Grooved Decking Clip Clamp for Removable Board Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening systems for attaching boards to substructures lack the ability to allow easy removal and replacement of individual boards, often requiring excessive force or damaging the structure, and do not permit working on the wood surface without spacing limitations.
Innovation Solution
A resilient, polymer-based clip clamp with angled tongue elements that fit into grooves in both support beams and boards, allowing boards to be spaced apart for easy access and removal, featuring a C-shaped profile with side plates and board clamps that snap into grooves at right angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If decking clips entirely encompass the substructure beams and attach boards without spacing, then the connection strength is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because it is impossible to get between the boards to work on the wood or remove individual boards
Solution Approach 1:
The decking clip is divided into two separate components: a beam clip that attaches to the substructure beam and a board clamp that attaches to the board. This segmentation allows the board to be removed from the board clamp independently, providing access to the wood surface while maintaining a strong connection when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces spacing between boards by positioning the board clamp and beam clip in separate dimensional planes. The board clamp engages the board laterally while the beam clip engages the beam beneath, creating vertical and horizontal separation that allows access to the wood surface between boards.
2Reliability
If decking clips are designed to surround substructure beams completely, then the reliability of attachment is improved, but the ease of repair deteriorates because individual boards cannot be easily removed for repair work underneath the deck
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the beam clip and board clamp into independent components, the invention enables selective removal of the board clamp from the board without affecting the beam clip's attachment to the substructure. This segmentation facilitates easy board removal for repair work while maintaining reliable attachment when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The board clamp is extracted as a separate removable component from the integrated clip design. This allows the board clamp to be removed from the board independently, enabling access underneath the deck for repair work while the beam clip remains securely attached to the substructure beam.
3Productivity
If boards are attached without any spacing between them, then the productivity of installation is improved, but the ease of operation worsens because there is no space to work on the wood or reach in between boards
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates spacing between boards by operating in different dimensional planes. The board clamp engages the board laterally at one height level while the beam clip engages the beam beneath at a lower level, allowing vertical spacing between boards that provides access to the wood surface without complicating the installation process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy assembly and disassembly of decks, allowing access to the substructure and facilitating repairs or replacements without damaging the structure, while maintaining a sturdy connection.
Implementation Method 1
The novel clip is intended for fastening boards to substructures or support structures. The clip basically has a lower part that is attached to the support structure and an upper part that holds the boards in place.
Data Source
AI summary
A clip clamp for attaching boards or planks with longitudinal grooves on their edges to beams in a substructure or supporting structure that also have longitudinal grooves on both sides, without the need for screws or nails, to create flat structures such as decks, wall coverings, fences, billboards, etc., includes a squared C-shaped profile forming the base, with a rectangular middle plate, from opposing parallel edges of which two side-plates extend downward at a right angle, each of which have lip elements at their edges that engage in the grooves on the beams, while on the other side of the middle plate, two board clamps extend in the other direction, at a right angle to the side plates, which have lips facing away from one another on their upper edges that fit into the grooves in the boards.