Patent ID: 11970297
Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  H  F | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A system to facilitate tying a knot, the system comprising:
a fixture defining an internal passage therethrough, wherein the fixture defines a circumferential groove accessible through an interior surface of the fixture and in communication with the internal passage, wherein the circumferential groove includes first, second and third groove portions, wherein the first groove portion is parallel to the third groove portion and wherein the second groove portion crosses both the first and third groove portions, and wherein a part of the second groove portion that crosses the first and third groove portions has a different depth than the first and third groove portions, but another part of the second groove portion has a same depth as the first and third groove portions;
a lead member supply mechanism configured to feed a lead member in a first direction through the circumferential groove such that the lead member emerges from the fixture through an opening defined by the fixture; and
a supply of a tie member separate from the lead member supply mechanism, the tie member configured to be connected to the lead member that has been fed through the circumferential groove and emerged from the fixture,
wherein the lead member supply mechanism is further configured to retract the lead member through the circumferential groove once the tie member is connected to the lead member such that the tie member is pulled in a second direction, opposite the first direction, through the circumferential groove by the lead member.