Pocket Sliding Door with Synchronized Carrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pocket sliding doors face challenges in maintenance and installation due to the need for visible tracks and rollers, which compromise their sleek appearance and require complex processes involving special tools and potential damage to fascia.
Innovation Solution
A trackless pocket sliding door assembly with a rotatable tie rod and pinion gears synchronizing the door carrier's motion, allowing for concealed tracks and tool-free engagement/disengagement of the door leaf, maintaining a sleek appearance while simplifying maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If tracks and rollers are concealed to achieve sleek appearance, then aesthetic quality is improved, but maintenance complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door system is divided into modular components: the door leaf, the carrier assembly with integrated rollers, and the fascia panel. The carrier can be independently removed from the door leaf, and the fascia can be detached to access the overhead track, allowing maintenance without complete disassembly and reducing overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The roller mechanism is extracted and integrated into a removable carrier assembly that can be detached from the door leaf. This allows the rollers to be accessed and replaced independently while maintaining the concealed appearance when the door is installed, resolving the contradiction between aesthetic quality and maintenance accessibility
2Shape
If fascia is used to conceal overhead track, then aesthetic quality is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fascia panel is designed as a separate, removable component that can be detached from the door assembly. This segmentation allows the fascia to remain attached during normal operation to maintain aesthetic quality, while being easily removable when maintenance is needed, thus improving ease of operation without sacrificing appearance
3Shape
If door leaf is engaged at rear edge, then sleek appearance is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A carrier assembly acts as an intermediary between the door leaf and the overhead track. The carrier includes engagement mechanisms at its front edge that interface with the track, while the door leaf attaches to the carrier. This intermediary allows the door leaf to engage at the rear edge for aesthetic purposes while the carrier handles the complex engagement with the track, improving ease of operation
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 ensures smooth sliding, prevents tilting, and simplifies maintenance by keeping mechanisms concealed, reducing the need for tools and minimizing damage, while maintaining a visually unobtrusive design.
Implementation Method 1
a rotatable tie rod mounted to the door carrier on an inner side and extending substantially between the top edge and the bottom edge of the pocket frame, the tie rod having a pinion gear at each end configured to engage with a corresponding horizontal length of rack teeth at the top edge and the bottom edge; wherein engagement of the pinion gears synchronises the motion of the door carrier
Implementation Method 2
the tie rod having a pinion gear at each end configured to engage with a corresponding horizontal length of rack teeth at the top edge and the bottom edge
Data Source
AI summary
An improved sliding door assembly is provided to be installed adjacent to a doorway having a split jamb. The door leaf is supported on a door carrier that extends between a top edge and a bottom edge of a frame, while the frame has at least one track configured to guide the door carrier and a rotatable tie rod mounted to the door carrier extending 5 between the top edge and the bottom edge of the frame and having a pinion gear at each end to engage with a rack at the top edge and bottom edge respectively such that engagement of the pinion gears synchronises the motion of the door carrier.