Window System Impact Protection via Biasing Member
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Glass products, such as automobile windshields and home windows, are prone to breakage due to impact forces from debris, and existing manufacturing advancements to enhance resilience are costly and may not effectively prevent breakage in existing products.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a housing with a contact member and a biasing member is used to inhibit glass breakage by transferring and dissipating impact forces, which includes a contact member disposed inside the housing, biased towards an aperture, and means to secure the housing to a glass surface, allowing the biasing member to absorb and redistribute impact forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If manufacturing advancements are made to improve glass resilience, then the resistance to impact forces is improved, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A decoupling device is introduced as an intermediary component between the glass pane and the muntin bar. This device includes a contact member that contacts the glass and a biasing member that can deform to absorb impact forces, thereby protecting the glass without requiring changes to the glass manufacturing process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective function is segmented from the glass pane itself and placed in a separate decoupling device. This allows the glass to remain simple and inexpensive to manufacture while the protective function is provided by the modular decoupling device with its contact member and biasing member.
2Strength
If manufacturing advancements are made to improve glass resilience, then the resistance to impact forces is improved, but the existing products cannot be enhanced
Solution Approach 1:
The decoupling device serves as an intermediary protective element that can be added to existing glass products without requiring them to be remanufactured. The device interfaces between the glass pane and the muntin bar, providing impact protection as an after-market enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The decoupling device is designed to be pre-installed on glass panes to provide protective action before impact occurs. The biasing member is pre-loaded to be ready to absorb impact forces immediately when debris strikes the glass.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid connection is used between glass and frame, then the structural stability is improved, but the impact forces are not dissipated
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between the glass pane and muntin bar is changed from rigid to dynamic. The biasing member (spring element) allows the connection to deform dynamically during impact, absorbing energy while maintaining structural stability. The contact member can move relative to the muntin bar to accommodate impact forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing member is pre-loaded with elastic energy to provide cushioning before impact occurs. When debris strikes the glass, the pre-compressed spring immediately absorbs the impact force, reducing the transmission of harmful forces to the glass and frame.
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
The solution effectively reduces the likelihood of glass breakage by absorbing and redistributing impact forces, potentially reducing the need for costly manufacturing enhancements and improving the durability of existing glass products without altering their manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member biasing the contact member toward the housing aperture... impact force is transferred from the glass item to the biasing member via the contact member
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for selectively viewing a projection includes a first pane having a top margin and a bottom margin, an angled panel having a top edge and a bottom edge, wherein one of the top edge and the bottom edge is situated proximate the first pane; and a projector configured to project onto one of the first pane and the angled panel. The first pane and the angled panel are spatially connected by a rim at the top and bottom margins of the first pane and the top and bottom edges of the angled panel.