Free fall safety brakes against accidental cable failure such as in elevators may require friction, wedging action, eddy current, and other effects. An ideal safety brake system should be quick in its deployment with sufficient payload capacity in compact dimensions. In this study, a safety braking system with a quick deployment mechanism is proposed. The mechanism housed in a carrier is suspended by the cable and connected to the payload. At the onset of cable failure, a linkage system is driven by a pre-loaded spring to drive terminal cutting tools tips against the sacrificial braking pads on each side of the vertical track. Experiments showed that large braking force may be achieved by a compact mechanism. Several design issues of linkage deployment, braking force control, and drop dynamics are discussed.

When a workpiece contains complex burr edges from a combination of drilling and milling, conventional deburring tools such as wire brushes may not be effective in their removal. In this study, abrasive flow machining was used to gain access to complex burr edges. Experiments on two types of flow guides suggest that an abrupt change in direction of flow around the area with targeted burr edges is essential. The effects of several process parameters are investigated based on the experiments set up.

Intersecting holes deep inside a workpiece, are difficult to deburr because of poor accessibility. When holes are small and the intersecting angle (acute angle between hole axes) is less than 45°, difficulty is at its extreme. In this study, abrasive flow machining is used for a hole diameter of 3mm and intersecting angles of 30° and 45°. Tests were performed for AL6061 specimens, with process parameters allocated to L8(2⁷) orthogonal array. Degree of deburring is strongly dependent on intersecting angle, abrasive grit size, and total volume of flow. Successful deburring was achieved for 30° intersecting angle.

Bedridden patients develop pressure sores, as a result of poor blood circulation and excessive humidity. Conventional bedsore mattresses are designed to vary interface pressure zones, between the body and mattress for improved blood flow. Another approach is to control interface humidity, by forced air circulation. An ideal solution may be interface humidity control, in addition to pressure zone control. In this paper, a thin and flexible structure is suggested for forced air ventilation, that can be placed atop pressure zone controlled mattresses. With fabric covers, drying performances are evaluated for a range of air flow rates.

The mechanical drilling of micro holes is considered a difficult endeavor, due to the high hardness and brittleness of alumina plates found during the drilling process. In this work, an alumina plate with a 4mm thickness is drilled with the use of a continuous-wave Nd:YAG fiber laser. As can be seen, there is minimum required power density to ablate the alumina plate. As shown in this study, the hole diameter and straightness are not constant with the hole depth recorded, which is presumably due to the recondensation of vaporized alumina, and the characteristics of irregular laser radiation. The oxygen pressure, power density, focal position, and laser on time (duration) are chosen as the control parameters. To understand the influence of control parameters, the orthogonal arrays table in Taguchi method is applied, and the micro holes are evaluated based on the use of geometrical factors. Through the review of a sensitivity and interaction analysis, the appropriate duration and oxygen pressure are identified as the major parameters governing the geometrical quality of drilled holes in this study.

In this work, a car door lock in the upper weatherstrip zone is proposed. At high speeds, the pressure difference between the exterior and interior of the cabin may disrupt the seal and induce increased wind noise. This trend is more pronounced in smaller cars. One approach to this problem is to employ one or more local locks at the upper portion of car door weatherstrip zone. Design issues arising from the limited space in the weatherstrip zone, non-interference requirement with weatherstrip seal and one-sided accessibility to the car body frame for installation are treated with TRIZ approach. A Finalized design is proposed.

In this investigation, a locking mechanism was proposed for electronic products that have battery covers. The exterior design of electronic products has been advanced with diversified materials including polymers and metals. Unlike polymers such as polycarbonate, metals are not easily deformed. Therefore, products with a metallic exterior have an added button to release the battery cover, which limits the quality of the exterior design. In this study, a new design without a release button that included a miniature solenoid inside the product was proposed. The Taguchi method was used to maximize the attraction force of the solenoid while, at the same time, minimizing its dimensions.

In this work, a new design for mobiles proposes a flexible display that can be switched between flat and curved surfaces. After a few unsuccessful attempts, a noble conversion scheme between the two configurations was obtained after application of the TRIZ contradiction analysis. For physical embodiment of flat display, effects of design parameters are investigated experimentally using the Taguchi method and response surface methodology. It is suggested that a finite element model might be useful for future applications after proper experimental validation.

In this study, we proposed a novel concept of electric sun visor comprising a dark, see-through sun shade material that ensures unimpaired driver’s vision with continuous control of the shade position. The shade extending from the windshield base along its surface may be subjected to severe vibration during driving unless the design parameters are carefully selected. A prototype was tested to collect acceleration data during driving. Based on the test data, an ADAMS dynamics model was validated. The mechanism of sun visor was optimized to minimize vibration based on the dynamics model, experimental design, and response surface method.

In the quest for improved capacity and accelerated dehydration speed of drum type washing machines, an increase in vibration emerges as a major challenge. In an attempt to derive a new design with reduced vibration, a full finite element model of washing machine has been developed, with experimental verification. After modal analyses of several design variants, a new design of the cabinet has been proposed. Forced vibration analysis of the new model suggests that 19% reduction in cabinet vibration amplitude can be achieved with this design.

Self-closing drawers are used in high-end products, such as furniture, home appliances, and a range of other storage devices. In this study, a self-closing mechanism is proposed. A system consisting of a friction latch, constant force spring, rotary damper with rack, and pinion is developed. The retracting drawer can be latched at any position and can be reactivated by simple touch. The constant force spring and rotary damper offer smooth closing action. The ergonomic quality of the closing action is quantified by an index based on velocity-time behavior. The effects of various design parameters are analyzed with a dynamics model and experimentally validated by prototype testing.

At the early stages of engineering design, a number of design concepts may be suggested. With a great degree of freedom, making a good choice may be a challenge at this stage. In this study, a simplified evaluation criterion for design concepts is presented based on cost, simplicity and safety. Cost is estimated by the amount of materials and the required level of tolerance. Simplicity is represented by the number of parts, assembly steps, and fasteners. Safety is assessed by the level of potential failure. The proposed criterion is applied to an example design of driving mechanisms for cervical vertebrae massage machine.

High stiffness frame design for a spine manipulation device was developed in this research. For the safety of a spinal manipulation, high stiffness of the device is required. A finite element (FE) model of the device frame is created and validated by measured vibration data. Parameters are suggested for high stiffness design of the frame. Based on the Taguchi design of experiment (DOE), a practical set of design parameter values is suggested.