Configurable Enclosure with Peel-Away Base for Tool-Free Installation
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing enclosures require tools for installation, which increases installation time and risks injury to technicians and damage to the enclosure, due to the need to punch out or cut away portions to fit over existing hardware and ports.
Innovation Solution
A configurable enclosure design featuring a base portion with a removable portion that can be peeled away without tools, utilizing a track or actuator mechanism to create an opening, allowing for tool-free installation by releasing the removable portion from the base.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tools are used to punch out or cut away portions of the enclosure to fit over existing hardware and ports, then the enclosure can be installed on structures with existing hardware, but installation time increases and technicians are exposed to injury and enclosure damage
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom surface of the enclosure is divided into a removable portion and a base portion. The removable portion can be separated from the base portion to create openings, allowing the enclosure to adapt to existing hardware and ports without requiring tools to punch or cut the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom surface is designed with a track and actuator mechanism that allows the removable portion to be dynamically separated from the base portion during installation. This dynamic design enables the enclosure to transition from a closed structure to an open structure as needed for installation, eliminating the need for permanent modifications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If tools are used to punch out or cut away portions of the enclosure, then openings can be created for existing hardware and ports, but technicians are exposed to injury and the enclosure to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom surface is segmented into a removable portion and a base portion, eliminating the need for tools to punch or cut openings. The removable portion can be safely separated along pre-defined tracks, reducing the risk of injury to technicians and damage to the enclosure while still allowing openings to be created for existing hardware and ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The track and actuator mechanism are pre-installed on the bottom surface during manufacturing. This preliminary action creates predetermined separation paths that guide the removal process, ensuring that openings are created in safe, controlled locations without requiring technicians to manually punch or cut the enclosure material.
3Loss of time
If a removable portion is designed into the bottom surface, then tool-free installation is enabled and installation time is reduced, but the structure of the base portion becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom surface is segmented into a removable portion and a base portion, with the removable portion containing the track and actuator mechanism. This segmentation allows the complex features to be concentrated in a small, manageable section rather than distributed throughout the entire base portion, minimizing the overall structural complexity while enabling tool-free installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The track and actuator mechanism are nested within the removable portion of the bottom surface. This nesting approach allows the complex features to be contained within a compact structure that can be easily attached to or removed from the base portion, reducing the visual and structural complexity of the overall base portion while maintaining the tool-free installation capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A configurable enclosure including a cover portion operably attached to a base portion, the base portion including a wall disposed along a perimeter of a bottom surface, and a removable portion of the bottom surface configured to be peeled away from the base portion to create an opening on the bottom surface is provided. Moreover, an enclosure having a cover portion operably attached to a base portion, the base portion including a wall disposed around a perimeter of a bottom surface, a thin section of the bottom surface located proximate an outer edge of a removable portion of the bottom surface, an actuator operably attached to the removable portion, wherein through actuation of the actuator, the removable portion peels away from the bottom surface to create an opening on the base portion is also provided. Furthermore, an associated method is also provided.