Hook-Locking Panel Joint for Perpendicular Separation Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing panel connection systems lack a secure and efficient mechanism for perpendicular locking of panels, particularly in applications where hard and brittle materials are used, and require improved resistance to separation forces.
Innovation Solution
The use of hook profiles with specific design features such as receiving and locking hooks, transverse joint surfaces, and bending areas that allow for elastic deformation to create a form-fitting connection, where the locking contour and form-fitting contour fit together in a scissors-like movement, exerting an elastic force to maintain the panels in a locked position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional connection systems are used with hard and brittle materials, then the panel structure is simple, but the resistance to separation forces is insufficient and perpendicular locking is unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The locking hook is designed with an elastic bending area that allows dynamic deformation during the locking process. The hook can elastically deform to accommodate the form-locking engagement while maintaining structural integrity, enabling reliable perpendicular locking without requiring overly complex rigid mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system combines form-locking engagement (geometric interlocking) with friction-based holding (surface contact). This composite approach uses both geometric shapes and surface properties to create a robust connection that resists separation forces effectively.
2Reliability
If hook profiles with elastic deformation are used to create form-fitting connections, then the locking reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design incorporates an elastic bending area in the locking hook that changes the mechanical properties of the hook from rigid to semi-flexible. This parameter change allows the hook to deform elastically during engagement, compensating for minor dimensional variations and reducing the stringency of manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining locking reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic bending area acts as a cushioning element that absorbs dimensional tolerances and misalignments before the final locking engagement. This beforehand cushioning prevents transmission of precision errors to the critical locking interfaces.
3Ease of operation
If the locking contour and form-fitting contour are designed to fit together in scissors-like movement, then the ease of assembly is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The design merges the locking function and the guiding function into a single integrated mechanism. The locking contour and form-fitting contour work together in a scissors-like movement that simultaneously guides the panels into alignment and secures them in the locked position, eliminating the need for separate guiding and locking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The scissors-like movement between the locking contour and form-fitting contour creates a self-aligning and self-locking mechanism. The geometry of the contours automatically guides the panels into the correct position and secures them without requiring external alignment tools or complex adjustment mechanisms.
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
This design provides a secure, form-fitting connection that resists separation forces and can be used with hard and brittle materials, ensuring a high degree of stability and ease of assembly, even when made from materials like wood-based products or plastics.
Implementation Method 1
the bending area (22) is designed such that its elastic bendability allows the width of the receiving opening (21) to be increased
Implementation Method 2
an elastic force is exerted via the horizontal locking surface of the receiving hook, which permanently prestresses the transverse joint surface of the locking hook
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
The invention comprises a panel (1, 1) comprising a top (4, 4), a bottom (12, 12, a body (9, 9), complementary locking means provided in pairs on opposite panel edges, at least one pair of locking means with hook profiles (H), namely a receiving hook (7) and a locking hook (8) opposite this, with the proviso that the receiving hook has a hook edge (10) arranged to the fuselage and a receiving recess (11) arranged closer to the fuselage, wherein the receiving recess is open at the top, that the locking hook is provided with a locking recess (13) arranged closer to the fuselage and open towards the underside and has a locking shoulder (14) arranged further away from the fuselage, which in the vertical joining direction (T) fits into the receiving recess (11) of the receiving hook (7) that the locking hook (8) has a hull-remote transverse joint surface (15) and also a vertically acting locking contour (16) that the receiving hook (8) has a transverse joint surface (17) closer to the fuselage and also a form-fitting contour (18) closer to the fuselage, which fits together in a form-fitting manner with the locking contour (16) of the locking hook that is remote from the fuselage, so that panels can be locked perpendicularly to the plane that the locking hook (( 8) has a horizontal locking surface (19) on its locking shoulder (14) arranged closer to the fuselage, the receiving hook (7) arranged further away from the fuselage has a horizontal locking surface (20) in the receiving recess (11), that the receiving hook (7) has a receiving opening (21) is formed, through which the locking shoulder (14) can be inserted into the receiving recess (11) essentially in the joining direction (T), the locking shoulder (14) and the receiving opening (21) being designed in such a way that the shoulder end during a joining movement without elastic Deformation of the hook profiles (H) initially so far into the receiving opening (21) fits that the horizontal locking ungsfläche (19) of the locking hook (8) with a part of their surface contact with the horizontal locking surface (20) of the receiving hook (7).