Base Shoe and Taper Plate Structure for Safer Glass Panel Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing glass panel installation systems face challenges such as difficulty and safety risks during installation, particularly with the placement of weather seals, and issues with removing stuck taper plates, leading to increased installation time and potential hazards.
Innovation Solution
The improved base shoe design features a dovetail groove for pre-installation of weather seals and a continuous setting strip, along with a modified taper plate configuration that allows for easier removal, enhancing safety and efficiency by requiring weather seals to be installed before glass panel insertion and providing a prying surface for separating stuck taper plates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If weather seals are installed after glass panel insertion, then installation flexibility is maintained, but installer safety deteriorates due to falling risks when reaching over installed railings
Solution Approach 1:
The dovetail groove is designed to require weather seal installation before glass panel insertion. The groove geometry allows weather seals to be seated in place prior to panel placement, eliminating the need for installers to reach over installed railings and thereby preventing falling hazards while maintaining installation sequence control
2Stability of the object's composition
If taper plates are driven tightly to secure glass panels, then panel stability improves, but removal difficulty increases due to plates becoming stuck in the base shoe
Solution Approach 1:
The taper plate is segmented into a body portion and a separate removal tab. The removal tab extends beyond the plate body and is specifically designed to engage with a removal tool, allowing the stuck plate to be pried loose without damaging the secured glass panel or base shoe structure
Solution Approach 2:
A removal tool serves as an intermediary between the installer and the stuck taper plate. The tool engages with the removal tab to provide mechanical leverage, enabling plate removal while preserving the integrity of the panel and base shoe assembly
3Stability of the object's composition
If cement is used to hold panels in base shoe, then panel security improves, but installation time increases due to quick setting nature requiring rapid alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces chemical bonding (cement) with a mechanical securing mechanism using driven taper plates. The taper plates create friction-based clamping force that secures the glass panel without requiring rapid alignment, allowing installers to work at a normal pace while maintaining panel security
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
This design enhances safety by preventing installer falls during weather seal installation and reduces installation time by allowing for easier removal of stuck components, improving the overall efficiency and safety of the glass panel installation process.
Implementation Method 1
The projection and gap between the projection and the interior face of the inboard vertical side wall of the base shoe provide a prying surface that allows an installer to separate a stuck taper plate from the inboard vertical side wall of the base shoe
Implementation Method 2
The taper plates are driven together, the glass-side plate slides along the length of the stationary shoe-side plate
Data Source
AI summary
An improved base shoe for use with panel installation removal systems. The improved base shoe includes dovetail grooves for use with a safety-seal and a weather seal, wherein the safety-seal and weather seal must be installed prior to installing a glass panel. The improved base shoe features a recess for use with taper plates having a continuous projection along an upper surface. The base shoe and taper plates are configured so as to provide a prying surface between the projection on the taper plates and a wall of the base shoe.