Adjustable Door Leaf Frame for Thermal Expansion Compensation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door systems face challenges in adapting to varying frame thicknesses and insulation layers, leading to difficulties in assembly and potential deformations due to temperature variations, which affect the door's operational functionality.
Innovation Solution
A door leaf design featuring a profiled frame with adjustable thickness, utilizing sections with grooves and bars for sliding assembly, allowing for multiple thickness configurations and incorporating a thermal break device to mitigate expansion issues, ensuring the door remains operational across different climatic conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the frame thickness is fixed to match specific frame standards, then the manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but the adaptability to different frame thicknesses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is divided into multiple profiles (first profile, second profile, third profile) that can be independently positioned and assembled. The second profile can be placed in different positions relative to the first and third profiles, creating modular segments that adjust to various thickness requirements while maintaining precise manufacturing standards for each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting means include grooves and bars that enable dynamic adjustment of the second profile's position. This dynamic configuration allows the frame to adapt to different thicknesses (at least three different thicknesses) while maintaining structural integrity through controlled movable joints rather than fixed rigid connections.
2Loss of energy
If the insulation layer thickness is increased to improve thermal insulation, then the thermal insulation performance is improved, but the door leaf thickness and overall structure become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable frame structure serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, enables thermal insulation accommodation, and allows adaptation to different door thicknesses. The same profile assembly mechanism that adjusts frame thickness also accommodates varying insulation layer thicknesses, reducing overall structural complexity despite improved insulation performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure allows changing the thickness parameter of the door leaf by repositioning profiles along the grooves. This parameter adjustment capability enables the same basic structure to accommodate different insulation thicknesses without requiring completely different door designs, thereby managing complexity while improving thermal performance.
3Strength
If the frame structure is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then the strength and stability are improved, but the ability to compensate for thermal expansion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting means with grooves and bars create controlled dynamic joints between profiles. These joints maintain structural integrity through precise geometric constraints while allowing limited movement to accommodate thermal expansion. The second profile can slide within grooves of the first and third profiles, providing flexibility without compromising overall frame strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure explicitly incorporates thermal expansion compensation through the movable profile connections. The grooves and bars allow the profiles to expand and contract relative to each other in response to temperature changes, preventing deformation while maintaining structural integrity. This is particularly important for the exterior facing which is exposed to sunlight and temperature variations.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple fixed frame thicknesses are produced to meet market requirements, then the adaptability to different applications is improved, but the device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal profile design with adjustable mounting means can produce at least three different frame thicknesses by repositioning the second profile. This eliminates the need for multiple specialized frame variants, reducing inventory complexity while maintaining adaptability to different market requirements. The same set of profiles serves multiple thickness requirements through configurable assembly.
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
The adjustable frame design enables adaptation to various thicknesses, reducing deformation and maintaining operational integrity by compensating for thermal expansions, thus ensuring the door can open and close correctly regardless of temperature variations.
Implementation Method 1
These potential expansions stem from a natural phenomenon called the 'bimetallic effect,' which occurs during direct exposure to sunlight, particularly on metal entrance doors such as aluminum doors and those equipped with a thermal break system. The exterior face of the entrance door, exposed to the sun, heats up and expands due to thermal growth, while the interior face remains at room temperature and undergoes little or no expansion.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a door leaf (2) (1) comprising an inner facing (7), an outer facing (8), at least one layer of insulation (41, 42) sandwiched between said two facings, and a rectangular frame (6) also sandwiched between these two facings. The frame (6) comprises, along its thickness and on each of its sides (10, 11, 12), at least two profiles (13, 14, 15), one of which is attached to the inner facing and the other to the outer facing. Mounting means are arranged between the two profiles and comprise, on one of the two profiles, at least two parallel grooves running successively along the thickness of said door leaf, and on the other of the two profiles, a bar mounted in one or the other of the at least two grooves so as to allow the door leaf to be mounted in at least two different thicknesses.