Segmented Door Hinge With Gear Sliding Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional hinges for segmented doors, such as garage doors, are bulky, labor-intensive to install, and require numerous fasteners, making them aesthetically unpleasing and inefficient to install.
Innovation Solution
A hinge system comprising gears and a cover with sliding surfaces, where one gear slides past the other to allow assembly without teeth, reducing the need for multiple fasteners and simplifying the installation process, and can be extruded with panel frames for a sleeker design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If traditional leaf-hinges are used, then the hinge structure is simple and reliable, but the appearance is bulky and aesthetically unpleasing
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is divided into multiple components: a cover, a first gear, a second gear, and associated sliding surfaces. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for both appearance and function, enabling a sleeker overall look while maintaining mechanical reliability through specialized gear engagement and cover protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional mechanical hinge structure is replaced with a gear-based transmission system. The first gear and second gear engage through meshing teeth to transmit motion, substituting the direct mechanical connection with a more compact and aesthetically pleasing gear mechanism that achieves the same functional result with improved appearance.
2Ease of operation
If traditional hinges with multiple fasteners are used, then the hinge is secure and reliable, but the installation becomes labor intensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional components are merged into integrated assemblies. The cover integrates the mounting structure and protection function, while the gear assembly combines the motion transmission and securing mechanisms. This merging reduces the total number of separate fasteners and components needed, simplifying installation while maintaining security through the unified design.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover serves multiple functions: it protects the gear mechanism, provides mounting surfaces for attachment, and structurally supports the gear engagement. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate protective covers and mounting brackets, reducing installation complexity while maintaining secure attachment through a single integrated component.
3Device complexity
If traditional hinges with multiple hardware components are used, then the hinge is robust and durable, but the number of parts increases and installation becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The first gear and second gear are nested within the cover structure, with the gears positioned inside the cover's internal cavity. This nesting arrangement reduces the overall number of external components and hardware items, creating a more compact assembly that maintains robustness through the protective cover while reducing installation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes the physical parameters of the hinge components, particularly the gear dimensions and cover geometry, to optimize the balance between robustness and component count. By carefully selecting gear sizes, tooth profiles, and cover thicknesses, the hinge achieves durable construction with fewer parts, as the optimized parameters allow for more efficient space utilization and stronger material usage.
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge for movably attaching parts together incudes a first gear, a second gear, a cover configured to attach the first gear to the second gear, first and second sliding surfaces on the cover wherein the first gear slides on the first sliding surface and the second gear slides on the second sliding surface when the hinge is operated, and an area on the first gear with no teeth configured to slide past the second gear to allow the first gear to enter the cover. Assembling a hinge includes moving a surface without gear teeth on a first gear past a toothed surface on a second gear, moving the first and second gears into a cover, meshing a tooth on the first gear with a tooth on the second gear, and holding the first and second gears together with the cover.