Segmented Shutter Assembly With Flexible Rod Couplings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large shutters with a large opening and closing body pose challenges in assembly due to space and labor requirements, making the process cumbersome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A shutter design featuring a pair of guide rails with a guide path and a flexible coupling mechanism using rod-shaped members and coupling members with fitting parts that cover a portion of the rod's outer surface, allowing for easy assembly of multiple components without a wide space and reduced labor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a large sheet-shaped opening and closing body is used, then the shutter can effectively cover large areas, but the assembly operation becomes difficult due to space and labor constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The opening and closing body is divided into multiple rod-shaped members arranged in parallel along the guide direction. Each rod-shaped member is a separate component that can be independently assembled, eliminating the need to handle a single large sheet-shaped structure. This segmentation enables assembly in limited spaces with fewer workers while still achieving the required coverage area when all rods are coupled together.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple rod-shaped members are coupled together, then assembly becomes easier, but the coupling mechanism must ensure secure connection
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting parts include a cover part made of flexible material that covers a portion of the rod-shaped member's outer circumferential surface. This flexible cover part can elastically deform during the fitting process to accommodate the rod, then returns to its original shape to provide a secure retaining force. The flexibility allows for easy assembly while the elastic recovery ensures reliable coupling security, preventing accidental detachment.
3Reliability
If the cover part covers a larger portion of the rod's outer surface, then coupling security improves, but insertion difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover part is designed with specific geometric parameters: it covers a range of the outer circumferential surface that is smaller than the full circumference but larger than half the circumference when viewed in the first direction. This parameter optimization provides sufficient coupling security while leaving enough uncovered portion to facilitate easy insertion of the rod-shaped member. The flexible material property further enables the cover to deform during insertion and then secure the rod reliably.
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
Facilitates easy assembly of large shutters by reducing space requirements and the number of workers needed, while ensuring secure coupling of components.
Implementation Method 1
each of the fitting parts includes a cover part having flexibility and configured to cover a range of an outer circumferential surface of the fitted rod-shaped member
Data Source
AI summary
An opening and closing body includes a plurality of rod-shaped members, and a plurality of coupling members configured to couple the plurality of rod-shaped members. Each of the coupling members includes a pair of fitting parts that are spaced apart in a guide direction and configured to be fitted to a coupling target pair of rod-shaped members that are adjacent to each other in the guide direction. Each of the fitting parts includes a cover part having flexibility and configured to cover a range of an outer circumferential surface of the fitted rod-shaped member, the range being smaller than a circumference of the outer circumferential surface and larger than half the circumference as viewed in a first direction.