Base Shoe Sealing and Taper Plate Release for Glass Railings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing glass panel installation systems face challenges such as difficult and time-consuming installation, lack of precision in clamping force, potential damage to components, and safety risks due to the need for installers to lean over installed railings to install weather seals, as well as issues with removing stuck taper plates.
Innovation Solution
A revised base shoe with a dovetail groove for pre-installation of weather seals and a continuous setting strip replacing individual spacers, along with taper plates featuring a continuous projection for easy removal, enhance safety and efficiency by requiring weather seals to be installed before panel insertion and allowing for easier plate separation.
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 leaning over installed railings
Solution Approach 1:
The base shoe is designed with a pre-formed recess that accommodates the weather seal before the glass panel is installed. This preliminary configuration of the base shoe allows the weather seal to be positioned in advance, eliminating the need for installers to lean over completed railings and thereby resolving the safety hazard while maintaining installation flexibility
2Stability of the object's composition
If taper plates are driven tightly to secure panels, then panel stability improves, but plate removal difficulty increases due to sticking
Solution Approach 1:
The taper plate incorporates a localized release feature at its base that creates a differential between the clamping interface and the removal interface. This local quality change allows the plate to maintain strong engagement with the panel during service while enabling easy separation during maintenance, resolving both the stability and removal difficulty concerns
3Object-affected harmful factors
If individual spacers are used to prevent glass contact, then panel protection is achieved, but installation time increases due to multiple placement steps
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual spacers are merged into a single continuous setting strip that is pre-installed in the base shoe. This consolidation maintains the protective function of preventing glass contact with the base shoe while eliminating the need to individually place multiple spacers, thereby significantly reducing installation time
Data Source
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AI summary
An improved base shoe 12 for use with the panel installation and removal system described in U.S. Patents Nos. 8,122,654 and 8,201,366 is presented. The improved base shoe 12 featuring dovetail grooves 22 for use with a safety-seal weather seal 24, wherein the safety-seal weather seal 24 must be installed prior to installing a glass panel 30. The safety-seal weather seal 24 eliminates a safety risk incurred by installers who attempt to install a press in seal 26 at an outboard base shoe to glass panel interface of an installed panel 30 and base shoe 12. In an alternative embodiment, the improved base shoe 12 features a recess 66 for use with taper plates 62 having a continuous projection 64 along an upper surface. The base shoe 12 and taper plates 62 are configured so as to provide a prying surface between the projection 64 on the taper plates 62 and a wall 18 of the base shoe 12.