Interlocking Sheet Metal Edge Formations for Seamless Wall Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container and building structures made of corrugated metal sheets face challenges in achieving cost-effective, easy-to-install, and visually appealing wall areas that can be mass-produced while maintaining a seamless appearance.
Innovation Solution
A component arrangement featuring complementary edge formations on corrugated sheets that interlock and connect, allowing for quick assembly without visible joints, using U-shaped profile areas and fasteners for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional corrugated metal sheet structures are used for container walls, then manufacturing is simple and cost-effective, but visible joints appear between connected elements reducing visual appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The metal sheet is divided into multiple corrugations, each forming a separate structural unit with defined edge formations. This segmentation allows individual corrugations to interlock while maintaining the overall seamless appearance, resolving the contradiction between simple manufacturing and visual appeal.
Solution Approach 2:
The edge formations are designed so that one corrugation nestles into the adjacent corrugation through interlocking U-shaped profiles. This nesting arrangement eliminates visible joints between elements while using simple corrugated sheet metal that is easy to manufacture.
2Shape
If complex joining methods are used to achieve seamless connections, then visual appeal improves, but installation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The edge formations are designed to self-align and interlock automatically during assembly. The complementary U-shaped profiles guide the joining process, allowing workers to connect elements quickly without complex alignment procedures or additional fastening operations, thus reducing installation time while maintaining seamless appearance.
3Strength
If additional fasteners are used to secure connections, then connection strength improves, but device complexity and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The U-shaped profile area provides a curved, interlocking geometry that creates mechanical engagement between adjacent corrugations. This curved profile design achieves strong connections through geometric interlocking alone, eliminating the need for additional fasteners and reducing connection complexity.
4Ease of operation
If simple edge formations are used for quick assembly, then installation ease improves, but connection strength may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The edge formation combines multiple functional features within a single integrated structure: the U-shaped profile provides both the interlocking mechanism for easy assembly and the geometric configuration for strong mechanical engagement. This composite design achieves both assembly ease and connection strength without requiring separate components.
Data Source
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AI summary
To create a simple and cost-effective storage solution for the home, balcony, terrace, and garden that can be mass-produced and is visually appealing, a connecting device (24) and a connecting method for joining a wall element (20) made of sheet metal (26) with another element (20, 22) made of sheet metal have been described, wherein a first edge formation (32) on one element (20, 22) and a second edge formation (32) on the other element (22, 20) are complementary to each other in such a way that they can be interlocked and connected to each other, wherein the edge formation (32, 34) each have a corrugated wall area (62) and a U-shaped profile area (64, 68) extending further in the depth direction on the side opposite the visible side, wherein the profile areas (64, 68) are complementary to each other in such a way thatthat a first U-shaped profile area (64) can be clamped into a second U-shaped profile area (68) when the first and second edge formations (32, 34) interlock.