Panel Assembly Mullion Joint Using Interlocking Bezel Cogs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional panel assemblies used in structures like aircraft to withstand pressure differentials and harsh environments often restrict the passage of light and radio frequency signals due to the use of thick mechanical supports and clamps, which also limit structural rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A panel assembly system that forms a mullion joint using bezels with cogs, allowing panels to be joined without covering the joint with mounting and clamping structures, maintaining structural integrity while allowing radio frequency transparency and flexibility, and optionally incorporating cooling channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If thick mechanical supports and clamps are used to join panels, then structural rigidity is improved, but radio frequency signal transmission and light passage are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The joint is divided into modular components: a first panel with a first recess, a second panel with a second recess, and interlocking features (protrusions and grooves) that segment the connection function. This segmentation allows the joint to provide structural support while maintaining openings for RF signal transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint structure implements local quality by providing structural rigidity only where needed (through the interlocking recesses and protrusions) while maintaining radio frequency transparency in specific regions (through the openings in the joint). This allows different parts of the joint to have different properties - some areas provide mechanical strength while others allow signal passage.
2Strength
If thick mechanical supports and clamps are used to join panels, then structural integrity is improved, but the joint thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The joint structure uses nesting by placing the second panel's recess inside the first panel's recess, with protrusions fitting into grooves. This nested arrangement provides structural integrity through multiple interlocking surfaces while minimizing the overall joint thickness, as the components are nested within each other rather than requiring additional thickness.
3Strength
If conventional clamps or brackets are used to separate and join panels, then structural support is improved, but light passage and signal transmission are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The joint structure implements local quality by providing structural support in specific regions (through the interlocking recesses and protrusions) while maintaining light transmission in other regions (through the openings in the joint). This allows the joint to have different optical properties in different areas - opaque where mechanical support is needed and transparent where light passage is required.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a panel assembly configured to form a mullion joint. The panel assembly can comprise a panel composed of a material substrate that, in some examples, can be transparent to radio frequency signals. The panel assembly can further comprise a first bezel configured to frame a perimeter of the panel on a first side of the panel. The panel assembly can comprise a second bezel configured to frame the perimeter of the panel on a second side of the panel opposite of the first side, the second bezel comprising cogs formed on a first edge of the second bezel. The cogs of the second bezel can be configured to receive and join with cogs of a bezel of a second panel assembly to form a mullion joint. The mullion joint can be transparent, opaque, or partially transparent to radio frequency signals and/or visible light.