Building Block Insert Piece for Low-Joint Coupling Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building blocks with visible joint heights and visible insert piece feet require additional grouting, increase production costs due to specialized molds, and limit orientation flexibility, leading to inefficiencies in assembly.
Innovation Solution
A plate-shaped insert piece with spacers and coupling parts that allow for minimal joint height, enabling flat feet and simplified assembly, reducing the need for grouting and mold complexity, while allowing for flexible orientation and reusability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If building blocks are assembled with conventional insert pieces, then coupling functionality is achieved, but joint height becomes large (approximately fifteen millimetres) causing visible feet in horizontal joints
Solution Approach 1:
The invention relocates the coupling functionality from the vertical dimension (foot height) to the horizontal dimension (through-hole placement). By positioning coupling parts on spacers that extend horizontally from the foot, the joint height is reduced while coupling functionality is maintained through lateral insertion through holes in the prismatic body.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacers act as intermediary elements that transfer the coupling function from the foot to the through-hole region. The spacers provide a platform for mounting coupling parts without increasing the foot height, thereby mediating between the aesthetic requirement for low joint height and the functional requirement for coupling capability.
2Ease of manufacture
If building blocks use conventional insert pieces with feet, then coupling is achieved, but additional grouting material is required to cover visible feet
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the coupling functionality from the foot region and relocates it to the through-hole region. This separation allows the foot to be minimized in height for aesthetic purposes while coupling parts are positioned where they can be accessed through holes, eliminating the need for grouting material to cover visible feet.
3Ease of operation
If prismatic bodies are made with recesses or cavities to conceal insert piece feet, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but production cost increases due to specialized molds
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the prismatic body to conceal the foot (inward modification), the invention inverts the approach by making the foot itself the visible aesthetic element through its minimal height, while relocating coupling functionality to through-holes that pass through the prismatic body. This eliminates the need for complex recesses or cavities in the mold.
4Ease of operation
If prismatic bodies are made with recesses to conceal feet, then aesthetics are improved, but assembly time increases due to orientation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The through-holes provide universal access to the coupling parts from multiple orientations. Unlike recesses that require specific orientation, the through-holes allow insert pieces to be coupled regardless of the prismatic body's rotation, providing multi-functional access that eliminates orientation constraints and reduces assembly time.
Data Source
AI summary
Insert piece provided with first coupling parts and complementary second coupling parts that cooperate with each other for mutually coupling insert pieces wherein the insert pieces are provided with a foot in which through holes are provided, whereby two spacers extend on the foot on which the first and second coupling parts are provided, whereby a first part of the through holes is located in the extension of the spacers and a second part of the openings is located next to the spacers, such that a first insert piece can be coupled to a second insert piece by inserting the first coupling parts of the first insert piece through the through holes next to the spacers of the second insert piece and moving them until the first coupling parts cooperate with the second coupling parts.