Adjustable Swimming Pool Cover Slats with Movable End Pieces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of automatic swimming pool covers is time-consuming and costly due to the need for precise sizing of slats, which often requires multiple adjustments and potential reordering of parts, leading to delays and increased production time.
Innovation Solution
The slats are equipped with movable end pieces that allow for adjustable length, secured by screws, enabling flexible adaptation to pool dimensions without requiring on-site measurement or reordering, and featuring a sliding interlocking connection for easy assembly and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If slats are manufactured with predetermined fixed lengths corresponding to common pool dimensions, then production time is reduced, but the slats cannot be adjusted to fit pools with non-standard dimensions, requiring returns and reordering
Solution Approach 1:
The slat is divided into two main components: a body portion and an end piece. The end piece can be positioned at different locations along the body, allowing the effective length of the slat to be adjusted. This segmentation enables a single manufactured slat to serve multiple pool dimension requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The end piece is designed to be movable along the body of the slat rather than fixed. This dynamic configuration allows the slat length to be adjusted after manufacturing, transforming a static product into an adaptable one that can fit various pool dimensions without requiring returns or reordering.
2Adaptability or versatility
If slats are made with adjustable length using movable end pieces, then adaptability to various pool dimensions is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the slat into a body and an end piece that can be independently positioned, the complexity is managed through modular design. Each component remains structurally simple, but their combination provides adjustment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A positioning mechanism acts as an intermediary between the body and end piece, enabling adjustment without requiring complex integrated systems. This mediator component simplifies the overall structure while achieving the desired adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If plugs are assembled in the factory with slats by gluing or ultrasonic welding, then assembly is simplified, but the plugs are manufactured with fixed lengths that may not precisely match the pool dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The end piece is designed to be movable along the body rather than fixed at a predetermined position. This allows the installer to adjust the position to achieve precise length matching after the pool dimensions are known, combining simple assembly with high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The end piece is pre-positioned at a default location during manufacturing, allowing the slat to be assembled in advance. The precise positioning is then finalized by the installer, combining preliminary preparation with final adjustment for optimal precision.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The cover has an assembly of slats floating on a surface of the water contained in a swimming pool. Each of the slats has a slat body (2) cooperating, at one of its ends, with a movable end piece (1) by sliding interlocking connections, where the pieces allow to vary the lengths of the slats. The slat bodies constitute male units and the pieces constitute female units in the connection. The pieces have sections with complementary projecting parts (11) sliding into projecting parts (23) of the slat bodies.