Expandable Barrier System with Hinged Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional temporary barrier systems are cumbersome to store and transport, labor-intensive to install, provide limited spacing, are structurally deficient, and prone to breaching, making them dangerous and ineffective for security applications.
Innovation Solution
An expandable and modular barrier system that deploys efficiently, featuring interconnected panels with deterrence features, allowing for rapid deployment and storage in a compact container, and includes mechanisms for secure positioning and deterrence to prevent breaches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional barrier units are positioned end-to-end to create a barrier, then the barrier can be formed to provide security containment, but the system becomes cumbersome to store and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier system is divided into multiple collapsible barrier units that can be individually stored and transported, yet when deployed they connect to form a continuous security barrier. Each unit can be collapsed into a compact configuration for storage and expanded to full height for security application.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier panels are designed to nest within each other when collapsed, allowing multiple barrier units to be stored in a compact configuration within a limited space, similar to nested dolls. This enables efficient storage and transport while maintaining the capability to form a complete barrier when deployed.
2Device complexity
If conventional barrier units are used with minimal supports, then the structure is simpler and easier to assemble, but the barrier becomes structurally deficient and prone to breaching
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier units are pre-assembled with integrated support structures and connection mechanisms before deployment. The panels, supports, and locking mechanisms are prepared in advance as complete units, eliminating the need for complex field assembly while ensuring structural integrity is built-in from the start.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple structural functions are merged into integrated components. The supports serve both as structural reinforcement and as connection points for adjacent barrier units. The locking mechanisms are combined with the panel structures themselves, creating a unified system that provides both simplicity and breach resistance.
3Area of stationary object
If conventional barrier units are positioned close together, then the barrier provides continuous coverage, but the spacing is limited making it dangerous for security personnel to approach for reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier units incorporate adjustable and movable components that allow security personnel to interact with the barrier from a safer distance. The units can be dynamically adjusted, locked, and reinforced without requiring close physical contact, reducing exposure to potential threats while maintaining continuous barrier coverage.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional barrier units are used without modular design, then the structure is more uniform and simpler to manufacture, but the system cannot be easily modified with deterrence mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier units are designed with universal connection points and standardized interfaces that can accommodate various deterrence mechanisms and accessories. The modular design allows the same basic unit to be configured for different security requirements by adding or removing optional components such as lighting, alarms, or physical deterrents.
Data Source
AI summary
A barrier system comprising a container and an expandable barrier structured to be stored in the container. The expandable barrier comprising a plurality of first panels and a plurality of second panels, a plurality of first hinged connectors connecting adjacent first panels and a plurality of second hinged connectors connecting adjacent second panels. A plurality of support members, each support member having first and second sides wherein the first side of each support member is connected to a corresponding first hinged connector and the second side of each support member is connected to a corresponding second hinged connector so that each support member extends between a pair of adjacent first panels and a pair of adjacent second panels wherein in a first position in which the expandable barrier is stored in the container and in an unexpanded state, the first panels are positioned in a stacked arrangement and the second panels are positioned in a stacked arrangement with each support member sandwiched between adjacent first and second panels and wherein in a second position in which the expandable barrier is fully deployed from the container and in an expanded state, the first panels are positioned in a linear arrangement and the second panels are positioned in a linear arrangement parallel to the first panels with each support member extending perpendicularly between a pair of adjacent first panels and a pair of adjacent second panels.