Overhead Roll-Up Door Panel Butt Joint Design

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for constructing overhead roll-up doors using heavy-duty materials like SBR and EPDM face challenges such as high manufacturing costs, material waste, uneven rolling, and potential deformation due to skiving techniques, which also limit the use of clear panels and increase wear on materials.

Innovation Solution

The solution involves butt jointing and seaming heavy-duty material panels without overlap, using horizontal and vertical butt joints secured with seaming material to ensure smooth rolling and reduced stress on panels, allowing for the inclusion of full-width clear panels and minimizing material waste.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If skiving technique is used to join multiple panels together, then wind load resistance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and material waste occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewind load resistanceVSAvoidmanufacturing cost

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The door panel is divided into multiple sub-panels that are joined together using butt joints instead of skiving. This segmentation allows for simpler manufacturing processes while maintaining the structural integrity and wind load resistance of the complete panel.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using the traditional skiving method where panels are cut at angles and overlapped, this invention inverts the approach by using butt joints where panels meet edge-to-edge without overlap. This inversion eliminates the need for precise angled cutting and reduces material waste.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Strength

If skiving technique is used to join multiple panels together, then wind load resistance is improved, but material waste increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewind load resistanceVSAvoidmaterial waste

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The panel is segmented into multiple sub-panels joined by butt joints, allowing full utilization of each panel's material without requiring overlapping sections, thereby minimizing material waste.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention eliminates the need to discard material for creating overlap seams. By using butt joints, the full width of each panel is utilized effectively, recovering what would otherwise be wasted material in skiving applications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Reliability

If skiving technique is used to join multiple panels together, then panels are connected securely, but uneven rolling occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepanel connection securityVSAvoidrolling smoothness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention inverts the traditional overlapping joint approach and uses butt joints instead. This creates a flush, even surface across panel seams that allows the door to roll smoothly without the buckling and unevenness caused by overlapping seams.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The butt joint creates a more homogeneous surface across the entire panel width, eliminating the irregularities and variations in thickness that occur with skiving overlaps. This homogeneity ensures uniform rolling characteristics throughout the door panel.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #33Homogeneity

4Reliability

If skiving technique is used to join multiple panels together, then panels are connected securely, but clear panel visibility is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepanel connection securityVSAvoidclear panel visibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using overlapping seams that obstruct view, the invention uses butt joints that create minimal interference with clear panels. This allows full-width clear panels to be installed without the visual obstruction of diagonal seam patterns.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The butt joint acts as an intermediary connection method that secures panels together without requiring visible seam materials or overlapping structures that would block the view through clear panels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

5Reliability

If skiving technique is used to join multiple panels together, then panels are connected securely, but wear on materials increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepanel connection securityVSAvoidmaterial durability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention inverts the traditional approach by using butt joints instead of overlapping seams. This eliminates the concentration of stress at angled cut edges and overlap boundaries, distributing wear more evenly across the panel surfaces and extending material life.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS9260911B2Door panel for overhead roll-up doors and a method for creating the same

Publication Date: 2016.02.16 RYTEC CORP

AI summary

A door panel for an overhead roll-up door assembly having a first face, a second face, a top edge, and a bottom edge. The door panel is constructed by butt jointing at least two sub-panels together in a horizontal direction such that neither sub-panel overlaps the other and applying at least one strip of seaming material over each horizontal butt joint, the seaming material being adhered over each butt joint on at least the first face of the door panel. The door panel further includes at least one strip of seaming material adhered vertically along at least one face of the door panel extending from approximately the top edge of the door panel to approximately the bottom edge of the door panel, and being configured such that a top face of the vertical seaming material is substantially co-planar with a top face of the horizontal seaming material.