PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND OTHER EFFECTS THAT HELP INVENTORS
In the previous
tutorials we talked about ideality and
the utilization of resources as a
pathway to a more ideal system. As a refresher, ideality in TRIZ is
defined as follows:
Where:
- Useful Functions etc. refers to
anything about the system that is beneficial (activities, actions,
processes, operations, and outputs).
- Harmful Functions etc. refers to
all undesired factors associated with the system (the cost to design it,
the space it occupies, the noise it emits, the energy it consumes, the
resources needed to maintain it, and so on).
Note that an ideal
system is one that performs its function without actually existing
(i.e., there are no harmful or undesired effects).
Designing with the
ideality principle in mind is quite helpful, but it is not sufficient for
obtaining reliable and repeatable results. For this reason, TRIZ provides
two general approaches for achieving close-to-ideal solutions:
In
this tutorial we will focus on the use of various effects as a means to
achieve near-ideal solutions.
Invention 33.
Fabricating stretched reinforcing rods
To make
pre-stressed, reinforced concrete, reinforcing rods must be stretched.
Instead of
using complex hydraulic equipment to perform the stretching, the rods are
heated to 700 degrees C. The rods expand as they heat and stretch
themselves.
Invention 34. Applying pressure by
heating support bars
In
the 19th century, the sagging walls of an historic building in Paris were
repaired using numerous thick iron support bars.
For each bar, a
hole was drilled through a sagging wall. The bar, with threads at each
end, was inserted into the hole. A plate with an opening to accommodate
the bar was then slipped over each end of the bar. Finally, nuts were
threaded onto the ends of the bar and tightened to press the plates
against the wall, and thus to support the wall. Finding it impossible to
tighten the nuts sufficiently, the restorers decided to use heat. Since
the walls were hollow, coal was burned at the center-bottom of the wall to
heat the bars. The bars then expanded, allowing
the nuts to be further tightened before the
bars cooled. This process was repeated several times until the wall was
sufficiently supported.
Invention 35. Silvering contact leads
When it is necessary to
silver-coat copper lead-wires attached to copper contacts, the waste of
silver can be minimized by using a plastic sheet placed on a top of the
silver-plating electrolytic bath. The sheet has small holes that
accommodate the lead wires and prevent the body of the contact from
entering the bath and becoming coated with silver. With this method,
however, the level of solution in the bath changes constantly, producing
inconsistent results from one batch to another.
To maintain the bath
at a constant
level, a complicated solution was proposed that included an additional bath connected
to the first one through
a valved pipe. A sensor would continually measure the
level of solution in the first bath and send a signal to the processor
when the solution level deviated by a certain amount. The processor
controlled the valve -- opening it when additional solution was required and
closing it when the level was correct. Altogether, this constituted
an expensive
and unreliable system.
 |
It was suggested instead
that the plastic sheet be placed on floats so it would float on top of the
bath. In this case, the level of solution would never vary relative to the
floating parts.
(This solution was suggested by a member of a
TRIZ-based cost reduction team during the working session and provided
a substantial cost reduction after it was implemented.) |
There
are many examples demonstrating how the right effect can replace a complex
machine. In TRIZ, we define an effect as a particular
automatic response of a substance to an action governed by the laws of
nature and the properties of materials. Due to the deterministic nature of
these laws, these responses are repeatable and reliable. (Thermal
expansion, for example, cannot fail to appear when heating is applied to
certain materials1; therefore, a solution based on this effect is very
reliable.)
The
physical effects of thermal expansion and buoyancy mentioned above are two
from among thousands of effects that have proven useful in technology. The
problem is this: how can one find the right effect for a specific
situation? In the 1970s Genrich Altshuller, the originator of TRIZ,
started developing a special guide to help inventors select effects for
specific problems. Eventually, a comprehensive Innovation Guide
resulted that consisted of two parts:
Searching through the Innovation Guide
was a two-step process.:
Step 1:
Identifying the required technical function and selecting the
corresponding effect(s) from the selection table (part of which appears
below)2.
|
Required effect (function)
or property |
Physical phenomenon that provides the required effect/property |
|
4. Temperature
stabilization |
• Phase transitions,
including transition over the Curie point |
|
6. Moving an object |
•
Magnetic field applied to influence an object or magnet attached to
the object
•
Magnetic field applied to influence a conductor with current
passing through it
•
Electric field applied to influence an electrically charged object
•
Pressure transfer in a liquid or gas
•
Mechanical oscillations
•
Centrifugal force
•
Thermal expansion
• Pressure of
light
|
|
7. Moving a liquid or gas |
•
Capillary force
•
Osmosis
•
Thoms effect
•
Waves
•
Bernoulli effect
•
Weissenberg effect
|
|
10. Separating mixtures
|
•
Electric and magnetic separation
•
Electric or magnetic field applied to change the pseudo-viscosity of a
liquid
•
Centrifugal force
•
Sorption
•
Diffusion
•
Osmosis
•
Electro-osmosis
• Electro-phoresis
|
|
14. Crushing (destroying)
an object |
•
Electrical discharge
•
Electro-hydraulic effect
•
Resonance
•
Ultrasonic
• Cavitation
• Use of lasers
|
Step 2: Obtaining initial information related to a selected
effect (including examples of how the effect had been utilized in the
past) from a reference book.
Invention 36.
Inductor in a silicon crystal
A
microchip consists of a silica plate (up to 1 mm thick) covered with a
very thin surface layer of oxide. Microchip elements such as
resistors, capacitors and transistors are built inside this layer. It
is difficult, however, to fabricate a microelectronic inductor in the
same fashion, and thus inductors are placed outside the microcircuit.
These external inductors reduce reliability, increase component size,
and cost more to manufacture.
The
microchip has a significant space resource -- the body of the silicon
chip itself -- that is not utilized at all. To fabricate inductors on
silicon chips, spiral holes filled with conductive material must be
bored through the chips. But how can this be done?
Let's consider how the use of effects might help us solve this problem.
Actually, there are three problems, as follows:
1. Make a hole
2. Apply a spiral
(helical) shape to the
hole
3. Insert a conductive material inside the hole
To
make a hole, it is necessary to somehow pierce through -- i.e., destroy
-- a piece of the material. (See function 14 in the above table.)
This can be accomplished, for example, by utilizing electrical discharge
(electrical arc) or a laser.
Obtaining a helical current path: If an electric arc is used to make the
holes, a stream of electrons is, in effect, traveling through the
material. To shape the movement of the electrons (see function 6 --
moving an object) a slanted magnetic field can be applied. This
will cause the arc to follow a helical path through the 1-2 mm thickness
of the chip.
To introduce a
conductive material into the helical hole bored by the arc,
electro-phoresis3 can be used.
In
summary, to fabricate inductors on silicon chips, holes can be bored
through the chips and conductive material placed in the holes and
connected to form helical current paths. If an electric arc is used to
make the holes, a slanted magnetic field can be used to cause the arc to
follow a helical path through the thickness of the chip. Conductive
material is then placed in the helical hole bored by the arc, forming the
inductor. To create current paths through the holes, conductive material
can be placed in the holes by electrophoresis. If an arc was used to bore
the hole, the same setup can be used (with reduced current), to move the
conductive material into the holes.
It
looks like we have solved the problem. There is more, however.
Invention 37. Forming two coils
If a
helical hole in a silicon chip is bored by an electric arc, electrons
are moved in one direction by the arc, and ions move in the opposite
direction. The ions will bore a second helical hole. The second hole,
as well as the first, can be used as a conductive path. This makes it
possible to fabricate micro-transformers and integrated, inductive
tuned circuits.
Besides physics, chemistry is another source of effective solutions,
although it is used less frequently.
Invention 38. Increasing the
pressing
force of a press fit
One way to
increase the pressing force of a press fit is to copper plate the parts
and then apply glycerin to them. The glycerin serves as a lubricant,
facilitating the pressing, and also reacts with the copper oxide on the surface of the parts. After pressing,
the joint is heated. The glycerin and copper oxide decompose,
producing copper that fills small surface irregularities and provides
a smooth contact area throughout the press fit.
Invention
39. Self-mending of small holes in pipes
Pipes that
convey water under relatively low pressure can develop small holes.
These are often self-repaired as the holes fill with corrosive material
from the water.
Other effects, such as
geometric or even biological effects, can be successfully utilized as
well.4
Invention 40. Mobius band
 |
The use of a Mobius
band doubles (at least) the effective length of loop elements such
as flat
pulley belts, magnetic tape, flexible blades, etc. |
Invention 41.
Conforming roller
As a potato
harvester roller moves, its shape should conform to the changing profile
of the ground.
The roller can
function as a rotating hyperboloid made of two vertical disks connected
to each other at peripheral points by rods. The disks rotate relative to
each other and are connected to the harvester by shafts. As they rotate,
the outer contour of the roller is adjusted to the profile of the
ground.
Invention 42. Exposing fingerprints
To expose the
fingerprints left by a criminal, the surface of an object touched by the
criminal is covered by a graphite powder. When the powder is brushed away,
light remains of oil left by the fingers hold a small amount of the
powder and thus reveal a distinctive ridge pattern.
Unfortunately, this method does not work if the fingerprints are left on
a sticky or fleecy surface, because the powder remains everywhere.
A special microbe
has been developed that propagates as it consumes oil. When these
microbes are deposited on the surface and warmed up, they propagate in
the oil left in fingerprints.
Various collections of
effects and articles describing how to utilize them represent one of the
knowledge-base tools of so-called "classical" TRIZ. Nowadays the
most comprehensive collections of effects are embedded in TRIZ-based
software.
ASSIGNMENT 1
Try to apply an effect
from the table above to find an idea for:
Problem 11.
Electron microscope stage displacement
Microscopic studies
of complex objects require great precision (within a fraction of a
micron) in displacing the stage of an electron microscope. Mechanical
devices used in optical microscopes appear unsuitable for this purpose:
they are too expensive, inaccurate, and unreliable.
Using inventions 33
through 42 as analogies, try to find a solution to:
Problem 12.
Tightening joints
Suggest a way to
tighten the loose structural elements of the cupola over the reading
hall in the British
Museum.
ASSIGNMENT
2
Look around you for
examples of how various effects are utilized.
NOTES:
1.
Certain materials
exhibit abnormal responses to heating/cooling.
4. References:
"Exploits on the molecular level,"
Yuri Salamatov. In the collection of articles
Clue to the Labyrinth;
Technology-Youth-Creativity
Series (Kareliya Publishing House, 1988).
Rules for the Game That
Has No Rules,
Igor Vikentyev.
Technology-Youth-Creativity Series (Kareliya
Publishing House, 1989).
Next:
Tutorial #6
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