Hey I was looking over the 2024 game manual, and I was shocked by the new bumper gap rule, but I was wondering, could we potentially have more than one 1/2" gap? Just I thought I had while I was designing.
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No, you cannot, the manual specifically specifies that you cant have more than that, and I would hesitate even making it 1/2" just due to tolerances.
Where does it say can’t have more than one gap? I am assuming that is what OP means - multiple gaps and not a wider gap.
I don’t really like the idea of trying to use the small gap myself when one of our kids suggested 2 on a side for the arms of an intake mechanism to come down in but I am not sure it is against the rule. I would worry any twisting of the frame would make it not go down between correctly. The section between gaps would also have to be adequately supported on its own.
Oh, I misread OPs initial post. Yeah you are correct you can presumably have more than one 1/2" gap. Its one of those if they didn’t outright state it, its probably fine.
Just put 28 1/2” gaps next to each other to form one long 14” gap 
/s
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I don’t see anything in the bumper rules that says you can as long as the corners are filled, you have the proper support brackets, the bumpers are made to spec., and the gaps are <= 1/2 in.
Just want to clarify, this does not eliminate internal intake ideas, only restricts them. For anyone who wants to go that direction, please don’t be discouraged.
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R401 has both “gaps” and “segments” plural so you should definitely be able to have multiple.
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Can the 1/2" gaps be at the corner, as illustrated below? This would allow you to have a flat bumper per side without having to worrying about a week corner joints.
I think you could. Just note R408B. Your current drawing meets that requirement, but just wanted to point it out. That also might not be the best idea as that edge could get caught and would tear away comparatively easily since it has no backing. Having strong connections on each side that could hold the bumper on their own if there was no joint would probably be a more effective option.
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AFAICT you can have as many gaps as you want.
Also, if you decide to get clever with mechanisms going into the gaps, you should expect to be asked to demonstrate that your bumpers are compliant with R404 (5 minutes to install or remove all the bumpers – which means actually remove them, not just change the cover).
You also run the risk of a rules amendment (“nothing in the gaps”) destroying the viability of your cunning plan.
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Its something I would expect HQ to correct in the future with the amount of gaps, something like minimum bumper width, but in the mean time, I have this 1/8" wide bumper I need to install soon! 
For this reason it’s probably best to use the gaps as a “yes and…” feature.
Meaning that you design your mechanism to work without the gaps, add something to interface with the gaps, but you can remove material/swap a part to not use the gap if need be.
That 5 minutes is part of the blue box, listed as a guideline, not part of the actual rule. In all my time as an LRI, I’ve never stood there with a stop watch to time how long it takes a team to change their bumpers, and I would be shocked if someone did.
That said, I would expect to not look too closely at “normal” gaps - small gaps we’ve seen between segments in the past, like where two C-shaped bumpers meet. But if you’re utilizing the gap as a feature to pass a mechanism though, that is certainly inviting closer scrutiny, so be sure everything lines up correctly and is in tolerance - and, I suspect, keep an eye on the Q&A and Team Updates to make sure that action isn’t disallowed at some point!
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This may not be viable anyways. If any bumper segment completely detaches you get disabled.
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