Sectional Gate Curved Guide Spiral Winding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Sectional doors with wide sections face challenges in being wound up without a large roll and sagging in the parking position, leading to potential contact with underlying slats, and existing solutions are costly and complex to manufacture and assemble.

Innovation Solution

The use of laterally guided sectional doors with concentric circular arc segments that taper inwardly, allowing for a compact coil shape and reducing the winding diameter, with radii decreasing towards the center, and employing a C-profile or similar shape for the guides to prevent section contact during winding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of moving object

If wide sections are used in sectional doors, then the door provides better coverage and visibility, but the sections sag in the parking position and contact underlying slats

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesection widthVSAvoidsection stability in parking position
Core Design Contradiction:
Length of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The lateral guides are designed with a curved spiral shape that winds inward toward the center axis, creating a tapered configuration. This curvature allows wide sections to follow a controlled arc path during winding, preventing sagging and contact with underlying slats while maintaining structural integrity throughout the coiling process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Productivity

If wide sections are wound up into a roll, then the door can be opened rapidly, but the roll becomes too large in dimensions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedoor opening speedVSAvoidparking space dimensions
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The lateral guides are configured to wind the door sections in a spiral pattern that progressively narrows toward the center axis, allowing sections to nest tightly within each other. This nested arrangement minimizes the overall volume of the rolled configuration while enabling rapid door operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Ease of operation

If a continuously curved spiral shape is used for lateral guides, then sections can be guided smoothly, but the guide becomes costly and complex to manufacture and assemble

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesection guidance smoothnessVSAvoidguide production cost and complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The lateral guides are divided into multiple discrete guide elements or segments that can be manufactured separately using standard fabrication processes. These segmented guides are then assembled in sequence to form the complete spiral configuration, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining smooth section guidance through proper segmentation design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2557264B1Sectional gate
Publication Date: 2015.10.21 ALPHA DEUREN INT
  • EP2557264B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2557264B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2557264B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a sectional door whose door leaf consists of individual, hingedly connected sections (18) which are guided in lateral guides (1, 2) by means of rollers, wherein the lateral guides (1, 2) transition from a vertical profile to a curved profile with a gap between the guides (2) and are arranged in a parked position in the lintel-side area, wherein the curved profile consists of concentrically extending individual arc segments (3, 4, 5, 6, 20, 21, 22, 23) whose radii taper from arc segment to arc segment, wherein the arc segments are alternately referenced to at least two arc segment centers (14, 15, 24, 25, 26) spaced apart by a distance.