Roller Shutter Slats with Retaining Arms for Impact Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roller shutters are unable to withstand strong winds, storms, or explosions, leading to breakage and dislodgment of slats, which can cause further damage and injury.
Innovation Solution
A roller shutter design featuring pivotally interlocked elongate slats with eyelet-structures and reinforcing members, along with a cord system to secure and retain the slats, preventing breakage and dislodgment under impact forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional roller shutter slats are used without special retaining structures, then the device complexity is low and ease of manufacture is high, but the reliability is poor and the slats break easily under impact force
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining structure is segmented into multiple independent components: retaining members positioned at intervals along the shutter curtain, with individual retaining arms that can independently engage with slats. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability under impact while keeping each component relatively simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining members and retaining arms are pre-positioned and pre-configured in the shutter curtain structure before impact occurs. The retaining arms are preliminarily set in a retracted position during normal operation, and automatically move to the engaged position only when impact force is detected, thus maintaining simplicity during normal use while providing protection when needed.
2Reliability
If retaining members with retaining arms are added to prevent slat dislodgment, then the reliability improves and slat retention under impact force is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining arms are designed to automatically respond to impact forces without requiring external control systems. When impact force displaces a slat, the retaining arm passively engages with the slat through mechanical interaction alone, using the impact force itself to trigger the retaining action. This self-service mechanism enhances reliability while avoiding complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining arms are designed with flexible, movable sections that can deflect and adapt to different slat positions and impact scenarios. This flexibility allows the retaining structure to accommodate variations in slat geometry and impact conditions without requiring a complex, rigid structure, thus maintaining relative simplicity while improving reliability.
3Strength
If the roller shutter is designed to withstand strong wind and explosion forces, then the strength and reliability improve, but the weight and material requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter curtain is segmented into modular slats connected by connection elements, with retaining members distributed at intervals along the curtain. This segmentation allows the structure to distribute impact forces across multiple discrete points rather than requiring the entire curtain to be uniformly strengthened, thus improving strength while minimizing additional weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The shutter system employs composite construction with slats, connection elements, and retaining members that can be made from materials optimized for their specific functions. The retaining members and connection elements use materials and designs that provide high strength-to-weight ratios, allowing the system to withstand impact forces without proportionally increasing the overall weight of the shutter curtain.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 2B
AI summary
A roller shutter may include a rotatable drum; a shutter curtain including a series of three or more elongate slats pivotally interlocked in a longitudinal-edge-to-longitudinal-edge arrangement and arranged parallel to the rotatable drum, wherein a first and second longitudinal end portions of each elongate slat may be respectively aligned to form a first side border and a second side border, respectively, of the shutter curtain, wherein the first and second longitudinal end portions of each elongate slat may be respectively provided with at least one eyelet-structure which protrudes therefrom, whereby a first and second rows of eyelet-structures are formed along the first and second side borders; and at least a first cord and a second cord respectively strung loosely through all eyelet-structures of respective row of eyelet-structures, and each cord may be configured to confine all eyelet-structures of the respective row of eyelet-structures within a length of each cord.