Wall Panel Assembly With Channel Frame And Corner Coupler
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing architectural wall panel systems face issues with uneven expansion and contraction due to environmental temperature changes and moisture, leading to gaps and structural damage, and require precise drilling, which is costly, labor-intensive, and can damage materials, affecting the aesthetic and warranty validity.
Innovation Solution
A wall panel assembly design that eliminates the need for precise hole drilling by using frame members with channels and corner members that allow fasteners to pass through at any location, reducing assembly complexity and risk of damage, and incorporating a snap-fit engagement mechanism for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If precise pre-drilling of holes is used to attach panel to frame members, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase due to requiring CNC operators and precision drilling machines
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment system is segmented into three independent components: the panel with pre-formed holes, the frame member with a channel, and the corner member with coupling portions. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately with standard tolerances, eliminating the need for precise coordinated drilling across multiple components while maintaining secure attachment through the channel-receiving-portion interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The corner member acts as an intermediary component that couples the panel to the frame member. Its frame member coupling portions with channels provide a mediating interface that accommodates dimensional variations and eliminates the need for precise direct alignment between panel holes and frame member holes, simplifying the overall assembly process.
2Device complexity
If holes are drilled at assembly stage by hand drill, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases and manufacturing precision worsens due to inconsistent hole size and alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The holes in the panel are pre-formed during panel manufacturing rather than being drilled at the assembly stage. This preliminary action eliminates time-consuming assembly-stage drilling operations, maintains consistent hole quality through controlled manufacturing processes, and speeds up the overall assembly process while reducing the need for complex drilling equipment.
3Strength
If fasteners are passed through panel and extruded members to fasten components, then strength of attachment is improved, but object-affected harmful factors increase due to particles, chips or filings contaminating the assembly and scratching the panel
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful drilling operation is extracted from the assembly process. Instead of drilling holes through the panel and frame member at assembly time (which generates contaminating particles and chips), the holes are pre-formed in the panel during manufacturing under controlled conditions. The frame member uses a channel that receives a portion of the corner member, eliminating the need for drilling through the frame member itself and thus preventing contamination and scratching during assembly.
4Adaptability or versatility
If panel is bent or folded to form side wall to connect with supporting frame, then adaptability is improved for connecting to frame, but reliability decreases due to gaps forming at corners from uneven expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The corner member is designed with specific local qualities: it has a first portion that receives the panel and a second portion that couples to the frame member, with a channel in the second portion that accommodates the coupling. This localized structural design at the corner connection points provides stable geometric relationships that accommodate thermal expansion and contraction while maintaining structural integrity and preventing gaps at the corners.
Data Source
AI summary
A wall panel assembly includes a panel having a main wall portion and sidewall portions extending away from the main wall portion, a plurality of frame members each having opposing end portions and a first channel extending between the opposing end portions, and a plurality of corner members. Each corner member has a pair of conjoined frame member coupling portions each for coupling with a corresponding end portion of a corresponding one of the frame members for defining a support frame for supporting the panel. Each frame member coupling portion has a second channel extending therealong normal to each of the first channels. Fasteners extend through the sidewall portions of the panel into the first channels and second channels to couple the panel with the support frame.