Integrated Door Grip Segmentation and Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional doors with integrated grips face material tearing risks due to thermal expansion, humidity, and force-related issues, and protruding grips cause damage and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A door design featuring a grip integrated into the panel, extending across the entire thickness, with stepped portions for reinforcement and a larger contact area, reducing material stress and allowing for interchangeable grips, and a fixing element for secure attachment, eliminating the need for protruding handles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a grip is integrated into the door panel as known from prior art, then the door provides a functional grip for opening/closing, but the door panel material is at risk of tearing especially at the corners of the opening
Solution Approach 1:
The door panel is divided into multiple segments by the grip element that extends through the panel. The grip creates separate door panel segments on opposite sides, allowing each segment to expand and contract independently without causing stress concentration at opening corners, thus preventing material tearing while maintaining grip functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip element extends through the entire thickness of the door panel from front surface to back surface, utilizing the third dimension (depth) to distribute forces across the full panel thickness. This dimensional approach transforms the grip from a surface-level feature to a through-panel structure, increasing contact area and reducing stress on the door panel material.
2Strength
If the grip extends through the entire door panel thickness, then forces are distributed over a larger contact area reducing tearing risk, but the grip may protrude from the door surfaces causing safety hazards and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The grip element is nested within the door panel structure, with the front and back panels receiving the grip element and covering it completely. The grip is positioned within the panel thickness and is substantially covered by the front and back panels, eliminating protrusion while maintaining the force-distributing benefits of a through-panel grip.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip element is merged with the door panel structure by integrating it between the front and back panels. The reveal parts fixed to the panel edges join the panels together, creating a unified structure where the grip is embedded within the panel assembly rather than being a separate protruding component.
3Strength
If the grip divides the door panel into separate segments, then thermal expansion and humidity effects are unhampered reducing tearing risk, but the door panel structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The grip element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the gripping surface for opening/closing the door, acts as a structural divider creating independent door panel segments that accommodate thermal and humidity expansion, and serves as a reinforcement element that distributes forces across the panel. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip element automatically performs the function of dividing the door panel into segments that can expand and contract independently. The structural segmentation that prevents tearing is achieved through the grip's own presence and configuration, without requiring additional expansion joints or separate reinforcement components.
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
The solution reduces material tearing risks, enhances safety by preventing grip-related injuries and damage, and offers design flexibility with interchangeable grips and integrated reinforcement, while maintaining aesthetics and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
the profile of the grip has stepped portions at the front and back for receiving edges of the front and back panels
Implementation Method 2
dilatation of the door segments as a result of temperature variations and/or humidity
Implementation Method 3
expansion of the door panel material by humidity
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a door comprising a door panel forming a front surface and a back surface of the door, and a grip integrated into the door panel and extending from the front surface up to the back surface of the door panel, the grip being shaped to enable users to open/close the door. The grip extends over substantially an entire dimension of the front and back surfaces and divides the door panel into separate door panel segments extending on opposite sides of the grip. The invention further relates to an assembly comprising a door and at least one interchangeable grip, the door comprising a door panel forming a front surface and a back surface of the door, and a fixing element integrated into the door panel and extending from the front surface up to the back surface of the door panel, the fixing element being provided for removably fixing the at least one interchangeable grip. The fixing element extends over an entire dimension of the front and back surfaces and divides the door panel into separate door panel segments extending on opposite sides of the fixing element.