Foldable Cavity Closure with Rolling Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closure devices for cavities, such as pits and basins, are heavy, costly, and difficult to handle efficiently between closed and open positions, compromising ease of use and requiring significant physical effort.
Innovation Solution
A foldable closure device with a head crosspiece, accordion-like structure, and flexible awning, featuring rotating rolling members and elastically deformable connecting means, allowing smooth guidance and reduced physical effort through pulley and spring mechanisms, enabling easy transition between folded and unfolded positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a closure device is made light and compact, then weight and cost are reduced, but guidance and stability during movement may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional heavy mechanical guidance systems with a simplified mechanism where the head crosspiece slides along guide rails. The guidance is achieved through geometric constraints and support points rather than complex mechanical joints, reducing weight while maintaining stability. The head crosspiece has at least three support points that engage with the guide rails to prevent lateral movement and rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure device is divided into separate functional components: the head crosspiece with support points, the guide rails, the foldable structure, and the flexible cover. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the head crosspiece provides guidance, the rails provide constraints, and the foldable structure provides flexibility, achieving light weight without compromising guidance stability.
2Ease of manufacture
If the closure device uses a simple foldable structure, then ease of manufacture and cost are improved, but guidance precision during movement may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The head crosspiece acts as an intermediary element between the foldable structure and the guide rails. It provides precisely positioned support points that ensure accurate guidance during movement, while the foldable structure itself remains simple and easy to manufacture. The head crosspiece translates the simple folding motion into precise linear movement along the rails.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses geometric parameters and positioning of support points on the head crosspiece to achieve precise guidance. By carefully designing the location and number of support points (at least three per head crosspiece), the system achieves accurate movement control without requiring complex manufacturing processes. The guide rails are positioned at specific distances and angles to ensure proper guidance.
3Reliability
If the device uses multiple support points and guide rails, then guidance and stability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The head crosspiece serves multiple functions simultaneously: it supports the foldable structure, provides guidance along the rails, prevents lateral movement through support points, and maintains structural integrity. The guide rails serve dual purposes as both structural supports and guidance elements. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, maintaining simplicity despite the presence of multiple support points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the guidance function, support function, and structural function into integrated components. The head crosspiece combines support points and structural elements in a single component that slides along the guide rails. The guide rails themselves combine structural support and guidance functions. This merging reduces the total number of separate parts compared to a system with dedicated components for each function.
4Ease of operation
If the closure device is designed for rapid operation, then ease of use is improved, but control precision during movement may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The closure device uses a dynamic foldable structure that can rapidly transition between open and closed positions while maintaining precise control through the head crosspiece guidance system. The accordion-like foldable structure allows quick deployment and retraction, while the head crosspiece with its support points ensures precise movement along the guide rails throughout the dynamic operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed to guide itself during movement through the geometric constraints of the head crosspiece and guide rails. The support points automatically engage with the rails to provide guidance without requiring external control mechanisms. The foldable structure self-extends and self-retracts along the guided path, achieving both rapid operation and precise control without complex control systems.
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
The device provides perfect guidance and reduces physical effort required for folding and deployment, maintaining a constant height and ensuring ease of use while saving weight and cost, ensuring safe and efficient cavity closure.
Implementation Method 1
The head crosspiece is provided, at each of its ends, with at least three support points for guiding at least three points along each of said rails
Implementation Method 2
elastically deformable connecting means, allowing smooth guidance and reduced physical effort through pulley and spring mechanisms
Implementation Method 3
reduced physical effort through pulley and spring mechanisms
Data Source
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AI summary
Device (1) for plugging the top of a cavity comprising a folding opening leaf (2) and a fixed frame (3), said fixed frame (3) comprising two guide rails (4) that can be positioned along two opposite edges of the cavity, and means (5) of delimiting space (6) in which to store the opening leaf (2) extending at one end of said guide rails (4) so as to allow the opening leaf (2) to move from a position folded up inside the storage space (6) into an unfolded position of at least partial closure of the space between the rails (4). The opening leaf (2) comprises a top-rail (7), a concertina-folding structure (8), and a flexible cover that can be coupled to the folding structure (8) and to the top-rail (7), said folding structure (8) comprising parallel hoops (10) mounted with the ability to slide along said rails (4) when the opening leaf (2) is in the unfolded position, and spacers (11) spacing the cover from the plane of sliding of the loops (10), said spacers (11), which are active when the opening leaf (2) is folded, being coupled to the hoops (10) via link rods (12).