Floor Assembly Key and Riser Slot Interlock for Refrigerated Trailers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for securing flooring in refrigerated trailers are labor-intensive, lead to material waste, and induce stress in the flooring materials, resulting in reduced service life and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A floor assembly and securing apparatus featuring a floor sheet with a protrusion forming a notch and a floor riser with riser slots, along with a key having a locking head and anchor tabs, which securely connects the floor sheet to the riser, allowing for efficient assembly and minimizing material waste by forming a continuous flooring surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional drilling and securing methods are used to attach floor materials to the substructure, then the floor materials can be secured in place, but significant labor is required and materials are wasted due to trimming
Solution Approach 1:
The floor assembly is segmented into modular components: floor sheets with integrated protrusions, floor risers with slots, and keys. This segmentation allows for pre-fabricated modules to be assembled quickly without on-site drilling and trimming, directly improving productivity while reducing labor time through the key-slot-protrusion interlocking mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions are pre-formed on the floor sheets during manufacturing, and the slots are pre-cut in the floor risers. This preliminary action eliminates the need for on-site drilling and trimming operations, allowing workers to simply assemble the pre-prepared components, thereby significantly reducing both productivity requirements and labor time
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional drilling methods are used to secure floor materials, then the flooring can be attached to the substructure, but material waste increases due to trimming
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions are pre-formed on the floor sheets during manufacturing to exact specifications. This preliminary action ensures that the floor sheets fit precisely into the slot-key assembly without requiring on-site trimming, thereby eliminating material waste while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized pre-fabricated components
Solution Approach 2:
The key acts as an intermediary component that connects the protrusion on the floor sheet to the slot in the floor riser. This intermediary mechanism allows for precise positioning and secure attachment without requiring the floor sheet itself to be trimmed or modified, thus preventing material waste while keeping the manufacturing process simple
3Reliability
If conventional securing apparatuses are used to attach floor materials, then the flooring can be fixed to the substructure, but stress is induced in the floor materials causing fatigue and breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The key serves as an intermediary that distributes securing forces evenly across the floor sheet through its contact with the protrusion. This intermediary mechanism prevents concentrated stress points that would cause fatigue and breakage, thereby maintaining floor assembly stability while preserving floor material strength and durability
Solution Approach 2:
The slot-key-protrusion assembly creates a dynamic interlocking system that allows for slight movements and adjustments. This dynamic design prevents rigid stress transmission to the floor materials, reducing fatigue accumulation and extending the service life of the flooring while maintaining reliable attachment to the substructure
4Ease of operation
If manual drilling and securing operations are performed, then floor materials can be attached to the substructure, but the skills of the laborer affect both labor costs and material cost
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly system is segmented into simple, standardized components with intuitive interfaces: protrusions that fit into slots and are secured by keys. This segmentation reduces the complexity of the assembly apparatus needed, allowing unskilled workers to perform installations easily while maintaining reliable attachment
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion-slot-key mechanism is designed to be self-aligning and self-securing. The protrusion naturally guides itself into the slot, and the key provides automatic locking without requiring complex tools or skilled manipulation. This self-service design simplifies operations for workers while minimizing the complexity of required apparatus
Data Source
AI summary
A floor securing apparatus comprises a riser slot formed in a floor riser, extending from a top surface toward a bottom surface of the floor riser. The floor riser is configured to support a floor sheet. The apparatus further includes a key including a locking head and at least one anchor tab, where the key is slidable into the riser slot and configured to engage a portion of the floor sheet when slid into the riser slot to prevent vertical movement of the floor sheet relative to the floor riser.