Bottom Pan Seal System for RV Slide-Out Floor Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recreational vehicles with slide-out rooms face issues of debris, water, and light entering through gaps between the slide-out room and the main cabin, particularly at the floor level, due to the lack of an effective seal.
Innovation Solution
A bottom pan seal system comprising a flap seal and wiper seals mounted on legs, with an optional wear bar for leveling, providing a secure and adjustable seal between the slide-out room and the main cabin floor, designed to prevent debris and water ingress while allowing for easy field serviceability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seal system is installed to prevent debris and water ingress, then sealing performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal system is divided into multiple functional components: a bottom pan seal for primary sealing, wiper seals for debris removal, and a flap seal for splash protection. Each component performs a specific sealing function, allowing the system to achieve comprehensive sealing performance while maintaining modularity and ease of installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The wiper seals and flap seal are integrated with the bottom pan seal structure, with the wiper seals positioned to contact the slide-out room floor and the flap seal extending from the bottom pan seal assembly. This nested arrangement allows multiple sealing functions to be achieved within a compact, unified structure rather than separate independent components.
2Ease of manufacture
If a one-piece bottom pan seal system is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but adaptability to different configurations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom pan seal system incorporates adjustable elements including the wear bar with its specific design that allows for support against offset substrates, and the first leg with ribs of lower durometer material that can accommodate variations in slot length. These parameter adjustments enable the same basic one-piece structure to adapt to different RV configurations and floor conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom pan seal is designed as a multi-functional component that provides primary sealing, structural support through the wear bar, debris deflection via the wiper seals, and splash protection through the flap seal. This universal design allows a single manufactured part to perform multiple functions across different RV configurations, reducing the need for custom components.
3Strength
If high durometer material is used for the first leg, then abrasion resistance is improved, but sealing capability with the wear bar decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The first leg is constructed with a dual-durometer design: the main body uses high durometer material for abrasion resistance and structural strength, while the ribs extending from the first leg use lower durometer material specifically at the sealing interface with the wear bar. This local variation in material properties allows the single component to simultaneously achieve both abrasion resistance and effective sealing.
Data Source
AI summary
A bottom pan seal system for sealing a space between a floor of a slide-out room and a floor of a main cabin of a recreational vehicle, the bottom pan seal system having a bottom pan seal having a first leg having an outboard end and an inboard end. A second leg extends perpendicularly from the first leg. A wiper seal extends perpendicularly from the first leg opposite the second leg adjacent the outboard end. A flap seal extending perpendicularly from the second leg. A wear bar can be attached to three inboard end. The inboard end can have a wiper seal extending perpendicularly from the first leg and parallel to the wiper seal adjacent to the outboard end.