Pantograph Shutter Slats for Compact Wall Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shutter devices for windows and passages are bulky, allow excessive air and light passage when partially closed, and lack effective safety features to prevent housebreakings, while also being complex and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A compact shutter device with reciprocally articulated horizontal slats connected by pantograph mechanisms, allowing for partial opening and closing while maintaining air passage and incorporating safety features like flexible lifting means and rotating protection plates to prevent unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If roller closures are wound around a drum, then the shutter can be closed, but bulky external cased frames are required housing the drum
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter slats are nested within the wall thickness during operation. The slats can be stored horizontally in the wall cavity when open, and vertical when closed, eliminating the need for external drums and cased frames. This nesting approach resolves the contradiction by placing the shutter mechanism inside the existing wall structure rather than requiring external housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional external drum mechanism to a three-dimensional wall-integrated system. The slats move through multiple spatial dimensions (horizontal to vertical orientation) within the wall thickness, allowing the shutter to function without external housing while maintaining closing capability.
2Illumination intensity
If slats are rotated around longitudinal axis, then light passage is controlled, but the closure becomes very complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the light control function from the complex rotational mechanism of prior art. Instead of rotating slats around their longitudinal axes, the patent uses simple vertical movement of slats within guides to achieve light control, eliminating the need for complex rotation mechanisms while maintaining the ability to adjust illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a simplified mechanism that copies the light control effect of rotating slats without implementing the actual rotation. By moving slats vertically in parallel positions, the system achieves similar light blocking and passage control at a fraction of the mechanical complexity.
3Illumination intensity
If shutter is partially closed, then some light blocking is achieved, but air passage is excessively reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter slats are segmented into multiple independent vertical elements that can be positioned at different heights. This segmentation allows the lower portion to remain open for air passage while the upper portion provides light blocking, resolving the contradiction between light control and air flow maintenance during partial closing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention implements dynamic positioning of slats where different sections can move independently. The lower slats remain in a position that maintains air passage, while upper slats can be positioned to block light, creating a dynamic configuration that simultaneously achieves both light control and air flow.
4Ease of operation
If known closures are used, then basic closing function is provided, but safety arrangements to prevent housebreaking are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates preliminary safety actions by including features such as anti-lifting mechanisms and secure mounting arrangements that prevent housebreaking attempts before they can succeed. The slats are designed with integrated safety features that are always active, providing preventive security rather than reactive measures.
Data Source
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AI summary
A shutter device includes a plurality of fins (2) almost parallel, each having at least two elongate longitudinal sides ending in correspondence of the side ends (3). Such fins are reciprocally connected and movable between end conditions of closing and opening of the window, door or passage to which the shutter device (1) is associated. The connection between the fins (2) is made by means of connecting levers (4) each rotatingly centrally connected to a middle portion of a fin (2) and having the two opposite ends respectively connected, in rotating way, to opposed portions of the fins (2) contiguous to the fin (2) to which the lever (4) is centrally connected. Thus, such fins (2) and levers (4) carry out a reciprocal pantograph connection.