Sliding Door Guide With Reinforcement Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding door or gate guides are heavy and costly due to thick metal construction, leading to high storage, transport, and installation difficulties, and require costly surface treatments for wear and corrosion resistance, especially for the embedded head portion.
Innovation Solution
A guide with a profiled metal element of reduced thickness (1-2 mm) and a reinforcement element with Ω-like shape, made from high-strength steel, which is surface-treated and embedded with the guide to enhance adhesion and resistance, allowing for lighter weight and lower production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the head thickness is increased to withstand rolling forces, then the guide achieves sufficient strength, but the weight and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different thicknesses to different parts of the guide: the head has reduced thickness (1-2mm) while the wings maintain sufficient thickness for embedding strength. This local differentiation allows the head to be lighter without compromising overall structural integrity, as the wings provide the necessary anchoring in the cement conglomerate.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide combines metal profiled elements with cement conglomerate embedding. The metal provides structural framework while the cement conglomerate provides additional strength and anchoring, allowing the metal head to be thinner than it would need to be if made from solid metal alone.
2Weight of stationary object
If the guide is made with reduced thickness to lower weight, then transport and installation become easier, but the resistance to lateral forces and rolling forces decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The wings are designed with sufficient thickness specifically for embedding in the cement conglomerate to resist lateral forces, while the head portion has reduced thickness. The wings' geometry and embedding depth provide the necessary lateral resistance without requiring the entire guide to be thick.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide is pre-installed in the cement conglomerate before door operation begins. This preliminary embedding in a rigid matrix provides immediate structural support and resistance to lateral forces, allowing the metal itself to be thinner than it would need to be for standalone operation.
3Reliability
If surface treatment is applied to the head for wear and corrosion resistance, then the guide achieves necessary durability, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Surface treatment is applied selectively only to the head portion of the guide that requires wear and corrosion resistance, rather than treating the entire guide. This localized treatment reduces material consumption and production costs while maintaining necessary durability where required.
4Loss of substance
If the head thickness is reduced to lower material waste, then material efficiency improves, but the ability to withstand intense rolling forces diminishes
Solution Approach 1:
The head is pre-installed in the cement conglomerate before service begins. This preliminary embedding provides immediate structural support from the rigid cement matrix, allowing the metal head to be thinner than it would need to be for standalone operation while still withstanding rolling forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide combines thin metal profiled elements with cement conglomerate embedding. The cement conglomerate acts as a composite material that provides additional strength and load-bearing capacity, allowing the metal head to be thinner and reducing material waste while maintaining resistance to rolling forces.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A guide (1) particularly for sliding entrance doors or gates, comprising a profiled element (2) which has a head (3) provided with a circular and hollow cross-section from which a stem (4) protrudes radially; the guide (1) comprises at least one reinforcement element (11) which is arranged so as to surround coaxially at least the head of the profiled element.