Adjustable Profile for Panel Inclination and Locking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for installing panels on building structures face challenges due to dimensional inaccuracies in the installation surface, leading to complex and time-consuming adjustments, safety risks for installers, and aesthetically unsatisfactory outcomes, especially when operating with glossy or reflecting surfaces.

Innovation Solution

A U-shaped metal alloy profile with adjustable inclination and locking mechanisms allows for easy rotation and secure positioning of panels, enabling compensation for surface defects and safe installation from a comfortable position, using actuators and abutments to facilitate adjustments and locking.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional metal profiles are used to install panels on building structures, then the panels can be retained in vertical or horizontal setup, but complex adjustments and masking are required to compensate for dimensional inaccuracies in the installation surface

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepanel positioning accuracyVSAvoidadjustment complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements adjustable inclination mechanisms that allow the profile to dynamically adapt to surface irregularities. The profile can be tilted at various angles relative to the building component, transforming a rigid static structure into a flexible dynamic system that compensates for dimensional inaccuracies automatically

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the geometric parameters of the installation system by introducing adjustable inclination angles. Instead of requiring precise perpendicular mounting, the profile can be mounted at optimized angles that compensate for surface defects, fundamentally altering how the system handles dimensional variations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of manufacture

If traditional installation methods are used, then panels can be secured to the building component, but installation requires operators to work from dangerous positions outside the building component

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation easeVSAvoidinstaller safety risks
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary structure - the adjustable profile system - that mediates between the building component and the panel. This intermediary can be pre-assembled and adjusted on stable ground, then positioned as a complete unit, eliminating the need for installers to work in dangerous suspended positions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention enables preliminary adjustment and assembly operations to be performed before final installation. The profile can be adjusted to the correct inclination and have panels pre-mounted in a safe, accessible position, then locked into place, separating the adjustment phase from the hazardous mounting phase

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Device complexity

If traditional fixed profiles are used, then the installation process is simple, but any defects in the lying plane of the installation surface cannot be compensated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation simplicityVSAvoidpanel alignment precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms fixed rigid profiles into dynamic adjustable structures that can change their inclination angle. This allows the system to adapt to varying surface conditions while maintaining precise panel alignment, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and precision through controlled adaptability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

4Ease of operation

If adjustment mechanisms are made accessible from outside the profile, then installation can be performed safely from a comfortable position, but the mechanism becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadjustment accessibilityVSAvoidmechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the adjustment and locking mechanisms from the interior of the profile and positions them on the exterior surface. This allows operators to access and operate the mechanisms from a safe, comfortable position without needing to enter or closely approach the profile interior, separating the control functions from the structural core

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3775429B1Profile for connecting panelling to a building element and for adjusting its inclination
Publication Date: 2022.05.04 FARAONE
  • EP3775429B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3775429B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(b)
  • EP3775429B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The object of the present invention is a profile (1) for the connection of one or more panellings (2) to a building element (E) comprising: a bottom (10) capable of being anchored to an installation surface (SE) of said building element (E), a first (11) and a second (12) wing opposed and substantially parallel to each other, a cavity (13) that serves as a seat for at least the base (20) of said one or more panellings (2), locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) adapted to retain said one or more panellings (2) in a set-up coplanar to the median plane β-β of said profile (1). Said locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) also serves as adjusting means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) of the inclination of said one or more panellings (2) manoeuvrable from the outside with specific manoeuvring tools and in the proximity of the distal zone (14) of the cavity (13) of said profile (1).