Foldable Tub Enclosure With Living Hinges for Easier Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tub and shower enclosures are difficult to transport and install due to their large and heavy single-piece design, which complicates shipping and on-site assembly, especially in tight spaces during remodels.
Innovation Solution
A tub and shower enclosure is designed with three separate pieces, including a wet wall, back wall, and dry wall, connected by living hinges that allow the walls to fold parallel for easier handling and packaging, facilitating navigation through narrow spaces and easy assembly at the installation site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the tub and shower enclosure is made as a single large enclosure, then the structure is complete and functional, but it becomes large and heavy making shipping and installation awkward and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is divided into three separate wall pieces (wet wall, back wall, dry wall) that can be manufactured and shipped separately, then assembled at the installation site. This segmentation reduces the weight and size of individual components while maintaining the structural integrity of the complete enclosure.
Solution Approach 2:
The three separate wall pieces are connected using living hinges to form a unified enclosure structure. The hinges allow the walls to be joined together while maintaining flexibility for folding during shipping, combining the separate pieces into a functional whole that can be easily deployed at installation.
2Ease of operation
If the enclosure is made of two or three separate pieces assembled on site, then transportation and installation are easier, but the pieces have awkward shapes that are difficult to package and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The living hinges provide dynamic flexibility to the wall assemblies, allowing them to fold from a U-shape configuration during installation to a flat parallel configuration for shipping. This dynamic capability enables the same structure to optimize its shape for both installation and transportation phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The walls are designed to fold from a three-dimensional U-shape into a two-dimensional flat configuration for shipping. By utilizing the folding motion, the enclosure transitions from occupying significant three-dimensional space to a compact flat package that is easier to transport through narrow spaces and hallways.
3Ease of manufacture
If the pieces are manufactured separately and assembled within the tub and shower enclosure, then the components can be produced independently, but it is difficult to get the pieces through houses and into the tub area due to their size and shape
Solution Approach 1:
The living hinges enable the wall assemblies to be collapsed into compact flat configurations that can be maneuvered through narrow doorways and hallways during delivery, then expanded into their functional U-shape configuration at the installation site.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the wall assemblies is changed from a rigid extended U-shape to a flexible folded flat configuration. This parameter change in shape and volume allows the pieces to pass through constrained spaces while maintaining their structural integrity for assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a tub and shower enclosure formed from three pieces. A wet wall, back wall, and dry wall are each formed separately. Living hinges connects the wet wall to one end of the back wall and the dry wall to the opposing end of the back wall. The hinges allow the wet wall and dry wall to be folded into positions that are generally parallel to the back wall for shipping.