Window Balance Carrier Bracket Assembly with Pivotable Lock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid window balance systems experience undesirable operation due to play or slop between the carrier and the bracket, leading to inefficiencies in lifting and lowering heavy window sashes.
Innovation Solution
A carrier with a vertical rail system that slidingly engages a bracket, featuring a pivotable lock and brake mechanism to prevent disengagement, where the lock biases the brake into a deployed position to engage the window jamb and secure the bracket, reducing play and ensuring stable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a carrier and bracket assembly is used in a hybrid window balance system, then the system can lift and lower heavy window sashes, but play or slop exists between the carrier and bracket leading to undesirable operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a pivotable lock mechanism that can dynamically transition between locked and unlocked positions. The lock pivots about a pivot axis and includes a lock surface that engages with a corresponding surface on the bracket when in the locked position, eliminating play while allowing the carrier to be installed and removed when unlocked. This dynamic mechanism resolves the contradiction by providing operational stability during use while maintaining ease of installation and removal.
2Reliability
If the carrier is designed to securely engage the bracket to eliminate play, then operation stability improves, but the complexity of the carrier structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is segmented into distinct functional components: a body portion, a pivotable lock mechanism, and a brake mechanism. The lock is a separate pivoting element that can engage independently with the bracket, rather than requiring a completely redesigned carrier structure. This segmentation allows the carrier to maintain its basic simple form while adding the lock as a modular component that eliminates play without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivotable lock provides a dynamic engagement solution rather than a static rigid connection. The lock pivots about an axis and engages through surface contact, creating a simple yet effective mechanism that eliminates play without requiring complex interlocking structures. The brake mechanism also provides dynamic adjustment capability, allowing the carrier to adapt to different operational states while maintaining structural simplicity.
3Reliability
If a lock mechanism is added to prevent disengagement of the bracket from the carrier, then reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism is designed to pivot about a fixed axis rather than requiring multiple moving parts or complex actuation systems. The lock surface engages with a corresponding surface on the bracket through simple rotational motion, providing secure engagement without excessive complexity. The brake mechanism works in conjunction with the lock, using the same pivot axis, to provide additional engagement security through a unified simple mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock and brake mechanisms are combined and pivot about the same pivot axis, reducing the number of separate pivot points and simplifying the overall structure. The lock surface and brake surface work together to provide engagement security, merging multiple functions into a coordinated system that enhances reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A carrier for a window sash has a balance connecting portion configured to be connected to a window balance. A vertical rail system is configured to slidingly engage a bracket of the window sash.