Set of panels and an associated assembled article
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mechanical locking devices for panels struggle with forming parts at a distance from the corner area, particularly in panels with large thickness variations and lower material quality, leading to suboptimal solutions that are cumbersome, costly, and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A set of panels with a mechanical locking device adapted for interior portions, allowing for larger thickness variations and improved locking strength, featuring a groove and insertion groove with a flexible tongue, and a recess, enabling locking angles between 30° and 150°, including a locking portion disposed at an angle below 45°, which simplifies the forming process and enhances locking functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mechanical locking device is positioned at a distance from the corner area of a panel, then the locking function can be provided in the interior portion of the panel, but the forming process becomes more difficult and costly due to limited machinery adaptability
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is divided into separate functional components: a groove formed in the panel, a separate flexible tongue, and a recess in the mating panel. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using standard machinery, with the tongue being a separate piece that can be inserted into the groove rather than requiring complex machining at interior positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible tongue acts as an intermediary element between the groove in the first panel and the recess in the second panel. This mediator component enables the locking function to be achieved through simple groove and recess formations in the panels, while the tongue provides the actual locking action, simplifying the manufacturing of the panel features themselves.
2Quantity of substance
If panels have large thickness variations, then lighter materials or lower quality materials can be used, but the dimensional accuracy becomes insufficient for forming a reliable mechanical locking device
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible tongue is designed to be elastically deformable, allowing it to adapt to variations in panel thickness. The tongue can be pressed into the groove and will flex to accommodate dimensional variations in the panels, maintaining reliable locking function even when panel thickness varies by ±0.8 mm or more. This dynamic flexibility compensates for the lack of precise dimensional control in the panel manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking device parameters are designed to accommodate large thickness variations. The groove depth, tongue length, and recess positioning are specified with tolerances that allow for ±0.8 mm or more variation in panel thickness. The flexible tongue's elastic properties are selected to provide sufficient force for reliable locking across this range of thickness variations, changing the operational parameters to match the varied dimensional inputs.
3Manufacturing precision
If the locking portion is disposed at a locking angle below 45°, then the extension along the second main plane increases and dimensional tolerances become greater, but the locking strength must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The locking angle parameter is optimized to be below 45° (specifically 10°-40°), which increases the extension of the locking portion along the second main plane and allows for greater dimensional tolerances in the groove and recess. The flexible tongue's material properties and cross-sectional dimensions are adjusted to compensate for the reduced angular mechanical advantage, ensuring sufficient locking strength is maintained despite the shallower angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible tongue is made from an elastomeric material that combines flexibility with sufficient shear strength. This composite approach uses the elastic properties of the material to provide both the necessary flexibility for accommodating thickness variations and the shear strength required to maintain reliable locking at the optimized below-45° locking angle.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution tolerates thickness variations up to ±0.8 mm, provides satisfactory locking strength, and simplifies the manufacturing process by reducing the need for precise positioning, while maintaining high locking functionality.
Implementation Method 1
a separate, preferably flexible, tongue is arranged in the insertion groove
Implementation Method 2
the edge section of the second panel is configured to cooperate with the groove of the first panel for locking the first and second panels to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A set of panels including a first panel and a second panel configured to assume a locked state in which a first main plane of the first panel is arranged at an angle of between 30° and 150° relative to a second main plane of the second panel. A separate tongue arranged in an insertion groove provided in a groove of the first panel is configured to cooperate with a locking portion of the recess provided in the edge section of the second panel for locking the panels in a first direction perpendicular to the first main plane, and the edge section is configured to cooperate with the groove for locking the panels in a second direction parallel to the first main plane. The locking portion is disposed at a locking angle below 45° with respect to the second main plane and/or the first direction.