Title of Invention

"A HINGELESS FOLDABLE PANEL SYSTEM"

Abstract

The invention relates to a hingeless foldable panel system which comprises a plurality of panels which are connected together with concave convex shaped curved members. The curved members are fitted either directly onto the panels or through a mount member. The members are fixed by welding or screwing. The curved members are fixed so that the convex or concave surface of the curved members faces the planner surface of panels or the surface of mount members.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the hingeless foldable panel. In particularly, this invention relates to the hingeless device and its mechanism, required to be folded and unfolded, more particularly, it relates to the hingeless device and its mechanism, required to be folded to save the space occupied by the device during transportation and subsequently to be unfolded at the site of installation. BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION: The structural members, required to be designed for folding and subsequently deployment operations, are generally termed as collapsable structures, herein after referred as device. The most commonly known such device is the umbrella, which is folded and unfolded as and when required. Another example of such device is that of bridges, which are also folded during the transportation, mainly for the convenience and to save the space occupied during the transportation, and unfolded during deployment at the desired site. Still another example of such collapsable structures is that of the foldable and unfoldable doors of the lift, which are folded and unfolded to allow the passengers to enter in and come out. Still further an example of such device is that of the folding hand fan. Yet another an example of such a device is that of the door closure, which helps openning and closing of the doors. Still further an example of such a device is that of the ladders with trolley used by the fire fighting personnels and by the personnels of the public works departments. The examples stated above use one or the other means and the mechanism for the folding and unfolding the said device. Such means and mechanisms thereof are either too simple, like that of umbrella, hand fans, doors of lifts and spiral bound book or magzine etc, which are not suitable to be used for the heavy engineering structures; or complicated, like that of ladders with trolley and door closures etc, which are not reliable; or too complicated, like that of bridges etc, which are difficult and expensive to construct and are not reliable and convenient in operation. Such konwn means and mechanisms generally comprise of at least one hinge of the lower pair type. The major drawback of the hinge arrangement and mechanism thereof is that of the friction at the joining part of the two parts connected through the hinge, which adds in the maintainance cost and also results in wear and tear of the hinge, and the latter may finaHy result in the failure of the mechanism. This drawback can not be overcome fully. However, it can be overcome partially by lubrication of the hinges to avoid the wear and tear of the same. The lubrication further adds to the drawbacks of its own, particularly of making the system untidy. Another drawback of the hinge arrangement and mechanism thereof is that the two parts connected through the hinge are not prefectly packed, that is the gap is generally left over, which in-tum adds to the extra space and volume. Still another drawback of the hinge arrangement and mechanism thereof is that the auto-unfolding of the parts connected through the hinge is not possible. To overcome this drawback, the arrangement of the spring structure becomes essential, which has disadvantages of its own, like constructional complexity of device, failure over a period of time, adding to further weight and cost. To overcome the drawback of the arrangement of the spring structures the hydraulic mechanism has been used by many. But this arrangement also has more or less similar disadvantages as that of the spring and hinge arrangements. The means and mechanism of folding and unfolding of the devices, like bridges and ladders with trolley, although suitable for the light and heavy structures, but have various drawbacks, in-addition to the drawbacks stated herein above. The major drawback of such means and mechanism of folding and unfolding of the devices is that the reliability of the deployment is poor, which mainly is due to the reason that the means of folding and unfolding may jam. The jaming of such means is due to the snag in the mechanism and/or failure to receive or to provide the deployment command. Another drawback of such means and mechanism of folding and unfolding of the devices is that the system is complex and expensive, particularly In veiw of the attempt to improve the reliability. Such system generally comprises the hydraulic system and mechanism thereof, as stated herein above. In-addition, such systems may comprise the controller device and mechanism thereof, if the auto-folding and auto-unfolding operation is the requirement. Still another drawback of such known devices is that of the significant weight penalty due to the complexity of the deployment mechanism. Such addition of weight limits their use in the space applications. The process of launching and installation of the space structures demands an extremely efficient scheme of storage of the structures and their transportation to the stage of launching, wherein these structured are unfolded and installed. The reason for requirement of such an efficient system is that a launch vehicle has to pass through the atmosphere and therefore, its external surface must be designed with stringent constraints imposed by aerodynamics. This dictates that the space structure to be installed be kept in a folded state as part of the rocket payload. The problem is complicated further by the fact that many space structures possess a large area in their expanded form, that is in their operational conditions. Mostly such structures comprises of flat structures required to be folded during transportation and unfolded at the time of deployment. It is understood, that the simple means and mechanisms for folding and unfolding of such structures, as known in the prior art, are not suitable for such structures. Similarly, the complicated means and mechanisms adds to the weight of such structures, which is undesirable and are complex to construct and unreliable, as described herein above. The drawbacks and the disadvantages associated with the known means and mechanisms of the known folding and unfolding devices are not only limited to the space structures, but also to other such structures, like umbrella, door closures, bridges etc., as described herein above. The major drawback of such known means and mechanisms of such known devices is that the elimination of the hinge and/or spring and/or hydraulic arrangements results in the failure of the folding and unfolding mechanism of such devices, as described herein above. NEED OF THE INVENTION : Therefore, ther is a need to have a novel means and mechanism for the folding and unfolding of the device, which is required to be folded during the transportation to save the space and for convenience of transportation and unfolded at the time of deployment, and can overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages of the hinge, spring and hydraulic means and mechanisms of the prior art, as described herein above or can totally eliminate the use of the hinge and/or spring and/or hydraulic arrangements and still does not result in the failure of the folding and unfolding mechanism of such devices or structures, as referred herein above. OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION : This is the main object of the present invention to provide an hingeless foldable and unfoldable device and mechanism thereof, in particularly, an hingeless device, required to be folded and unfolded, more particularly, the hingless device, required to be folded to save the space occupied by the device during transportation and subsequently to be unfolded at the site of installation, and its mechanism, which can overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages of the hinge, spring and hydraulic means and mechanisms of the prior art by totally eliminating the use of such arrangements. This is another an object of this invention to propose for a foldable and unfoldable device and mechanism thereof, as stated herein above, which does not comprise of any hinge means and mechanism thereof. Hence eliminates all the drawbacks and disadvantages of the hinge arrangement. This is yet another an object of the present invention to propose for an hingeless foldable and unfoldable device and mechanism thereof, as stated herein above, which does not comprise of any spring structure and hence overcome all the drawbacks and the disadvantages of the spring arrangement. Still another an object of the present invention is to propose for an hingeless foldable and unfoldable device and mechanism thereof, as stated herein above, which does not comprise of any hydraulic means and mechanism and hence overcome all the drawbacks and the disadvantages of such an arrangement. STATEMENT OF INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a hingeless foldable panel comprising a plurality of sub-panels characterized by: at least one concave shaped curved member, the surface of said member being concave, when looked at from the direction perpendicular to one of the surfaces and being convex, when looked at for the direction perpendicular to the other surface; and said curved member fixed at each end onto a sub-panel of a pair of said sub-panels either directly or along with an intervening mount member, said convex or concave surface of the member at each end facing the surface of said sub-panel or the surface of said mount member. DESCRIPTION & PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF INVENTION: Accordingly, the present invention makes a disclosure of the hingeless foldable and unfoldable device and mechanism thereof, paticularly of the hingeless device and its mechanism, required to be folded and unfolded, more particularly of the hingeless device and its mechanism, required to be folded to save the space occupied by the device during transportation and subsequently to be unfolded at the site of installation. In accordance to the present invention the device, as stated herein above, comprises of at least two parts, required to be folded and unfolded as and when required, herein after referred to as panels, and means of folding and unfolding thereof, herein after referred to as curved member. In accordance to the preferred embodiment of this invention the panels can be of any shape and dimension, preferably they are of the rectangular or square having the flat or the curved surfaces. However, the present invention is not limited by selection of the panels, that is by the selection of the shape and dimensions of the panels. It will be understood, that the presently disclosed invention is suitable to connect a panel with second panel in continuation to the desired number to have multiple panel device connected in accordance to the preferred embodiments of this invention. In accordance to the preferred embodiment of this invention the curved member is a metallic strip having upper and lower surfaces. The upper and lower surfaces are essentially concave in shape when looked from the lower surface and convex when looked from the upper surface. In accordance to one of the preferred embodiments the curved member is a strip of limited width and more than one of such strips connect the two panels. In accordance to another preferred embodiment, the curved member is a strip of the width almost equal to, preferably slightly shorter than the length of the panels and only one such strip connects the two panels. In accordance to still another preferred embodiment of this invention the curved member is fixed onto the panels directly or indirectly through the mount member, preferably through the mount member, which in-turn is fixed onto the panels, preferably by welding or with the help of screws, and the strips are in-turn fixed onto the mount member again preferably by welding or with the help of screws. In accordance to the most preferred embodiment of this invention the curved member is fixed onto the mount member, as described herein above, by facing the concave surface of the curved member towards the mount member and hence the panel. However, the present invention is not restricted by this arrangement, the curved member can also be fixed with the convex surface, that is the upper surface of the curved member facing towards the mount member. The foregoing description is explained with the help of the accompanying drawings, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS : Figure-1 shows the device with two panels in unfolded condition (figure-la) and semifolded condition (figure-1b), in accordance to the one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Figure-2 shows the device with two panels in unfolded condition (figure-2a) and semifolded condition (figure-2b), in accordance to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure-3 shows the curved members in accordance to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Figure-4 shows the cross-sectional view of the curved member fixed onto the panel directly (figure-4a) and indirectly through the mount member, which in-turn is fixed onto the panel (figure-4b), in accordance to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Figure-5 shows the cross-sectional view of the curved member fixed onto the panel directly (figure-5a) and indirectly through the mount member, which in-turn is fixed onto the panel (figure-Sb), in accordance to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure-6 shows the cross-sectional view of the curved member fixed onto the panel indirectly through the mount member, which in-turn is fixed onto the panel, in accordance to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure-7 shows the device with multiple panels in unfolded condition (figure-7), in accordance to still further a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure-8 shows the device with multiple panels in unfolded condition (figure-8), in accordance to the yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly the present invention discloses the device, as stated herein above, comprising of at least two panels (1 and 2) and curved member (5) means of folding and unfolding. Now referring to the figures-1 and 2, the panels (1 and 2) having the length (3) and width (4) are connected through the curved members (5). The curved member (5) has two surfaces, that is the upper surface (6) and the lower surface (7) and two parallel sides (8 and 9) as shown in figure-3. The cavity (10) is formed on the lower surface (7) due to both the surfaces (6 and 7) being concave in shape, when looked from the lower surface (7). The upper (6) and lower (7) surfaces are essentially concave in shape when looked from the lower surface (7) and convex when looked from the upper surface (6). In accordance to one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention the curved member (5) is a strip of limited width (11) and more than one of such member (5) connect the two panels (1 and 2) as shown in figures-1, 4 and 7. In accordance to another preferred embodiment, the curved member (5) is a strip of the width (11) almost less than or equal to, preferably slightly shorter than the length (3) of the panels (1,2) and only one such strip (5) connects the two panels (1,2) as shown in figures-2, 5 and 8. In accordance to the preferred embodiment of this invention the curved member (5) is fixed on to the panels (1 and 2) directly by welding or theough screws, as shown in figures-4a and 5a or indirectly, preferably through the mount member (12) as shown in figures-4b and 5b, which can have one convex surface (13) and another flat surface (14) [as shown in figure 5b] or both flat surfaces [as shown in figure 6] and in-turn is fixed onto the panels (1 and 2), preferably by welding or with the help of screws (15), and the curved member (5) [as shown in figure 5b and 6] or curved members (5) [as shown in figure 4b] are in-turn fixed onto the mount member (12) again preferably by welding or with the help of same set of screws (15) used to fix the mount members (12) onto the panels (1 and 2). In accordance to the most preferred embodiment of this invention the curved member (5) is fixed onto the mount member (12), as described herein above, by facing the lower concave surface (7) of the curved member (5) towards the mount t member (12) and hence the panel (1,2) as shown in the figures-4b and 5b. However, the curved member (5) can also be fixed with the convex surface, that is the upper surface (6) of the curved member (5) facing towards the mount member (12) as shown in the figure-6. It will be understood, that the presently disclosed invention is suitable to connect a panel (1) with second panel (2) in continuation to the desired number to have multiple panel device connected in accordance to the preferred embodiments of this invention as shown in figures-7 and 8. The present invention has been explained with the help of accompanying drawings, which are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It is obvious to the persons having knowledge of the field, that various modifications are possible, which may fall within the scope of the present invention. WE CLAIM:- 1. A hingeless foldable panel comprising a plurality of sub-panels characterized by: at least one concave shaped curved member, the surface of said member being concave, when looked at from the direction perpendicular to one of the surfaces and being convex, when looked at for the direction perpendicular to the other surface; and said curved member fixed at each end onto a sub-panel of a pair of said sub-panels either directly or along with an intervening mount member, said convex or concave surface of the member at each end facing the surface of said sub-panel or the surface of said mount member. 2. A foldable panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sub-panels are two in number. 3. A foldable panel as claimed in claim 1 & 2 wherein said sub-panels are more than two in number. 4. A foldable panel as claimed in claims 2 & 3 wherein the said curved member is preferably a metallic strip of limited width, a plurality of such curved members being fixed to a pair of said sub-panels. 5. A foldable panel as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims, wherein said curved member has a width almost equal to the length of each sub-panel of the pair of sub-panels. 6. A foldable panel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said mount member is fixed onto said sub-panels by welding or with help of screws and said curved members are fixed onto said mount member by welding or with help of said screws. 7. A foldable panel as claimed in claim 6, wherein the mount member has one convex or concave surface and one flat surface, the flat surface abutting the sub-panel. 8. A foldable panel as claimed in claim 6, wherein both surfaces of said mount member are flat. 9. A foldable panel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said curved member is fixed directly onto said sub-panel by welding or with help of screws. 10. A foldable hingeless foldable panel, substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

1377-del-1997-abstract.pdf

1377-del-1997-claims.pdf

1377-del-1997-correspondence-others.pdf

1377-del-1997-correspondence-po.pdf

1377-del-1997-description (complete).pdf

1377-del-1997-drawings.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-1.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-13.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-19.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-2.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-26.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-3.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-5.pdf

1377-del-1997-form-6.pdf

abstract.jpg