Composite Bathing Vessel Walls for Grab Bar Load Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bathing vessels, such as showers and bathtubs, face stress issues due to the attachment of grab bars and towel bars, which existing materials struggle to manage effectively while meeting ANSI standards for strength and durability.
Innovation Solution
A bathing vessel design featuring sandwiched walls with layers of polyurethane, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and acrylic materials, along with a visible load element that distributes stress across the walls, serving both as a design and support feature, reduces material usage and enhances rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional plastic materials are used for bathing vessel walls, then ease of manufacture is maintained, but strength and stress distribution are insufficient to meet ANSI standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multi-layer composite wall structure consisting of alternating layers of rigid and flexible materials. The rigid layers provide structural strength to meet ANSI standards, while the flexible layers absorb stress and prevent cracking. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by achieving high strength without requiring excessively thick single-material walls, thus maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall is segmented into multiple discrete layers with different material properties rather than using a single homogeneous material. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function (rigid layers for strength, flexible layers for stress absorption), achieving the required strength while keeping the overall structure manageable in complexity.
2Strength
If thicker walls are used to increase strength, then strength is improved, but material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing wall thickness with a single material, the patent uses composite layers where thin rigid layers provide strength and thin flexible layers provide stress absorption. This achieves the required strength with minimal total material usage by leveraging the synergistic properties of different materials in a layered configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid and flexible layers are distributed throughout the wall structure at specific intervals, providing strength and stress absorption exactly where needed. This localized approach to material placement achieves optimal strength-to-material-ratio, avoiding unnecessary material usage in areas where it is not required.
3Stability of the object's composition
If load distribution features are added to walls, then stress distribution is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The load distribution function is merged with the wall structure itself by incorporating flexible layers directly into the wall's composite construction. Rather than adding separate reinforcement elements or brackets, the flexible layers are integrated into the wall, allowing stress to distribute naturally through the layered structure. This merging approach improves stress distribution while minimizing additional structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible layers within the composite wall structure automatically absorb and distribute stress without requiring external reinforcement elements. The wall structure serves its own reinforcement needs through the inherent properties of the flexible layers, eliminating the need for additional complex load-distribution mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A bathing vessel has a first and a second sandwiched wall, each wall having a first layer of polyurethane material, a second layer of polyurethane material attached to the first layer, a third layer of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) material attached to the second layer, and a fourth layer of acrylic material attached to the third layer. A load element is disposed across and is integral with the first and second sandwiched walls. The load element distributes a load on one wall to an other wall and is visible to users of the bathing vessel. The load element is also a design element.