Adjustable Support Block for Metal Frame Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing solutions for assembling metal frame constructions, such as windows or doors, face challenges in achieving precise adjustments and alignments between metal profiles with varying distances, leading to costly and labor-intensive processes, particularly in ensuring coaxial alignment of screw holes for secure fixation.

Innovation Solution

The development of standardized supporting and connecting blocks with geometrically designed interacting surfaces and through holes, allowing for adjustable block heights and alignments, enabling easy fitting into different gaps and ensuring coaxial screw holes for secure assembly, using block parts of varying heights and thicknesses that can be rotated to achieve precise adjustments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If block parts are adjusted vertically by moving one relative to the other along inclined surfaces with saw-like teeth, then the block thickness can be adjusted to fit different gaps, but the edges of the block parts become misaligned and through holes do not coaxially align

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadjustability of block thicknessVSAvoidalignment of edges and through holes
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The block is divided into two separate block parts (first block part and second block part) that can be adjusted relative to each other. Each block part has through holes that are coaxially aligned, allowing segmentation while maintaining alignment for screw fixation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The through holes are pre-fabricated in both block parts at locations that will coaxially align when the block is in its adjusted position. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the block parts are moved relative to each other during adjustment, the edges remain aligned and through holes stay coaxial, enabling subsequent screw assembly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If connecting elements are precisely dimensioned to fit hollow spaces in metal profiles, then thermal break connection is achieved, but the manufacturing cost increases and precise dimensioning is not always possible to achieve

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethermal break connectionVSAvoidmanufacturing cost and complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The block thickness parameter can be adjusted by moving the block parts relative to each other along the inclined interacting surfaces. This allows the same block design to adapt to different gap dimensions between metal profiles without requiring custom-manufactured connecting elements for each specific dimension, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining reliable thermal break connection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP2840219B1Support block for connecting and levelling, frame construction using the support block
Publication Date: 2017.12.20 SAPA BUILDING SYST NV
  • EP2840219B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1C
  • EP2840219B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2840219B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

The invention is related to a novel principle of the use and adjusting the connecting and supporting blocks used in the different building constructions and also for support and leveling different elements one relative to the other. The adjustment is achieved by the combination of the standardized size blocks with aligns edges where the distance between the supporting surfaces can vary due to a combination of the blocks of the different thickness or height and further can e adjusted due to a special geometry or shape of the interacting parts contact surfaces of the blocks, when one part of the block is rotated relative to the other block part providing a different gaps therebetween.