Insulated Panel Joints for Fast Cold Room Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for constructing cold storage rooms using custom molded insulated panels are time-consuming, expensive, and lack optimal insulation and robust connections, with embedded connection elements being prone to failure under load.
Innovation Solution
The use of continuously manufactured insulation panels with alignment structures and connection hardware that can be easily assembled to form joints, allowing for automated and efficient construction of cold storage rooms with improved insulation and robust connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If custom molded insulated panels are used, then the insulation panels can be assembled into a cold storage room within a specified structure, but the manufacturing process is time-consuming, expensive, and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the manufacturing process into separate stages: continuous panel production and post-manufacturing connection element attachment. This allows the insulation panels to be mass-produced efficiently using continuous molding, while connection elements are added separately to pre-formed panels, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming custom molding of each individual panel with embedded connectors.
Solution Approach 2:
Connection elements are attached to insulation panels after the panels are manufactured, rather than embedding them during the molding process. This preliminary action allows panels to be produced continuously and efficiently, with connection elements added in a separate, more flexible operation that does not constrain the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If connection elements are embedded in the foam of the panels during molding, then the panels can be assembled, but the foam holding the connection element may be damaged when load is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The connection element attachment process is extracted from the panel molding process itself. Instead of embedding connection elements during foam formation, the system attaches them to pre-formed panels using separate methods (adhesive bonding, mechanical fastening, or interlocking mechanisms). This separation prevents the foam structure from being compromised during the connection element integration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system strengthens the connection between panels and connection elements through pre-attachment processes that distribute loads across larger surface areas. Adhesive bonding or mechanical fastening systems are used to create robust connections that prevent foam damage under operational loads, cushioning against the stress that would otherwise compromise the foam structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If custom molded panels are used, then panels can be made to desired sizes, but the molds must be reset to produce panels of different sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses universal, standardized insulation panels with consistent dimensions and connection element configurations. This universality allows the same manufacturing process and connection hardware to be used for different cold storage room sizes, eliminating the need for custom molds and reset operations. Panels can be assembled in various configurations to accommodate different spatial requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables dynamic adaptation to different cold storage room sizes through modular panel assembly rather than custom molding. Standardized panels can be quickly reconfigured and assembled in different quantities and arrangements to match various dimensional requirements, providing flexibility without requiring physical mold changes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a kit for a cold storage room includes the following steps: determining one or more dimensions of the cold storage room; providing continuously manufactured insulation panels, cut to have a length based on the dimensions of the cold storage room, and having alignment structures formed thereon; cutting one or more of the continuously manufactured insulation panels to have a width based on the dimensions of the cold storage room and to form one or more joints; forming connecting structures on one or more of the continuously manufactured insulation panels, the connecting structures configured to form one or more joints; and providing connection hardware configured to mate with the connecting structures and to form one or more joints.