Foldable Quad-Chord Truss Platform with Decking Tracks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing modular platforms for maintenance and construction, such as bridge decks, face challenges in load capacity, ease of installation, flexibility around obstacles, and the need for heavy equipment for setup and teardown, with limitations in attachment points and time-consuming attachment processes.
Innovation Solution
A modular platform system utilizing foldable quad-chord trusses with tracks for decking attachment, allowing for easy alignment and quick installation, and a simplified railing system that can be easily attached and detached, enabling single-person operation and flexible deployment without cranes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional attachment methods (flanges, studs, nuts) are used to connect railing standards to joists, then the railing can be securely attached, but the installation process becomes time-consuming and limits placement flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate modular components: railing standards with integrated mounting features, joists with corresponding attachment points, and simple fastening mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be independently manufactured and assembled quickly without complex field modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
Mounting features such as flanges, attachment points, and alignment guides are pre-installed on railing standards and joists during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming field measurements, custom fabrication, and complex assembly procedures during installation.
2Productivity
If modular platform components are designed for easy assembly without heavy equipment, then installation becomes faster and requires fewer resources, but the load capacity and structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The platform structure is divided into standardized modular units (joists, decking panels, railing sections) that can be assembled incrementally without requiring heavy lifting equipment. Each module is designed to bear specific loads, and the modular nature allows parallel assembly by multiple workers.
Solution Approach 2:
The structure utilizes composite construction combining high-strength materials (steel or aluminum alloys) in critical load-bearing elements with lighter materials in non-structural components. This composite approach maintains high load capacity while reducing overall weight to enable manual or light-mechanized assembly.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the platform structure is designed to navigate around obstacles and fit in tight areas, then adaptability improves, but the structural integrity and stability may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The platform employs adjustable and reconfigurable components including telescopic joists, adjustable railing heights, and modular connection points that can be repositioned. This dynamic design allows the structure to adapt to irregular spaces and obstacles while maintaining structural integrity through engineered connection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Standardized universal connection interfaces and modular components serve multiple functions: structural support, obstacle negotiation, and configuration adjustment. The same basic joist and connector assembly can be used in various configurations to accommodate different spatial requirements while maintaining consistent structural performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A kit for erecting a platform. The kit comprises a plurality of quad-chord trusses. Each truss is attachable to others of the truss by eyelets on the ends of the chords. When the chords are spaced horizontally, the eyelet apertures are vertical for receiving pins, which allows a single pin to be inserted in eyelet apertures on one side of the truss so that one truss is swingable horizontally into position for rigid attachment end-to-end by inserting another pin in eyelet apertures on the other side of the truss. Each truss comprises a plurality of connector members for attachment to the trusses along their lengths. The kit further comprises a plurality of cross beams having connector members at their ends to mate with and attach to the truss connector members, and a plurality of tie-up mechanisms attachable to the trusses and to which a supporting line from an overhead structure is attachable. The cross beams have overhangs at their ends for overhanging the upper ones of the chords to allow ease of movement along the chords and attachment. A track lies between the chords of each truss to allow movement of bolts along the track into position for insertion into decking apertures for attachment of the decking. The trusses may be foldable for transport and storage.