Snap-On Garage Door Screen With Elastic Strap Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing garage door screens are costly and difficult to customize to fit various garage sizes and consumer preferences, requiring expensive components like dowel rods and sewn-in elastic strips for installation and storage, which complicates manufacturing and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A customizable snap-on garage door screen system using a minimal number of components, including screw and snap fasteners, elastic straps, and grommets, allowing for easy installation, egress, and storage without additional costly components, enabling flexible sizing and material selection to meet consumer needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional garage door screens use expensive components like dowel rods and sewn-in elastic strips, then installation and storage are achieved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes expensive components like dowel rods and sewn-in elastic strips from the traditional garage door screen system. Instead, it uses a minimal component set consisting of a screen assembly with hemmed edges, snap fasteners attached to the hemmed edges, and a garage door frame, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and device complexity while maintaining functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The snap fasteners serve multiple functions: they attach the screen to the garage door frame, allow for easy installation and removal, and enable storage of the screen on the garage door when not in use. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate storage mechanisms and reduces overall system complexity
2Adaptability or versatility
If garage door screens are customized to fit various garage sizes and consumer preferences, then adaptability improves, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The screen assembly is divided into modular components: a screen material with hemmed edges and snap fasteners attached at regular intervals. This segmentation allows the screen to be manufactured in standard sizes and then adapted to different garage door openings by selecting appropriate snap fastener positions and quantities, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables customization through parameter changes such as varying the number and spacing of snap fasteners, adjusting screen dimensions, and selecting different screen materials (mesh density, color, UV protection). These parameter adjustments allow adaptation to different garage sizes and consumer preferences without requiring complex manufacturing processes
3Ease of operation
If garage door screens use minimal components for easy installation, then ease of installation improves, but the ability to maintain a tight enclosure and provide stable support may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The snap fasteners are pre-attached to the hemmed edges of the screen assembly during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures proper positioning and spacing of fasteners, allowing for easy installation by simply attaching the pre-prepared screen to the garage door frame while maintaining a tight enclosure through consistent snap fastener placement
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 solution provides a cost-effective, customizable garage door screen that is easy to install and store, reducing production costs and meeting diverse consumer requirements while maintaining a tight enclosure and pest barrier, allowing air and light ingress.
Implementation Method 1
4 elastic straps with hooks on each end stretchable to various lengths
Data Source
AI summary
A customizable garage door screen is disclosed that requires few components to deploy and store. Four elastic straps with hooks at each end are used with six grommets strategically placed on the screen for stability, and approximately one dozen screw and snap fasteners are installed around the perimeter of the screen and garage door frame for a tight enclosure to keep out pests. A partially oversized screen that can fit the average American garage door frame and requires little pre-fabrication effort is now possible with so few components. To open the garage door screen for egress and ingress, one simply unhooks one or both of the lower elastic straps, after unsnapping the desired number of end-caps, and latching upon the upper elastic straps or guide rails on either side. The elastic straps are also used to store the folded screen inside the top, backside of the garage door.