Threaded Cylindrical Shim for Stable Window and Door Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional shims become unwieldy and prone to slipping when gaps exceed one-half inch, requiring multiple shims and frequent readjustment during installation, especially for windows and doors.
Innovation Solution
A threaded, booming cylindrical shim system with adjustable threaded cylinders and flanges that allow for infinite thickness adjustment, using materials like plastics for lighter applications and metals for heavier loads, and featuring a self-storing design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional wooden shims are used to fill gaps between window/door frames and building frames, then the installation can be completed with simple materials, but the shims become unwieldy and prone to slipping when gaps exceed one-half inch
Solution Approach 1:
The shim system employs adjustable thickness through threaded mechanisms, allowing the shim to dynamically adapt to different gap sizes. The boomable cylinder can be extended or retracted to precisely match the required gap dimension, ensuring optimal contact and stability without slipping regardless of whether the gap is small or exceeds one-half inch.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the key parameter of shim thickness from a fixed value to an adjustable variable. By incorporating threaded cylinders that can be boomed to different lengths, the shim system can adjust its thickness parameter to match any gap size, thereby maintaining reliability across all gap dimensions while keeping the basic material composition simple.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple traditional shims are used to fill larger gaps, then the gap can be adequately filled, but the installation process requires frequent readjustment and becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The shim is segmented into modular components including adjustable cylinders and flanges that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the installer to adjust each component to achieve precise gap filling in a single operation, eliminating the need for multiple shims and repeated readjustment while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable thickness mechanism allows a single shim to dynamically adapt to any gap size by extending or retracting the cylindrical components. This eliminates the need to install multiple fixed-thickness shims and repeatedly adjust them, thereby achieving both precise gap filling and improved installation productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional shims are used for precise thickness adjustment, then multiple shims of different thicknesses are needed, but this increases device complexity and inventory requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The shim design incorporates universal, standardized components such as flanges and threaded cylinders that can be combined in different configurations to achieve any required thickness. This multi-functionality allows a single shim design to replace multiple specialized shims of different thicknesses, thereby maintaining precise thickness adjustment capability while reducing overall system complexity and inventory requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The shim structure employs nested cylindrical components where smaller cylinders can be positioned within larger ones, allowing precise thickness adjustment through the relative positioning of nested elements. This nesting approach enables continuous thickness variation without requiring multiple discrete shim variants, thus maintaining manufacturing precision while simplifying the device structure.
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
Enables precise and stable installation of windows and doors by allowing infinite thickness adjustment, reducing the need for multiple shims and minimizing slippage, thus ensuring structural integrity and ease of installation.
Implementation Method 1
an inner cylinder placed inside the collar, where the inner cylinder has male threads, the inner cylinder configured to extend when the inner cylinder is rotated relative to the collar
Data Source
AI summary
A shim for appliances such as windows and doors is described herein. The shim includes a stack of two or more cylinders threaded together such that twisting one or more of the cylinders causes the shim to extend. A collar cylinder may be placed through a jamb of the door or window, where an inner wall of the collar has threads. An inner cylinder is placed inside the collar, where the inner cylinder has male threads, and the inner cylinder is configured to extend when the inner cylinder is rotated relative to the collar. In some cases, a ball is mechanically connected to the inner cylinder at one end and is configured to extend away from the jamb when the inner cylinder is rotated relative to the collar. Some cases include a shim base with a ball socket configured to receive the ball.