Building Panel Connector with Pivoting Head for Stable Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building panel connectors often lack stability, with connectors easily falling out of their seats, especially when made of spring-elastic materials, and two-part connectors make it difficult to assemble or separate panels, hindering horizontal and vertical locking.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a hook connection with a web-shaped foot and a pivoting head piece that securely engages with the locking arm and groove, providing simultaneous horizontal and vertical locking without a rocking effect, using materials like plastic or metal with specific surface features for enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a spring-elastic connector is used to provide flexibility, then the connector can be easily installed, but the connector falls out of its seat easily and lacks stability
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed with a dynamic two-stage locking mechanism where the head piece pivots during installation and then locks into a stable position. The leg can pivot during assembly but locks in place after installation, providing both ease of installation and operational stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector features an asymmetric design where the head piece and foot are positioned at different ends of the elongated body, with the head piece engaging the groove and the foot engaging the locking arm. This asymmetric configuration prevents the connector from falling out while maintaining ease of installation.
2Reliability
If a two-part connector is used to provide horizontal and vertical locking, then the locking capability is improved, but the assembly and disassembly process becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is segmented into functional parts (head piece, leg, foot, elongated body) that work together in a coordinated manner. The head piece provides horizontal locking while the foot provides vertical locking, and both can be engaged through a single pivoting motion during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector utilizes dynamic pivoting motion during assembly where the leg pivots to allow the head piece to engage the groove, then locks into place. This dynamic process enables both horizontal and vertical locking to be achieved through a single assembly motion, simplifying the installation process.
3Reliability
If the head piece is pressed against the groove flank to secure the connector, then the connector remains seated, but the assembly process requires precise alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed so that the head piece preliminarily engages the groove during the pivoting motion before final locking occurs. The elongated body with the leg acts as a guide that automatically aligns the head piece with the groove during installation, reducing the need for precise manual alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg of the connector acts as an intermediary element that facilitates the pivoting motion and guides the head piece into proper alignment with the groove. This intermediary mechanism allows the connector to self-align during installation, reducing the precision requirement for manual alignment.
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
Ensures secure locking in both directions, preventing displacement of building panels, and allows for easy assembly and disassembly, with the connector remaining securely seated due to multiple contact points.
Implementation Method 1
the leg adjoining the base part, which ends in the head piece, is movably arranged in the inserted state of the connector, so that when assembling building panels, the leg together with the head piece can be pivoted in the direction of the groove bottom
Implementation Method 2
The connector in undeformed condition and has an approximately gutter-shaped cross-section... which is at least partially flexible
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The building panel (1.1) comprises a device (100) for connecting the building panel to similar building panel (1.2) on substrate (11). The lip (15) of a locking arm (14) tapers in the direction of a bottom layer in such a manner that the inner surface of lip is inclined at an acute angle with respect to bottom of locking arm, or to the base surface of building panel (1.1). A locking roller (20) has a flat pressing surface which strikes against the head piece (5.1), during connection of panels, such that the head piece is swiveled in the direction of groove bottom. The building panel comprises a device for connecting the building panel to similar building panel on a substrate, in which the building panel is intended to be lowered against an already installed building panel. Each building panel has mutually opposing profiled side surfaces and abutting surfaces perpendicular to the usable surface or base surface of building panel. A locking arm protrudes over an abutting surface and ends in a trapezoidal lip directed towards the usable surface. A groove (9) has a bottom set back with respect to an abutting surface, and an elongated partly flexible separate connector (2.1) which cooperates with a side surface of opposing building panel (1.2) in the installed state of building panels and partly inserted into the groove. The connector has an approximately gutter-shaped cross-section in the undeformed state, and a partly arched wall (3) comprising a base portion and a leg, in which the partly cylindrical or partly elliptical inner surface of the wall transitions at one edge of the inner surface, into a headpiece, and at a different edge, into a foot (12.1). The foot has a side surface (24) and a base adjoining the side surface. In the installed state of the connector, the head piece points in the direction of usable surface, and the leg which adjoins the base portion and ends in the head piece, is arranged movably so that, when the building panels are joined, the leg can be swiveled together with the head piece in the direction of the groove bottom. A side surface has a locking roller for joining the building panels. The roller transitions into a recess which is open in the direction of base surface. The bottom (35) of the locking arm and the groove, as well as the inclined inner surface of the lip, forms a seat for accommodating the connector. The head piece presses in some sections against a flank of the groove, in the state in which the connector is fitted into the groove. The side surface and the base of the foot of the connector as well as the base portion of the connector facing the bottom of arm are in contact with the inner surface of the lip and the bottom of the locking arm before and after the joining of building panels. The lip of the locking arm tapers in the direction of the bottom layer in such a manner that the inner surface of the lip is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the bottom of the locking arm, or to the base surface of the building panel (1.1). The locking roller has a flat pressing surface which strikes against the head piece, during the connection of two building panels, such that the head piece is swiveled in the direction of groove bottom.