Sectional Gate Guide Rail Gap Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sectional doors with lateral guides pose a safety risk due to the large opening between the door panels and guide rails, allowing lateral intervention, which can lead to accidents.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates spacers and cladding to reduce the accessible opening width between the guide rail sections, ensuring the door's functionality while preventing access, with the roller axis forming part of the fitting and spacers closing the gap between fittings, and adjustable cladding for maintenance and local adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lateral guides are left open for easy access and maintenance, then ease of operation and maintenance is improved, but safety deteriorates due to risk of lateral intervention and accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing preliminary securing means (clamps, covers, or enclosures) that are pre-positioned to secure the lower section of the lateral guide rails before any harmful lateral intervention can occur. These securing means can be activated when not in use to prevent access, while still allowing easy access when needed for maintenance or operation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the opening width between panels and guide rails is reduced to prevent access, then safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to restricted access for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by designing the securing means as movable or adjustable elements that can dynamically change their state between secured (closed) and accessible (open) positions. The clamps, covers, or enclosures can be easily positioned to secure the guide rails during normal operation and opened when maintenance or adjustment is required, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and maintainability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If spacers and cladding are added to reduce opening width, then safety is improved by preventing lateral intervention, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the securing means to serve multiple functions simultaneously: the clamps, covers, or enclosures not only prevent lateral intervention and improve safety but also provide structural support, guide rail protection, and maintenance access control. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate safety devices, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly reduces the risk of accidents by minimizing the opening width to 15 mm or less, ensuring safe operation and maintaining door mobility, even in high-speed or spiral configurations.
Implementation Method 1
The roller axle simultaneously forms the hinge pin, which is inserted between the hinge leaves to be joined. This maintains the fitting's mobility while simultaneously securing and supporting the roller axles.
Implementation Method 2
The roller axle has at least one roller or guide element at one end to allow the sectional door panel to move within the lateral guide rails.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a sectional door with a relocatable sectional door leaf (19) consisting of several panel elements (6) connected to each other by pivot-jointed fittings (35), the fittings being mounted on the inner sides (18) of the panels, and the sectional door leaf (19) being guided in a relocatable manner in lateral guide rails (1), the opening width (12) between the substantially vertical guide rail sections (1) on each side of the sectional door leaf (19) and the end faces (14) of the panel elements (6) being closed by a fixed covering (8) and spacers (25) in such a way that lateral access to the guide rails (1) is not possible or only possible under difficult conditions, while at the same time the relocatability of the sectional door leaf (19) is maintained.