Plastic Coupling Member for Roller Shutters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coupling members for windable closures, such as roller shutters and rolling gates, are complex and expensive to produce, and can damage the shutter slats due to scoring. Additionally, they require high-strength steel with a high elastic limit, which increases the cost and reduces the security of the coupling.
Innovation Solution
A coupling member with a main body made of plastics material, featuring a coupling end with a groove to retain the shutter slat and a coupling appendix with a coupling head and teeth. The coupling head is designed to fit into rectangular openings on the winding roller, and the teeth are shaped to securely engage within these openings, allowing for easy installation and removal without the need for complex mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing coupling members are used to connect shutter to winding roller, then secure connection is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling member is designed as a simple, inexpensive component made of plastics material that can be easily replaced. Instead of using complex metal mechanisms, the invention employs a disposable-like approach where the coupling member is a straightforward insertion/removal component that secures the shutter to the winding roller through a simple geometric interface, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining functional reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential function of connection from complex mechanical systems and reduces it to a simple geometric coupling. The coupling member is separated into distinct functional parts: a body for shutter attachment and a coupling appendix for winding roller engagement, removing unnecessary complexity from the connection mechanism while preserving secure attachment
2Reliability
If high-strength steel with high elastic limit is used in coupling members, then coupling security is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter from high-strength steel to plastics material, and changes the geometric parameters of the coupling interface. The coupling security is achieved not through material strength but through geometric interlocking - the coupling appendix with its specific shape (including the coupling head and engagement features) fits into corresponding features on the winding roller, providing secure connection through form rather than material properties
Solution Approach 2:
By using plastics material instead of high-strength steel, the coupling member becomes a more economical component that is easier to manufacture. The design accepts that the coupling member may need replacement over time, prioritizing low manufacturing cost and ease of production while maintaining adequate security for the application through its geometric design
3Reliability
If existing coupling members are used to connect shutter slats, then secure attachment is achieved, but shutter slat damage occurs due to scoring
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling member acts as an intermediary component between the shutter slat and the winding roller. The plastics material body with its specific coupling end geometry provides a protective interface that attaches to the shutter slat without causing scoring damage, while simultaneously providing secure engagement with the winding roller through the coupling appendix. This intermediary design separates the attachment functions and protects the shutter slat from direct contact with damaging elements
Data Source
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AI summary
A coupling member for a shutter and similar windable closures with respect to a related winding roller comprises a main body with a coupling end, which is suitable for retaining an end of a windable closure. At an opposing end of the coupling member, there is provided a coupling appendix with a rectangular opening which is provided in the winding roller. The coupling appendix comprises a coupling head which projects from a stem which is thinner than the coupling head which defines two opposing teeth, which are generally wider than the width of the rectangular coupling opening in the winding roller and narrower than the height of the rectangular opening in the winding roller. In order to couple the shutter to a winding roller, it is simply necessary to twist the main body of the coupling member in order to rotate the coupling head, substantially through 90° in one direction, which can thereby be inserted into the rectangular opening in the winding roller. By releasing the main body, it returns resiliently into the initial configuration by making the coupling head rotate substantially through 90° in the opposite direction so that it remains coupled inside the rectangular opening in the winding roller.