Cellular Shade Structure for Compact Retraction Without Cell Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cellular shades for architectural openings require a vertically stacked retracted configuration, which damages the cells and prevents them from opening fully, and they lack a compact, hidden storage solution.
Innovation Solution
A cellular shade system with a support tube and panel where cells are biased to open configurations, allowing for both retraction around a support tube and extension without distortion, maintaining a constant appearance and providing insulation and aesthetic benefits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If cellular shades are retracted in a vertically stacked configuration, then the cells can be stored compactly, but the cells are damaged and prevented from opening fully
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of stacking cells vertically in the retracted position, the patent inverts the approach by allowing cells to wrap around a support tube in a horizontal configuration. The cells are designed to bias open during this wrapped state, transforming the retraction mechanism from a damaging vertical stack to a preserving horizontal wrap that maintains cell integrity and functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dynamic cell structure with bias-to-open mechanisms that allow cells to automatically open and maintain their functional shape during retraction around the support tube. This dynamic behavior ensures cells remain operational throughout the retraction cycle, resolving the contradiction between compact storage and cell functionality.
2Volume of moving object
If cellular shades are retracted around a support tube, then compact hidden storage is achieved, but cells may be damaged during the process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates bias-to-open mechanisms and flexible cellular structures that are designed beforehand to accommodate the retraction process around the support tube. These pre-designed features cushion and protect cells from damage by allowing them to flex and bias open during wrapping, preventing the harmful effects of forced compression or deformation.
3Reliability
If cells are designed to open fully, then aesthetic and insulative benefits are maintained, but the retracted configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs self-service mechanisms where cells automatically bias open through their own structural properties and the natural forces generated during retraction around the support tube. This eliminates the need for additional complex mechanisms to force cells open, achieving full cell opening functionality while keeping the retracted configuration relatively simple and elegant.
Data Source
AI summary
A covering an architectural opening including a support tube and a panel operably connected to the support tube and configured to be wound around the support tube. The panel includes a support sheet and at least one cell operably connected to the support sheet. The at least one cell includes a vane material operably connected to a first side of the support sheet and a cell support member operably connected to the vane material and configured to support the vane material at a distance away from the support sheet when the panel is in an extended position with respect to the support tube.