Spring-Loaded Rodent Barrier for Open Doorways
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rodent blocking devices fail to prevent rodents from entering dwellings through doorways while allowing human entry and are not easily collapsible to maintain the door in an open position.
Innovation Solution
A doorframe system with a base and a hingedly coupled rigid plate biased by springs, which can be held down by a person's weight in a horizontal position and automatically returns to a vertical position to block rodents, utilizing resilient elastomeric panels attached to vertical supports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rodent blocking device is installed in a doorway, then rodents are prevented from entering, but the door cannot remain in an open position
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking device is divided into a base portion that remains stationary on the floor and a plate portion that can be raised or lowered independently. This segmentation allows the door to remain open while the plate is in the lowered position, and provides rodent protection when the plate is raised, resolving the contradiction between door openness and rodent exclusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate is made movable between a raised position (blocking rodents) and a lowered position (allowing door openness). The spring mechanism provides automatic dynamic adjustment, allowing the plate to be easily lowered by foot pressure and automatically return to the blocking position, enabling both door openness and rodent protection at different times.
2Reliability
If a rigid rodent barrier is used to block entry, then rodents are effectively excluded, but the device cannot be easily collapsed
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is designed to be dynamically adjustable between raised and lowered positions. When lowering is desired, a simple foot pressure action easily collapses the barrier by pushing the plate down, and the spring automatically returns it to the blocking position without requiring complex manual assembly or disassembly mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring mechanism provides self-service functionality by automatically returning the plate to the raised blocking position after it has been lowered. This eliminates the need for manual reassembly or complex collapsing mechanisms, simplifying the device while maintaining effective rodent exclusion when needed.
3Ease of operation
If a door is kept in an open position for accessibility, then human entry is facilitated, but rodents can enter through the open doorway
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking function is segmented from the door structure itself and placed on the floor as a separate base with a movable plate. This allows the door to remain open for accessibility while the independent plate provides rodent protection at doorway level, resolving the contradiction between door openness and rodent exclusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable plate acts as an intermediary barrier between the open doorway and the interior space. It provides rodent protection without interfering with human access through the open door, as humans can pass through while the plate remains in the lowered or raised position as needed.
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
Effectively prevents rodents from entering while allowing human passage and maintaining the door in an open position, ensuring easy collapsibility and effective rodent exclusion.
Implementation Method 1
A biasing member is mechanically coupled to the plate and biases the plate in a vertical orientation
Implementation Method 2
utilizing resilient elastomeric panels attached to vertical supports
Data Source
AI summary
A rodent entrance blocking device and method includes a doorframe that has a first vertical support and a second vertical support. A base has a bottom side, a top side, a first lateral side and a second lateral side. A distance from the first lateral side to the second lateral side is substantially equal to a distance between the first and second vertical supports. A rigid plate has a bottom edge, a top edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The bottom edge is hingedly coupled to top side of the base. The plate extends between the first and second lateral sides. A biasing member is mechanically coupled to the plate and biases the plate in a vertical orientation. The base is positioned between the first and second vertical supports of the doorframe. The base extends between the first and second vertical supports.