Trapezoidal Tongue-and-Groove Panel Locking Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building panels face challenges in facilitating the locking process and reducing displacement and stress along their longitudinal sides due to moisture-related dimensional changes.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a trapezoidal groove with a tapered bottom and a trapezoidal tongue that forms a form-fitting connection, featuring a rounded sliding surface and a trough with a linear contact point, which minimizes play and internal stresses, allowing for improved alignment and stability between panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional locking means is used, then the locking process is complex and time-consuming, but the connection stability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rounded projection on the tongue that engages with a corresponding rounded recess in the groove, creating a curved surface contact instead of a flat or angular interface. This rounded geometry facilitates smoother insertion and locking while maintaining stable connection, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and connection stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking means utilizes dimensional changes in the wood material due to moisture content variations. The tongue and groove are designed with specific clearance parameters that accommodate swelling and shrinking, allowing the locking mechanism to remain functional and stable across different humidity conditions, thus improving both operability and stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the locking means is tight to reduce displacement, then connection stability improves, but internal stresses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design incorporates specific clearance parameters in the tongue and groove interface that change with moisture content. The clearance is larger when wood swells and smaller when wood shrinks, allowing the connection to maintain stability while accommodating dimensional changes without generating excessive internal stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The rounded projection and recess are designed with sufficient clearance to accommodate anticipated dimensional changes before they occur. This pre-planned clearance acts as a cushion that absorbs the dimensional changes, preventing the development of high internal stresses while maintaining connection stability.
3Reliability
If the locking means accommodates moisture-related dimensional changes, then reliability improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tongue and groove dimensions are designed as functions of expected moisture content variations. The clearance between mating surfaces is calculated to be optimal at different humidity levels, allowing the connection to reliably accommodate dimensional changes while maintaining manufacturability through well-defined geometric parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The rounded geometry of the projection and recess provides a tolerance buffer that reduces sensitivity to manufacturing variations. The curved surfaces naturally accommodate small dimensional deviations, maintaining reliable performance across production batches without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A plate-shaped, rectangular building panel with a first positive-locking tongue-and-groove connection (40), wherein the locking means (9) comprises a trapezoidal groove (13) whose inclined groove flank (25) transitions via a step (17) into a lowered recess (10) located outside the locking means (9), and wherein the locking means (19) comprises a trapezoidal tongue (24) which has a semicircular projection (26) for placement in said recess (10). The trough (10) is delimited by an inner wall (21), to which a sliding surface (20) is attached and extends to a trough edge (42) which lies in a lowest area (43) of the trough (10) close to the base surface (12), so that the trough (10) always extends from its trough edge (42) to the rounded step (17).