Roller Support Assembly With Enclosed Axles for Damage-Free Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing roller support assemblies for sliding doors and windows are prone to damage during installation due to the weakness of molded plastics materials and the risk of the door being dragged across surfaces, causing stress on the peripheral rim of the rollers.
Innovation Solution
A roller support assembly with fully enclosed openings for stub shafts and inwardly projecting elements that splay the housing side walls to facilitate easy installation without interfering with the roller's rotation, ensuring the roller's peripheral rim is protected and minimizing damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If downwardly open retainer recesses are used for mounting rollers, then ease of assembly is improved, but structural strength and rigidity of housing side walls deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of opening the retainer recess downwardly for easy assembly, the invention inverts the approach by providing fully enclosed openings in the housing side walls. The roller is inserted from the opposite direction (through the side wall opening rather than from below), which maintains ease of assembly while preserving the full structural integrity of the housing side walls.
2Ease of operation
If peripheral rim of roller extends below panel edge, then engagement with guide track is facilitated, but risk of damage during installation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary action by providing a tapered leading edge on the roller body that precedes the peripheral rim. During installation, this tapered edge makes first contact with the guide track and directs the roller into proper engagement position before the peripheral rim reaches the track. This preliminary engagement action prevents the peripheral rim from being dragged across transverse surfaces, eliminating the damage risk while maintaining proper track engagement.
3Ease of manufacture
If moulded plastics material is used for housing and roller, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but susceptibility to installation damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered leading edge on the roller body performs a preliminary protective function during installation. By making first contact with the guide track and guiding the roller into position before the peripheral rim engages, it prevents the plastics material of the roller from being subjected to damaging drag forces across transverse surfaces during the installation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the traditional mounting approach by using fully enclosed openings in the housing side walls instead of open recesses. This allows the roller to be inserted from the side rather than from below, which protects the peripheral rim of the plastics roller from damage during installation while maintaining ease of assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A roller support assembly is used to support sliding doors, windows or the like. The assembly includes a housing member having spaced apart side walls and interconnecting transverse walls defining a roller receiving zone for receiving and operationally mounting a roller assembly. The roller assembly has a roller body with a rolling peripheral rim and a shaft whereby the roller body is rotatable relative to the shaft having short stub axle parts. The housing side walls including openings that are fully enclosed by the side walls into which the short stub axle parts fit. The housing side walls further include projecting elements extending inwardly from an inner surface of a housing side wall to cooperate with the corresponding roller body side wall surfaces to spay the housing side walls apart as the roller assembly is moved into the roller receiving zone to locate the stub axle parts in the openings.