Roller Shutter Slats with Projections for Wind Load Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-area building openings subjected to storm winds exert significant wind pressure, causing roller shutter slats to bend severely and potentially become dislodged from guide rails, leading to damage and loss of protective function.
Innovation Solution
The roller shutter slats are reinforced with outwardly and inwardly directed projections attached to an end piece, which are inserted into a hollow profile filled with foam, providing support on inclined stop surfaces within the guide rails to prevent dislodgment and ensure optimal sliding during operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If roller shutter slats are made from standard hollow profiles without additional reinforcement, then manufacturing cost and complexity remain low, but the slats cannot withstand high wind loads and may become dislodged from guide rails
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement system is segmented into separate components: end pieces with projections that are attached to the hollow profile slats. This allows the basic slat structure to remain simple while adding reinforcement only where needed at the end areas, rather than reinforcing the entire slat structure
Solution Approach 2:
The solution combines different materials and structures: the hollow profile (metal), foam filling (polymer), and attached end pieces with projections. This composite approach creates a reinforced structure that withstands high loads while maintaining the simplicity of the base hollow profile design
2Reliability
If the roller shutter slats are reinforced with projections attached to end pieces inserted into hollow profiles, then the slats can withstand high wind loads without dislodgment, but the manufacturing and assembly process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement system is divided into separate manufacturable components (end pieces with projections) that can be produced independently and then assembled to the hollow profile slats, allowing each component to be optimized for its specific manufacturing process
Solution Approach 2:
The end piece with projections is inserted into the hollow cavity of the foam-filled profile, creating a nested structure where the reinforcement element fits within the existing profile geometry, simplifying assembly while maintaining structural integrity
3Strength
If projections extend over the full width of roller shutter slats, then maximum support is provided in guide rails, but the rolled-up diameter of the shutter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projections are designed to extend only over specific portions of the slat width rather than the full width, providing reinforcement locally at the critical end areas where deflection occurs, while minimizing the overall volume and rolled-up diameter of the shutter
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The blind has two lateral guide rails (21) fastened in a soffit of a building opening. A winding drum is supported on both sides of supports. Roller shutters (1) are guided with front-sided end areas in the rails that are provided with inner and outer guiding surfaces running along the rails. The end areas are equipped with protrusions (11) protruded over surfaces of one shutter and aligned against outside and inside, respectively. The protrusions extend over a part of width of the shutter and are held in the rails. Stop surfaces (30) run along a bar (29) attached to a thickened portion (24).