Pleated Blind Connecting Piece Wind Load Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pleated blind devices for insect screening face issues with wind pressure causing fabric damage and stress on stabilizing threads, while existing solutions either increase production and handling costs or reduce visibility, and require complex structural interventions.
Innovation Solution
A rotating connecting piece mounted on the running body allows for stabilization against wind pressure and movement, with a safety element guided in the upper guide rail, featuring a sliding or rolling running body with an undercut and Teflon-containing plastic for improved sliding properties, and a connecting piece that can rotate through 90° to absorb tensile loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pleated blind fabric is guided loosely in a frame profile, then easy handling and assembly are achieved, but wind pressure causes the fabric to come out of the guide and be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
A running body with a connecting piece acts as an intermediary between the guide rail and the pleated fabric. The connecting piece is attached to the upper edge of the fabric and engages with the running body, which moves along the guide rail. This intermediary mechanism provides secure guidance while allowing the fabric to be easily handled and assembled without direct rigid attachment.
2Reliability
If stabilizing threads are used to maintain tightness against insects, then insect protection is achieved, but friction damage occurs due to small lead-through holes
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing threads are positioned at specific locations through the pleated fabric with appropriately sized lead-through holes. The holes are small enough to maintain tightness for insect protection but large enough to allow thread passage without excessive friction. The connecting piece distributes loads at these localized attachment points, preventing friction damage while maintaining the required tightness.
3Reliability
If a movable intermediate sliding frame is used to divide large areas, then wind pressure stability is improved, but production and handling costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is segmented into multiple running bodies that can be distributed along the guide rail at specific intervals. Each running body independently secures a portion of the pleated fabric, providing stability against wind pressure for large area coverages. This segmented approach avoids the need for a single complex intermediate sliding frame, reducing production and handling costs while maintaining reliability.
4Reliability
If hook-like hanging elements are used to connect the pleated blind to the upper rail, then secure attachment is achieved, but the construction depth increases
Solution Approach 1:
The running body is designed to move dynamically along the guide rail, allowing the connecting piece to rotate and adjust its position. This dynamic design enables secure attachment of the pleated fabric to the upper guide rail while maintaining a slim profile with minimal construction depth. The rotating connecting piece accommodates the movement of folds during folding and unfolding without requiring additional space.
5Device complexity
If the connecting piece is fixed rigidly to the running body, then structural simplicity is achieved, but it cannot follow the movement of folds during folding and unfolding
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting piece is mounted on the running body with rotational freedom about a vertical axis, allowing it to follow the movement of folds during folding and unfolding operations. This dynamic mounting maintains structural simplicity while providing the necessary adaptability. The connecting piece can rotate through at least 90° to accommodate fold movements without requiring complex articulated mechanisms.
6Ease of operation
If the running body is made of plastic with Teflon-containing material, then sliding properties are improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The running body is made from plastic material containing Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), which significantly improves sliding properties by reducing friction between the running body and the guide rail. While this material choice increases manufacturing precision requirements for injection molding, the design incorporates features such as an undercut guided on the inner profile structure and a guiding contour that rests against side walls, which help compensate for manufacturing tolerances and ensure reliable restraint with longitudinal mobility.
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 provides a robust, easy-to-handle pleated blind system with reduced construction depth, maintaining visibility and absorbing additional loads without conspicuous structural changes, ensuring unimpeded movement and tool-free assembly while preventing damage from excessive loads.
Implementation Method 1
a Teflon-containing plastic should preferably be used
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a pleated blind (10) for shielding a building opening against insects, comprising a multiply pleated fabric (12) that can be extended horizontally, a thread system (14) for stabilizing the pleated fabric (12), and a guide rail (22) that can be attached to or in the building opening, preferably as a downwardly open U-profile, and which receives the upper edge (26) of the pleated fabric (12). According to the invention, it is proposed that the upper edge (26) of the pleated fabric (12) is secured against displacement from the guide rail (22) by at least one securing element (24).