Fire Resistant Frame With Locking Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire protection frame construction elements require high assembly effort and provide inadequate fastening for components, especially under fire conditions where screw-based connections fail due to temperature degradation of aluminum shells.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates locking grooves with undercuts in the composite profile of the frame construction, allowing functional parts to be fixed in a form-fitting manner without screws, ensuring components remain secure by providing a large-area contact and using angle elements with locking pins that engage in these grooves for secure positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If screw channels are used to attach components to the frame construction, then components can be attached to the inner or outer shell, but the assembly effort is relatively high and the connection is inadequate under fire conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The frame construction is divided into functional segments: the outer shell with system grooves for seals and retaining strips, and the inner shell with locking grooves for form-fitting holder attachment. This segmentation allows different connection types to serve different purposes - seals for weatherproofing and locking grooves for secure mechanical attachment under fire conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
Holders act as intermediary components that bridge the surface elements and the frame construction. These holders are inserted into the locking grooves of the inner shell, providing a positive connection that remains reliable under fire conditions, while also enabling the surface elements to be securely attached without direct screw fastening to the aluminum shells.
2Ease of operation
If holders are clamped into screw channels to secure surface elements, then surface elements can be fixed, but the connection is non-positive and breaks under fire temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The critical fastening function is extracted from the outer shell system and relocated to the inner shell with locking grooves. By placing the locking grooves in the inner shell rather than relying on screw channels in the outer shell, the patent ensures that the essential form-fitting connection is made in a location that maintains structural integrity under fire conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame construction uses a composite structure with an outer shell (aluminum for corrosion resistance and aesthetics) and an inner shell (aluminum with locking grooves for mechanical engagement). The combination of these shells with their respective functions creates a system where the inner shell's locking grooves provide fire-resistant fastening while the outer shell provides environmental protection.
3Weight of moving object
If aluminum shells are used for the frame construction, then the profile is lightweight and corrosion-resistant, but the material becomes doughy and melts off completely in the event of a fire
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prepares for fire conditions in advance by designing the inner shell with locking grooves that create form-fitting connections. This design ensures that even when the aluminum material degrades under fire temperatures, the pre-established mechanical interlocking provides continued support and delays the collapse of the frame construction.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of trying to make the outer shell fire-resistant, the patent inverts the approach by placing the critical connection mechanism (locking grooves) in the inner shell. This allows the outer shell to remain lightweight aluminum while the inner shell's geometric design provides the fire-resistant connection functionality.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
A frame structure consisting of frame members for a fire-resistant composite building element (1) comprising surface elements (7). The frame structure includes frame members made of a composite profile (2), which consists of an inner shell (4) and an outer shell (3) and insulating webs (5) connecting these shells. The inner shell (4) and the outer shell (3) are provided with longitudinally extending system grooves (10). The inner and outer shells (4, 3) of the composite profile (2) are provided with locking grooves (12) running parallel to and spaced apart from the system grooves (10), into which functional parts (14) of the frame structure can be force-fitted and/or positively locked. This ensures that, in the event of a fire, the surface elements (7) inserted into the frame structure remain in the frame panels for a long time.