Door Leaf Sealing with Rotating Side Leg for Uneven Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing arrangements for sectional door leaves fail to achieve a permanent and effective seal against water and drafts due to the rigidity of the door leaves and uneven contact areas, which are prone to contamination, leading to inadequate sealing across the entire opening width.
Innovation Solution
A combination of a horizontally aligned first sealing element and a vertically aligned second sealing element, where the second sealing element has an inwardly bent side leg that rotates to ensure contact with the first sealing element, providing a multi-point seal with a contact foot and side sections, and is designed to maintain contact even with uneven surfaces, using a unique cross-sectional shape and fastening mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single sealing element is used, then the structure is simple, but the sealing effectiveness against water and drafts is insufficient due to rigid door leaves and uneven contact surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into multiple independent sealing elements (first sealing element with support foot, second sealing element with side leg, and third sealing element) that work together. Each element addresses specific sealing requirements at different locations, providing comprehensive sealing coverage while maintaining individual simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing approach transitions from a single horizontal sealing element to a multi-dimensional sealing system that includes horizontal elements and vertical side legs. This three-dimensional sealing configuration addresses both horizontal and vertical sealing needs, effectively countering water and draft infiltration from multiple directions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the door leaf is made rigid for structural stability, then the door maintains its shape, but the sealing contact with uneven floor surfaces becomes inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing elements are designed with specific local characteristics - the support foot and side leg contact surfaces are shaped to match uneven floor profiles. These localized adaptive features allow the rigid door leaf to achieve reliable sealing contact at specific critical points without compromising overall structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support foot and side leg of the sealing elements are designed with curved or rounded contact surfaces that can conform to uneven floor and wall junctions. This curvature allows the rigid sealing elements to adapt to irregular surfaces, ensuring continuous sealing contact while the door leaf remains structurally rigid.
3Reliability
If the contact surface is made large to ensure sealing coverage, then more surface is sealed, but contamination and unevenness increase sealing failure risk
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from the main door leaf structure and implemented through dedicated sealing elements with specific contact geometries. This separation allows the sealing elements to be optimized for contact reliability while the door leaf maintains its structural integrity, and the sealing elements can be easily replaced if contaminated.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing elements are pre-configured with optimized contact surfaces and geometries before installation. The support foot and side leg are designed in advance to match typical floor and wall junction profiles, ensuring reliable sealing contact is achieved immediately upon installation without requiring adjustment to compensate for surface irregularities or contamination.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a sealing concept for sealing a horizontally extending, ground-side section of a movable door leaf, in particular a sectional door leaf, which is guided laterally in lateral guides, against a building-side contact surface (4) against water or drafts penetrating from outside the door leaf. This is achieved by a combination of a substantially horizontally oriented first sealing element (3) with a connection below an end element (1) of the door leaf and a second sealing element (5) with a fastening outside the end element (1) on the lower section of the door leaf, or on fastening sections of connecting elements, wherein the second sealing element (5) is provided section by section with a contact area (29) for sealing interaction with a side section (13) of the first sealing element (3).The invention also includes a method for sealing the underside of a gate leaf against a building-side contact surface (4) against incoming water.