Adjustable Sprung Floor for Dance and Heavy Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sprung floors are not suitable for use with heavy transport equipment due to their high area elasticity, which leads to damage and require costly and logistically challenging mobile solutions for theater stages.
Innovation Solution
A sprung floor design featuring a support plate with an adjustable actuator that transitions between a rest position for area-elastic properties and a support position to allow heavy equipment use, utilizing pneumatically actuated stamps for stabilization and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sprung floors are used to provide area-elastic properties for dance performances, then dancer joint protection is improved, but the floor cannot support heavy transport equipment without damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the support function of the floor adjustable rather than fixed. The actuating element dynamically changes the floor's state between two modes: area-elastic for dance performances and rigid for heavy equipment support. This resolves the contradiction by allowing the floor to adapt its mechanical properties based on the operational requirements, rather than being permanently optimized for one function at the expense of the other
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the structural stiffness parameter of the floor through the actuating mechanism. When the actuating element is in the first position, the floor exhibits high elasticity with area elasticity modulus suitable for dancing. When moved to the second position, the support plate engages to increase the effective stiffness parameter, enabling the floor to bear heavy loads from transport equipment without damage
2Adaptability or versatility
If mobile sprung floors are used on theater stages to enable heavy equipment use, then equipment accessibility is improved, but costs and organizational effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the universality principle by designing a single floor system that performs multiple functions: it serves as both a dance surface with area-elastic properties and a load-bearing surface for heavy equipment. The actuating element enables the same floor structure to switch between these functions, eliminating the need for separate mobile sprung floors and reducing overall system complexity, costs, and organizational requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the support function from a separate mobile floor system and integrates it directly into the permanent floor structure. By incorporating the actuating element and support plate mechanism within the existing floor construction, the patent eliminates the need for additional mobile floor systems, thereby reducing device complexity, acquisition costs, and logistical overhead while maintaining adaptability for both dancing and equipment operations
Data Source
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AI summary
1. The invention relates to a sprung floor (06) with a sprung support (08) which can be mounted on a subfloor, and with at least one floor plate (07, 28) which is sprung on the sprung support (08), wherein the upper surface of the floor plate (07, 28) forms a danceable stage surface, wherein at least one support plate (13, 27) is arranged under the floor plate (07, 28) which is adjustable between a rest position and a support position by means of at least one adjusting element (14, 21), wherein the support plate (13, 27) has no contact with the floor plate (07, 28) in the rest position, and wherein the support plate (13, 27) comes into contact with the underside of the floor plate (07, 28) in the support position and supports the floor plate (07, 28) from below.