions, providing real-time feedback to the control system. This automated feedback mechanism replaces manual visual and verbal communication between two workers, eliminating communication errors and enabling immediate response to obstructions without requiring workers to leave their positions.
3Ease of operation
If remote wireless control is implemented, then one person can control the pulling machine, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses wireless communication transceivers as intermediaries between the operator and the winch motor. These transceivers transmit control signals and status information wirelessly, enabling remote operation without requiring complex wired connections or direct physical contact with the machine, thus adding minimal complexity while achieving ease of operation.
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
This solution significantly reduces labor time by allowing one person to handle both tasks, cuts down on communication errors, and enables faster wire pulling with reduced manual effort, achieving at least a 50% reduction in labor time and improving operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a motor-drive in rotating operation for rotating the gear-wheel to wind the pull-line on the spool-wheel
Implementation Method 2
a wireless spooling controller in cooperating communication with a spooling machine having an RF transceiver, for transmitting signaling activating or deactivating the motor-drive
Data Source
AI summary
A wirelessly controlled apparatus for pulling a free end of wire into the mouth of a conduit and out of the destination end of the conduit. The apparatus includes a wireless spooling controller having an RF transceiver in cooperating communication with a spooling machine having an RF transceiver, for transmitting signaling activating or deactivating the motor-drive of the spooling machine, and for receiving wire-pull completion signaling from the spooling machine. The spooling machine includes a chock pivot-mounted at a mounted end to a frame anchoring the spooling machine near the destination end of the conduit, the chock engageable with a motor-driven gear-wheel engageable with a cogged spool-wheel driven by the motor-drive. Pivotal movement of the chock to the gear-wheel facilitates the fulcrumatic disengagement of the gear-wheel from the spool-wheel cogs, to ready the spooling machine in a starting configuration; activation of the motor-driven gear-wheel essentially causes unchocking of the gear-wheel. The spooling machine also includes an extension spring having one end affixed to the motor-drive proximal to the gear-wheel, and another end affixed to the anchoring frame, spring biasing the unchocked gear-wheel into engagement with the spool-wheel cogs.