Height Adjustable Floor Support With Interlocking Helical Guide Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing height-adjustable floor supports for system floors, such as double, exhibition, or assembly floors are complex to produce and time-consuming to assemble due to the need for multiple molds and matching counter-elements.
Innovation Solution
A height-adjustable floor support system comprising two identical base elements with helically wound surfaces and guide elements that can be plugged and rotated relative to each other, allowing for easy manufacturing and quick assembly, with stop surfaces and teeth for secure locking and guidance, enabling the support to be adjusted without precise angle control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple molds are used to produce different base elements, then the support can be assembled with matching counter-elements, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by designing one base element with an asymmetric guide element (protrusion) and the other with a corresponding asymmetric recess. This asymmetric design ensures proper orientation and compatibility during assembly while allowing both elements to be produced using the same mold, thereby resolving the contradiction between assembly compatibility and manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using different molds to create complementary shapes, the patent inverts the approach by using a single mold to produce identical base elements, then creating asymmetry through the guide element-protrusion/recess configuration. This inversion allows manufacturing simplicity while maintaining assembly compatibility
2Ease of operation
If different base elements are produced with specific guide elements and recesses, then proper guidance during assembly is achieved, but the assembly time increases due to needing matching counter-elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by designing the base elements with self-guiding features where the asymmetric guide element and recess automatically align the elements during insertion. This self-alignment mechanism eliminates the need for precise manual positioning or searching for matching components, reducing assembly time while maintaining proper guidance
Solution Approach 2:
The asymmetric guide element and recess configuration ensures that only one orientation is valid during assembly, providing automatic guidance and preventing incorrect assembly. This asymmetric design simplifies the assembly process by eliminating the need to search for matching counter-elements, as any two base elements from the same production batch are compatible
3Ease of manufacture
If identical base elements are used, then manufacturing is simplified with a single casting tool, but the guidance during assembly becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by introducing asymmetric guide elements (protrusions and recesses) on identical base elements. This allows both elements to be produced using the same mold while the asymmetric features provide automatic guidance during assembly, ensuring proper orientation without compromising manufacturing simplicity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The support (1) has base elements (3) i.e. hollow body, rotatable around a common axis. The base elements include respective outer wall parts (9) with respective inwardly lying guide surfaces (13) for guiding the base elements by interlocking and rotation. The guide surfaces enclose an opening and are adjacent to surface regions. The base elements include respective guide elements (15), which are combined together with the guide surfaces of one of the base element for guiding the base elements. The base elements include an identical structure and are combined together with each other.