Shower door with concealed small rail sliding assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shower doors with dampers require increased upper rail height to conceal the damper, leading to higher manufacturing costs and aesthetic issues, or expose hanging clips if the rail height is not increased.
Innovation Solution
A concealed small-rail sliding assembly for shower doors, featuring an upper rail with a top plate, first and second cover plates, and sliding rails that allow the sliding assembly, movable door panel, and hanging clips to be fully enclosed within the upper rail, maintaining aesthetics and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the upper rail height is increased to conceal the damper, then the damper can be hidden, but the manufacturing cost increases and the aesthetics are adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-plane rail structure to a multi-dimensional nested structure by creating a sliding cavity within the upper rail cross-section. The sliding assembly is positioned in the depth dimension of the rail, allowing the damper to be concealed within the rail's cross-sectional profile rather than requiring increased height. This dimensional reorganization enables aesthetic concealment without additional manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding assembly including the damper is nested within the upper rail structure. The first and second cover plates form a sliding cavity that houses the sliding wheels and damper, creating a nested configuration where the functional components are contained within the decorative rail profile. This nesting allows the damper to be hidden while maintaining the original rail dimensions and cost structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the upper rail height is not increased, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the hanging clip becomes exposed and aesthetics are adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The hanging clip is repositioned from an external attachment to an internal component nested within the sliding cavity. By utilizing the depth dimension of the upper rail cross-section, the hanging clip becomes concealed within the rail profile rather than protruding externally. This dimensional relocation maintains original rail dimensions while achieving aesthetic concealment.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanging clip is nested within the sliding cavity formed by the first and second cover plates. This nesting arrangement hides the hanging clip within the rail's cross-sectional profile, preventing external exposure while maintaining the original rail height and avoiding increased manufacturing costs.
3Device complexity
If a conventional rail structure is used, then the structure is simple, but the sliding assembly and hanging clips are exposed and aesthetics are adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The upper rail is segmented into functional zones: the top plate forms the external profile, the first and second cover plates create the sliding cavity, and the bottom plate closes the structure. This segmentation allows the rail to simultaneously maintain simple external geometry while containing complex sliding mechanisms internally, achieving both structural simplicity and aesthetic concealment.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding assembly is nested within the upper rail structure. The first cover plate and second cover plate form a sliding cavity that houses the sliding wheels and hanging clips, creating a nested configuration where functional components are contained within the decorative rail profile, concealing them while maintaining structural simplicity.
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
The solution effectively conceals the sliding assembly and hanging clips within the upper rail, enhancing the product's aesthetics while maintaining stability and reliability, and reducing manufacturing costs by avoiding the need for increased rail height.
Implementation Method 1
a damper is generally provided on the rail of the shower door
Implementation Method 2
The sliding wheels are mounted at two sides of each sliding wheel bracket, the sliding wheels on a first side of each sliding wheel bracket are in contact with the first side sliding rail, the sliding wheels on a second side of each sliding wheel bracket are in contact with the second side sliding rail
Data Source
AI summary
A shower door with a hidden small rail sliding assembly having an upper rail assembly, a sliding assembly, a movable door assembly and a fixed door assembly. The upper rail assembly includes an upper rail and damper triggering members installed on the upper rail. The sliding assembly includes sliding wheels, sliding wheel brackets, a damper, and a damper bracket. The movable door assembly includes a movable door panel and hanging clamps fixed at the top edge of the movable door panel. The upper rail is provided with a top plate, a first baffle plate, and a second baffle plate that are parallel to each other. The bottom surface of the first baffle plate and the bottom surface of the second baffle plate are flush. The sliding assembly, the top edge of the movable door panel and the hanging clamps are integrally contained in the sliding cavity.