Tool-Free Solar Screen Frame Assembly for Compact Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solar screen framing systems are bulky and costly to ship, and difficult for end-users to assemble without tools and extensive experience.
Innovation Solution
A screen framing system designed for easy assembly by end-users without tools, featuring a combination of vertically and horizontally oriented frame members with interlock and elongate wedge members, allowing compact shipping and secure attachment of solar screen fabric to frame members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If solar screen frames are shipped unassembled to reduce shipping bulk, then shipping cost is reduced, but assembly difficulty increases requiring tools and extensive experience
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is divided into multiple segments (vertical frame members and horizontal frame members) that can be shipped separately in a compact configuration and then assembled by the end user. This segmentation allows the frame to be collapsed into a smaller shipping volume while maintaining the capability for straightforward on-site assembly without requiring specialized tools or extensive experience.
2Ease of manufacture
If solar screen frames are made bulky to accommodate all components, then assembly completeness is ensured, but shipping cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame members are designed to nest within one another when not in use, with vertical frame members and horizontal frame members configured to fit inside each other. This nesting arrangement significantly reduces the shipping volume and cost while ensuring that all necessary components are included and protected during transit.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional multi-step assembly directions are used to ensure proper installation, then installation accuracy is improved, but user complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame members incorporate self-aligning features and intuitive connection mechanisms that guide the end user through the assembly process without requiring complex instructions. The design includes features such as recesses, protrusions, and connection points that naturally align components during assembly, allowing the product to be self-installing with minimal user intervention and no specialized tools needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A screen framing system that is easily and cost-effectively shipped in a compact form, and that is configured to be easily assembled by an end-user without tools and without extensive experience in assembling such framing systems. A plurality of hollow elongate frame members, when connected to one another, provide structural rigidity for the mounting of screen fabric attached to the elongate frame members. The screen fabric has edges having a thickness greater than the thickness of the non-edge portions of the screen fabric, which are configured to slide into end openings of channels formed on the interior edges of the elongate frame member. An interlock member having an aperture configured to align with a channel of one elongate frame member, and an extending tab configured to mate with a channel of a second elongate frame member, together act to connect adjoining elongate frame members.