Expandable Structural Insert for Non-Parallel Wall Connection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for fixing non-parallel sheet metal walls, such as welding or gluing, are ineffective when there is a large clearance between the walls, making it difficult to achieve a rigid connection and apply a sealing bead, especially when access for clamping or pinching is limited.
Innovation Solution
A connecting element comprising a containment bracket and an expandable structural insert that forms a hollow body between the walls, where the insert expands to fill the space, adhering to both walls and the bracket, creating a rigid mechanical link and sealing barrier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional welding or gluing methods are used to fix non-parallel walls, then the walls can be connected, but the method becomes ineffective when there is a large clearance between the walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the filling material from solid to expanded foam through thermal or chemical activation. The material transforms from a compact insert to a voluminous foam that fills the hollow body and adheres to the walls, enabling reliable connection despite large clearances between non-parallel walls
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an expandable filling material as an intermediary between the two walls. This material is positioned in the hollow body formed by the containment bracket and walls, then expands to create adhesion bonds with both walls, serving as a mediator that transfers and distributes mechanical stresses between the walls
2Ease of manufacture
If the clearance between walls is large to allow assembly, then assembly is easier, but it becomes difficult to apply a sealing bead that blocks the space
Solution Approach 1:
The filling material undergoes parameter change from compact solid state to expanded foam state, increasing in volume to fill the entire hollow body and reach the clearance space between walls. This expansion enables the material to form an effective sealing barrier despite large clearances, solving the sealing problem while maintaining assembly ease
3Strength
If spot welding is used to fix walls, then strong connection is achieved, but the welding tool must access both sides of the walls to clamp them
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable filling material acts as an intermediary that eliminates the need for direct wall-to-wall clamping. The material is inserted through the containment bracket from one side, expands to fill the hollow body, and creates adhesion bonds with both walls, transferring stresses without requiring tool access to both sides of the walls
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical clamping system of spot welding with a chemical-physical bonding system. Instead of using a clamp to mechanically press walls together for welding, the expandable material uses adhesion and expansion pressure to create bonds, eliminating the need for mechanical clamping and dual-sided tool access
4Strength
If gluing is used to fix walls, then connection is achieved, but the walls must be pinched together in the gluing zone to ensure good adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pinching system required for gluing with an self-expanding adhesion system. The fillin g material expands autonomously through thermal or chemical activation, generating its own pressure to ensure contact and adhesion with the walls without requiring external mechanical pinching or dual-sided access
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective fixing and sealing of non-parallel walls with large clearances without requiring access to both sides, providing a rigid connection and allowing for the application of a sealing bead, even in areas inaccessible to traditional welding or gluing methods.
Implementation Method 1
the expansion of the structural insert, which can be activated for example by heat during passage through a cataphoresis bath or in an oven after a painting stage, swells and fills the hollow body
Implementation Method 2
Being adherent, the structural insert sticks to the surface of each of the walls and presses on each of the two walls while inflating. The structural insert, once expanded, is also in contact with the surface of the containment bracket located on the side of the hollow body, and therefore also adheres to said containment bracket
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a linking element (1) intended for securing at least two walls (2, 3) to one another, said walls (2, 3) forming an angle other than 180 degrees therebetween, characterised in that it comprises a containment bracket (10) intended for being secured at least to one of the two walls (2), and arranged so as to form a hollow body with the two walls (2, 3) when said containment bracket (10) is secured to at least one of said walls (2, 3), and an adhesive and expandable structural insert (11) which is intended for being positioned in the hollow body.