Internal Roller Guard for Garage Door Track
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing roller guards for movable barriers, such as garage doors, often interfere with track components and create friction, noise, and do not adequately prevent objects from being pinched or crushed between rollers and tracks, as they are typically positioned outside the track and require external contact.
Innovation Solution
A roller guard positioned entirely within the track, encasing the roller with a shield wall and fingers that minimize frictional contact and prevent entrapment, designed as a single molded piece that operates within the track assembly without external interference, allowing smooth door operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If roller guards are positioned outside the track to prevent entrapment, then safety protection is improved, but friction and noise increase due to contact with track components
Solution Approach 1:
The roller guard is inverted from the conventional external position to an internal position within the track. The shield encases the roller from the inside, with the shield wall positioned between the roller and the track, preventing contact between external shield surfaces and track components, thereby eliminating friction and noise while maintaining entrapment protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller guard is nested within the track structure, with the shield wall enclosing the roller inside the track boundaries. This nested configuration allows the protective function to be achieved without external protrusions that would contact track components, resolving the contradiction between protection and friction.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If roller guards are positioned outside the track, then entrapment prevention is achieved, but interference with track components occurs
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the roller guard position from external to internal, the shield operates entirely within the track boundaries. This eliminates interference with external track components while maintaining compatibility with various track configurations, as the guard adapts to the internal geometry of the track.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller guard transitions from a two-dimensional external shield to a three-dimensional internal encasement within the track. This dimensional repositioning allows the guard to accommodate different track configurations and component arrangements without external interference, enhancing adaptability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If roller guards contact the track to provide protection, then safety is improved, but door operation difficulty increases due to continuous friction
Solution Approach 1:
The roller guard is inverted to an internal position where the shield wall faces the roller rather than contacting the track. This eliminates continuous friction during door operation, maintaining smooth operation while providing safety protection through the shield's positioning within the track.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful frictional contact between the shield and track is extracted from the system by repositioning the shield internally. The protective function is retained through the shield's enclosure of the roller, while the friction-generating contact is eliminated, improving ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A door system (10) having, a door (D), a plurality of track sections (16, 17, 18) having a cross-section defining an interior track area (50) that is accessible though an opening (51) therein, a roller (25) received in the interior track area and coupled to a shaft (26) that is operatively interconnected with the door, and a guard (60) carried by the shaft and at least partially enclosing the roller, wherein the guard includes a shield (62) wall that is positioned within the interior track area and at least partially obstructs the opening in the area of the roller.