Base Shoe Alignment Mechanism for Glass Panels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing architectural alignment systems face challenges in aligning glass panel systems on uneven surfaces without using excessive force or heavy base shoes, leading to misalignment and increased manufacturing and shipping costs.
Innovation Solution
A specially designed base shoe with a channel and mounting pad alignment mechanism, featuring a concave base surface and grooved side walls, along with adjustable shims and a panel locking assembly, allows for easy alignment and reduced weight, minimizing stress on mounting substrates and shipping costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If heavy base shoe components are used to ensure stability and support, then the structural strength and stability are improved, but the weight increases leading to higher shipping costs and increased stress on mounting substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The base shoe is divided into separate functional components: a mounting pad for stability, adjustable shims for alignment, and a channel for panel support. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall weight while maintaining structural integrity through strategic placement of material where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Material is concentrated locally at critical stress points within the base shoe structure rather than uniformly distributed throughout. The mounting pad and channel areas receive enhanced material density where structural support is required, while reducing material in non-critical areas to minimize weight and shipping costs.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional alignment methods using shim strips are used to achieve panel alignment on uneven surfaces, then alignment precision is improved, but the installation time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting pad is pre-configured with a concave base surface that matches the convex top surface of the base shoe, creating a pre-aligned interface. Adjustable shims are pre-positioned within the channel structure, allowing installers to quickly achieve proper panel alignment without time-consuming manual adjustment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting pad acts as an intermediary component between the base shoe and the mounting surface. Its concave-convex interface provides automatic alignment guidance, while integrated shims mediate the adjustment process, simplifying the overall alignment operation and reducing installation time.
3Manufacturing precision
If excessive force is applied to insert components into the base shoe to achieve alignment, then alignment accuracy is improved, but the risk of damaging the base shoe or mounting substrate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting pad features a concave base surface with a curved geometry that complements the convex top surface of the base shoe. This curved interface provides gradual, self-guiding alignment contact points, allowing components to be inserted with minimal force while maintaining precise alignment, thereby reducing damage risk to both the base shoe and mounting substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
The concave-convex interface design incorporates built-in alignment cushions that distribute insertion forces across multiple contact points. This beforehand cushioning mechanism prevents stress concentration at single points, reducing the likelihood of damage while ensuring accurate alignment is achieved through controlled, distributed force application.
Data Source
AI summary
A system of aligning a panel comprising a base shoe having two side walls and a concave base surface and a mounting pad having a substantially flat bottom surface and a convex top surface corresponding to the concave base surface of the base shoe. When the mounting pad is disposed beneath the concave base surface of the base shoe the system achieves vertical plumb. Each side wall of the base shoe may define at least one groove therein.