Outdoor Awning Roller Synchronization via Intermediate Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing outdoor awnings with roller systems often fail to wind sheet portions completely due to non-sequential winding, resulting in an unaesthetic appearance and requiring longer intermediate sheet portions compared to front and rear portions, which complicates assembly and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of intermediate profiles interposed between rollers, connected to the covering sheet, allows for independent winding of sheet sections around specific rollers, ensuring complete winding and uniform appearance, with separate sheet portions of equal length for easier assembly and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a roller system is used to support the covering sheet, then the awning can be moved between collected and extended positions, but the winding of sheet portions is not complete due to non-sequential winding by adjacent rollers
Solution Approach 1:
A coupling element is introduced as an intermediary component between adjacent rollers. This coupling element synchronizes the rotation of adjacent rollers, ensuring that they wind the sheet portions in a sequential and coordinated manner. The coupling element transfers rotational motion from one roller to the next, preventing the non-sequential winding problem where one roller completes winding before the adjacent roller starts, thereby achieving complete and uniform winding of all sheet portions.
2Reliability
If intermediate sheet portions are made longer to ensure complete winding, then winding reliability improves, but the appearance becomes unaesthetic and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element acts as a mediator that enables complete winding of sheet portions with standard lengths. By synchronizing the rotation of adjacent rollers, the coupling element ensures that each roller winds its designated sheet portion completely, eliminating the need to make intermediate sheet portions longer. This results in uniform appearance of all sheet portions while maintaining reliable winding operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate sheet portions are used for each roller, then winding can be independent, but the difference in length between intermediate and front/rear portions complicates assembly and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element enables independent winding of separate sheet portions assigned to each roller while maintaining uniform lengths. By coordinating the rotation of adjacent rollers through the coupling element, the system allows each roller to independently wind its own sheet portion without requiring different lengths. This simplifies assembly and maintenance as all sheet portions can be manufactured to the same standard length, eliminating the complexity of managing varying sheet portion lengths.
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 solution ensures complete and uniform winding of all sheet portions, providing an aesthetically pleasing and structurally simple outdoor awning with reduced maintenance needs, eliminating the drawbacks of prior art designs.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the rollers is provided with an internal cavity in which elastic return means are housed that are susceptible of causing the rotation of the roller, in order to wind the sheets constrained to the roller therearound.
Data Source
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AI summary
Outdoor awning, which comprises: - a support structure (2) provided with at least two longitudinal members (3) parallel to each other, each of which longitudinally extended along a main extension direction (X) and provided with a longitudinal guide (8) parallel to the main extension direction (X); - a plurality of rollers (7) mounted parallel to each other on the support structure (2) transverse to the longitudinal members (3), slidably engaged at their ends (7',7") to the longitudinal guides of the longitudinal members (3) and susceptible of rotating around the central axis (Z) thereof; - at least one covering sheet (9) connected to the rollers (7). The rollers (7) are movable between a collected position (A) in which the sheet (9) supported thereby substantially frees the space defined between the two longitudinal members (3), leaving the underlying ground surface uncovered, and an extended position (B), in which the sheet (9) supported thereby is extended to cover the underlying ground surface. The awning also comprises a plurality of intermediate profiles (15) mounted on the support structure (2) parallel to the rollers (7), each slidably engaged at its ends (15', 15 ") to the longitudinal guides (8) of the longitudinal members (3). Each of the intermediate profiles (15) is interposed between two of the rollers (7) in succession and is connected to the covering sheet (9).