Modular Glass Wall System Using Receiving Wedges
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in effectively utilizing narrow glass pieces and glass cutting scraps in a modular support and wall system, aiming for reduced manufacturing complexity and economic viability, while also addressing the issue of glass processing waste.
Innovation Solution
A modular support and wall system utilizing thin, smooth, plane float glass plates as infill elements, where these glass plates can be decorated and reused, with standardized dimensions for modularity, and connected using vertical and support profiles with grooves for secure placement, allowing for various orientations and arrangements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If narrow glass cutting scraps are used as infill elements, then waste reduction and economic viability improve, but manufacturing precision and assembly complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the wall structure into modular components: vertical profiles, support profiles, and infill elements. This segmentation allows narrow glass scraps to be systematically organized and assembled into a coherent whole, reducing assembly complexity while utilizing waste material effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces receiving shoes as intermediary components that facilitate the connection between narrow glass scraps and the support structure. These receiving shoes provide standardized interfaces that simplify assembly, transforming the complexity of joining irregular glass pieces into a routine process of inserting pre-prepared units.
2Ease of manufacture
If standardized dimensions are applied to glass plates, then modularity and ease of manufacture improve, but design flexibility and aesthetic versatility worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by creating a standardized support structure (vertical profiles, support profiles, receiving shoes) that can accommodate various infill elements. The standardized dimensions of glass plates ensure they fit the modular framework, while the framework itself remains adaptable to different design requirements through configuration variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different surface treatments, decorations, and orientations of glass plates within the standardized modular system. While dimensions are standardized for manufacturing ease, local variations in surface properties and arrangements provide design flexibility and aesthetic versatility.
3Device complexity
If glass plates are used instead of composite or prestressed panes, then material simplicity and cost improve, but mechanical strength and load resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments large load-bearing areas into many small, narrow glass plate infill elements. While individual plates are simple and relatively thin, the distributed arrangement across a modular framework with multiple support points collectively provides sufficient structural strength and load resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving shoes and support profiles act as intermediaries that provide mechanical support to the glass plates. These components bear and distribute loads, protecting the simple glass plates from excessive stress while maintaining structural integrity of the overall assembly.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~6d
Figure 7a~7b
AI summary
The system has vertical sections (3) defining surface parts (4), where the parts are provided with several glass plates (5) with less thickness than their length. The glass plates have same dimensions or have dimensions which are integral multiples of low dimension. Short frontal edges of the plates are fixed directly or via a reception wedge, with vertical sections, where the wedge is in geometric correspondence with the vertical sections. The vertical sections are connected to each other by support sections (6). The support sections have a reception slot for receiving the edges of plates.