Traffic Door Trailing Edge Frame Monolithic Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traffic doors have a limited operational life due to repeated impacts from material handling equipment, often resulting in crack formation and failure at the rear edge where the spine is mounted, leading to early onset of inoperability.
Innovation Solution
A traffic door design featuring a trailing edge frame member formed by a monolithic tubular beam with a central web, providing additional strength and avoiding sharp corners, combined with a peripheral frame and internal support structure to distribute impact forces effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional frame construction with cutouts and intermediate tabs is used to accommodate hinge mounts, then the door can be mounted to the doorway, but sharp corners form stress concentration points that lead to crack initiation and reduced operational life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces sharp corners with rounded corners in the frame construction. Specifically, the frame members are designed with rounded corners at the cutouts and intermediate tabs instead of sharp 90-degree angles. This curvature eliminates stress concentration points that would otherwise initiate cracks under repeated impact loading, thereby extending the operational life of the traffic door while maintaining the necessary structural strength.
2Strength
If the frame is designed with multiple separate elements to provide structural support, then the door achieves sufficient strength, but the complex assembly increases manufacturing difficulty and potential weak points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate frame elements into integrated, continuous frame members. Instead of assembling multiple discrete pieces to form the frame, the design uses continuous frame members that incorporate cutouts, intermediate tabs, and support structures as integral parts. This merging reduces the number of joints and connections required, simplifies manufacturing, and eliminates potential weak points at connection interfaces while maintaining structural strength.
3Strength
If the frame members are made with sufficient thickness to resist impact, then the door can withstand repeated impacts, but the weight of the door increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the thickness and material distribution of frame members based on specific functional requirements. Frame members are designed with thicker sections at locations experiencing high impact forces (such as the leading edge and areas around hinge mounts) while maintaining appropriate thickness elsewhere. This localized reinforcement provides necessary impact resistance without uniformly increasing the weight of the entire door, optimizing the strength-to-weight ratio.
Data Source
AI summary
A frame for a traffic door having a leading edge, trailing edge, top edge, and bottom edge. The frame includes a trailing edge frame member having first and second ends and configured to extend along the trailing edge of the traffic door. The trailing edge frame member is a monolithic body having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion extends between the first and second ends in a continuous and linear manner. The trailing edge frame member further includes a first cutout from the second portion of the trailing edge frame member adjacent the first end and a second cutout from the second portion of the trailing edge frame member adjacent the second end to define a central tab. A traffic door having such a frame is disclosed. A method of forming a traffic door with such a frame is also disclosed.