Sliding Door Fitting With Inclined Axis For Secure Height Adjustment

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sliding door fittings for shower partitions face challenges in maintaining adjusted height positions over time due to misalignment of adjusting screws under frequent use, making it difficult to access and leading to incorrect positioning and potential damage.

Innovation Solution

A fitting with an axial locking device and an inclined adjusting axis that absorbs forces better, combined with a compact design featuring a rotatable adjusting screw and grub screw locking mechanism, ensures the adjusted position is locked and protected from environmental contaminants.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a vertical adjustment device is used, then the structure is simple, but the forces acting on it are not well absorbed and it is difficult to access during adjustment

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveAccessibility of adjustment deviceVSAvoidStructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The adjustment device is reoriented from a vertical alignment to an inclined alignment, changing the spatial dimension of force application. The adjustment axis is now inclined relative to the longitudinal extent of the guide profile, allowing forces to be better absorbed and distributed while improving accessibility for assembly personnel.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Ease of operation

If the adjustment device is easily accessible, then adjustment is simple, but the set position cannot be maintained over time due to misalignment

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveEase of adjustmentVSAvoidPosition maintenance
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The adjustment mechanism is divided into two independent functional components: the adjusting device for position modification and the locking device for position maintenance. The locking device can be operated independently to secure the adjusting screw at the desired position, ensuring long-term position maintenance while keeping the adjustment process simple.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The locking device is designed to be activated after adjustment to pre-secure the position before any misalignment can occur during subsequent sliding door operations. This preliminary locking action prevents future position drift.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If a locking device is added, then position maintenance is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovePosition stabilityVSAvoidFitting complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The locking device is integrated into the existing suspension structure, with the locking screw threaded into the suspension body. This merging approach allows the locking function to be added without requiring a completely separate mechanism, thus improving position stability while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3278693B1Fitting for a sliding door
Publication Date: 2020.01.15 TIF
  • EP3278693B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3278693B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3f
  • EP3278693B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Fitting (100) for a sliding door (5) of a shower partition wall (101) that is movably mounted along a longitudinal extension (LE) of a guide profile (2), with: - a suspension (1) connected to the sliding door (5), - at least one on the Suspension (1) mounted running body (3), wherein the running body (3) is movably mounted along the longitudinal extension (LE) of the guide profile (2), - an adjustment device (6) for adjusting the position of the at least one running body (3) relative to Suspension (1) along an adjustment axis (SA), with a locking device (13) that can be inserted into the suspension (1) axially in the direction of the adjustment axis (SA) to lock the position of the adjustment device (6).