Asymmetric Panel Strips for Herringbone Flooring Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing panels that create a herringbone-like pattern require precise fitting, making them difficult to lay and limiting their versatility and ease of installation.
Innovation Solution
The use of panels with strips of different widths and varying decorative designs, including different materials and colorations, along with angled parallelograms and visual joints, allows for an irregular yet herringbone-like flooring pattern without precise alignment, enhancing installation ease and design variability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If panels have uniform strip widths and precise alignment is required to create herringbone pattern, then the herringbone appearance is achieved, but the ease of installation deteriorates due to precise fitting requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by using strips of different widths within the decorative design. Specifically, at least two strips have different strip widths, creating an irregular pattern that maintains the herringbone appearance while eliminating the need for precise alignment during installation. This asymmetric design allows panels to be installed more easily without requiring exact fitting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of strip width from uniform to variable. By having at least two strips with different widths, the decorative design creates visual interest and maintains the herringbone effect while tolerating installation variations. This parameter change transforms the strict alignment requirement into a more flexible design that is easier to install.
2Adaptability or versatility
If panels use varied decorative designs with different materials and colorations, then the design variability and rustic appearance increase, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the decorative design into multiple strips with different characteristics. Each strip can have different width, decorative design, material type, or coloration. This segmentation allows for varied appearances while maintaining a systematic approach to manufacturing, as each strip can be produced independently and then combined in the panel layout.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by giving different properties to different strips within the same panel. At least two strips have different decorative designs, material types, or colorations, allowing each strip to have localized characteristics that contribute to the overall rustic appearance while the panel as a whole maintains manufacturing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a rectangular panel intended for lining a substrate, which panel comprises a base element comprising a decorative design on the visible surface thereof remote from the substrate. The decorative design depicts a plurality of strips shaped as parallelograms, one pair of parallelogram sides in each case forming a portion of the long side of the panel while the two other sides of the parallelogram extend obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the panel. According to the invention, at least two strips have a strip width that is different from one another.