Blank Panel Alignment Mechanism for Deformed Rack Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blank panels face mounting issues when racks deform over time, leading to misalignment of screwing holes, which prevents reliable mounting and can interfere with adjacent devices, causing air leakage, electromagnetic wave entry, and performance issues.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an alignment mechanism in blank panels that allows for oblique mounting by adjusting hole positions and sizes to align with misaligned rack holes, ensuring at least one hole on each side can communicate for secure screwing, even on deformed racks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a blank panel is designed with standard mounting holes, then it can be easily mounted on a standard rack, but it cannot be reliably mounted when the rack becomes deformed over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by making the mounting hole sizes variable rather than fixed. The blank panel includes a first mounting hole with a first size and a second mounting hole with a second size, where the sizes are specifically designed to accommodate rack deformation. This allows the mounting holes to adapt their effective dimensions to match the deformed rack geometry, maintaining reliable mounting while preserving ease of manufacture through a standardized panel design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetry by positioning the first and second mounting holes at different locations with different sizes. The first mounting hole is positioned at a first position with a first size, while the second mounting hole is positioned at a second position with a second size. This asymmetric configuration enables the panel to compensate for rack deformation by having different hole sizes at different positions, allowing at least one hole to align with the corresponding rack hole even when the rack is deformed.
2Reliability
If the blank panel is mounted obliquely to accommodate rack deformation, then mounting becomes possible on deformed racks, but the panel may interfere with adjacent devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making different portions of the blank panel have different properties. Specifically, the first and second mounting holes are positioned at different locations with different sizes, creating local variations in the panel's mounting characteristics. This allows the panel to accommodate rack deformation through localized adaptation at the mounting holes while maintaining the overall panel geometry and shape to prevent interference with adjacent devices. The local variation in hole sizes and positions compensates for deformation without requiring the entire panel to deform or adopt an oblique orientation that would cause interference.
Data Source
AI summary
In the case in which a blank panel having holes is mounted obliquely on a rack having holes, the blank panel includes an alignment mechanism for aligning the holes with the holes having a misalignment. For example, the alignment mechanism is a mechanism which causes the blank panel to have a shape in which corners of the blank panel are cut out.