Gate Retaining Plate Spar Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible doors with sections made of lightweight materials like plastic films or tarpaulins lack stability, especially under high loads such as wind, leading to potential misalignment and ejection from guides.
Innovation Solution
A retaining plate is attached to the end of the spar, extending beyond the guide's opening, which engages with the spar under load, preventing it from being pulled out and providing additional stability through a form-fitting grip, while also serving to hold the door sections together.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sections made of flexible material (plastic film, tarpaulin) are used to create the door leaf, then the door can be rolled up in a space-saving manner and forms an opaque, airtight seal, but the door leaf lacks stability and can slide out of the side guides under high loads
Solution Approach 1:
The door leaf is constructed from flexible material sections (plastic film or tarpaulin) that can be rolled up for compact storage while maintaining an opaque, airtight seal when closed. This flexible construction enables space-saving operation but creates instability under load
2Stability of the object's composition
If a spar is added to stiffen the door leaf in the transverse direction, then the door leaf stability increases and it cannot leave the longitudinal guide during normal operation, but under high loads the spar can bend and reliable guidance is no longer guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The spar is constructed as a composite structure with a hollow profile (providing structural framework) and an insert (providing additional stabilization). This composite construction increases the spar's resistance to bending under high loads while maintaining the necessary flexibility for door operation
Solution Approach 2:
The spar is divided into functional components: a hollow profile structure and a separate insert element. This segmentation allows each component to contribute specific properties - the hollow profile provides structural integrity while the insert enhances stabilization, together solving the reliability issue under high loads
3Weight of moving object
If the spar is made from lightweight materials to maintain door flexibility, then the door can be easily rolled up, but the spar lacks sufficient strength to prevent bending under high wind loads
Solution Approach 1:
The spar uses a composite construction combining a hollow profile with an insert, achieving optimal strength-to-weight ratio. The hollow profile provides structural framework with minimal weight, while the insert adds stabilization without significantly increasing mass, thus maintaining door flexibility while preventing bending under wind loads
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow profile construction of the spar provides inherent structural strength through its curved geometry, achieving high strength-to-weight ratio. The curved structure resists bending moments more effectively than solid rectangular sections of equivalent weight, allowing the door to remain lightweight while withstanding high wind loads
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to a gate with a gate leaf (1, 1', 2) guided in a closing direction (y) in at least one longitudinal guide (11, 11'), which extends in the closing direction (y) and in a transverse direction (x) perpendicular to it when closed. The gate leaf (1, 1', 2) has a plurality of sections (1, 1') of a flexible material and at least one rail (2) arranged between and connected to two sections (1, 1') adjacent in the closing direction. The rail (2) extends in the transverse direction (x) through an opening in the longitudinal guide (11, 11'), which has an opening width (a) measured in a passage direction (z) perpendicular to the closing direction (y) and the transverse direction (x). According to the invention, a retaining plate (3) is attached to the end of the spar (2) in the transverse direction (x), which extends beyond the spar (2) in the through direction (z).