Origami-Inspired Foldable Shelter Walls With Offset Creases
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deployable shelters face challenges such as lack of structural integrity, excessive complexity in articulating members, difficulty in manufacturing components, limited configuration options, inability to accommodate thick walls, and inability to fold flat into a compact shape when not in use.
Innovation Solution
The development of foldable physical structures inspired by origami, which are flat when folded and expand to enclose a volume, using walls connected by hinges and employing techniques like offset creases, offset panels, and hinge shifts to achieve kinematic compatibility and allow for single-degree-of-freedom expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If walls with non-zero thickness are used to provide structural integrity for habitable shelters, then the structure gains sufficient strength and enclosure volume, but the walls cannot fold flat into a compact shape due to panel impingement during folding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces offset distances in the direction perpendicular to the folding axis (creating a third dimension in the folding mechanism) to resolve the impingement problem. By positioning hinge lines at offset distances from panel edges and creating offset panels with different thicknesses, the structure accommodates panel thickness during folding while maintaining flat-folded capability. This dimensional approach allows thick-walled structures to fold without panels colliding with each other.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple panels and walls are combined to create complex shelter structures, then configuration flexibility and enclosure volume are improved, but the complexity of articulating members and kinematic compatibility become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the shelter structure into discrete panels that can be independently configured and connected through hinges. Each panel can be designed with specific dimensions and thicknesses, allowing flexible assembly into various wall configurations. The segmentation enables complex shelter shapes to be achieved through simple repeated units rather than monolithic complex components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hinge connections that allow panels to dynamically transition between folded and unfolded states. The articulating members provide controlled motion paths that maintain kinematic compatibility throughout the transformation process, enabling the structure to adapt its configuration from a compact flat state to an expanded three-dimensional shelter.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional folding mechanisms are used for thin panels, then folding is simple and compact, but the mechanism cannot accommodate panels with finite thickness without impingement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different panel thicknesses at different locations within the same structure. Offset panels are created where certain panels have increased thickness at specific regions to accommodate hinge line positioning and prevent impingement. This local variation in panel quality allows the structure to maintain overall simplicity while solving the thickness accommodation problem at critical folding locations.
Data Source
AI summary
Physical structures having kinematic compatibility are disclosed. One example of a physical structure includes walls that are connected together such that the physical structure is moveable between a flat-folded state and an expanded state. In the expanded state, the physical structure at least partially encloses a volume. One or more of the walls may include two or more panels. The structure may include locking mechanism(s) to stabilize the structure in the expanded state. The structure may include mechanical assistance component(s) that reduce the force that need be applied to move the structure from the flat-folded state to the expanded state. Physical structures that are moveable between a flat unfolded state and a folded state are also disclosed Such physical structures may include connected panels that are moveable between the flat unfolded state and the folded state. In the folded state, a physical structure may at least partially enclose a volume.