Modular Roller Assembly for Slidable Panels Without a Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing roller carriage assemblies for slidable panels require a housing, which increases manufacturing costs and limits the flexibility in adding or removing rollers based on load requirements.
Innovation Solution
The roller assembly omits the housing by using tongue and groove engagements between the roller carriages and support blocks, secured with pins or interlocking formations, allowing components to remain coplanar and adjustable without the need for a housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a housing is used to retain support blocks and roller carriages, then the assembly structure is stable and components are protected, but manufacturing costs increase and flexibility to add or remove rollers is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the housing component entirely from the assembly. Instead of retaining components within a housing, the support blocks and roller carriages directly engage with each other through tongue and groove interfaces, eliminating the housing while maintaining structural integrity and component retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functions of the housing and the connection interfaces into the support blocks and roller carriages themselves. The tongue and groove formations are integrated directly into these components, merging the retention function that was previously provided by the housing with the structural components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a housing is used to secure components, then component alignment is maintained, but manufacturing costs and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is extracted from the design, and its alignment function is transferred to the tongue and groove interfaces between support blocks and roller carriages. These interlocking formations provide inherent alignment without requiring a separate housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The tongue and groove formations use asymmetric geometries where the tongue of one component fits into the groove of another in a specific orientation. This asymmetric design ensures proper alignment during assembly while simplifying manufacturing compared to a housing structure.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the assembly is designed with fixed component positions, then structural stability is maintained, but flexibility to accommodate different loads is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly is segmented into modular support blocks and roller carriages that can be independently added or removed. Each component maintains its structural integrity through tongue and groove connections, allowing the overall assembly to be configured for different load requirements while preserving stability through the interlocking design.
Solution Approach 2:
The assembly transitions from a fixed configuration to a dynamic, reconfigurable system. Components can be added or removed based on load requirements, and the tongue and groove interfaces ensure stable connection in each configuration, enabling adaptability without sacrificing structural integrity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A roller assembly is disclosed for mounting to the underside of a slidable panel. The assembly is formed of a plurality of serially arranged interconnected components that comprise two end support blocks, a plurality of roller carriages disposed between the end blocks, and a respective intermediate support block disposed between each adjacent pair of roller carriages. The roller carriages have inclined sides in engagement with inclined sides of the support blocks, the engagement permitting adjacent components to slide relative to one another while preventing relative movement in a direction transverse to the sliding direction. The inclination of the sides is such as to cause the rollers carriages to be urged away from the underside of the slidable panel when the two end blocks are urged towards one another. In the invention, each of the end blocks is formed with a formation to enable the end block to be secured directly to the underside of the slidable panel and at least one of the end blocks is formed in two parts, one part having the formation to enable the part to be secured to the slidable panel and other being in slidable engagement a roller carriage and adjustably connected to the first part.