Light Box with Invisible Edges via Tensioned Panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large light boxes require stiffening elements to maintain rigidity, which are visible through translucent walls, compromising aesthetics, and existing solutions fail to provide a rigid structure without visible reinforcement when complete transparency is desired.
Innovation Solution
A light box design featuring a translucent side wall and bottom wall formed by a single sheet, tensioned by transparent or translucent panels that are attached to a spar at the upper edge of the side wall, allowing for hidden reinforcement and colored light highlighting at intersections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If stiffening elements are added to large light boxes to maintain rigidity, then structural strength is improved, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates due to visible shadows through translucent walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional transverse bar stiffening elements that project into the light box interior and cast visible shadows. Instead, it uses a metal frame positioned on the underside of the box that provides structural support without interfering with the light transmission or aesthetic appearance of the translucent walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening structure is moved from the interior dimension (where it would cast shadows) to the exterior underside dimension, where it provides necessary structural support while remaining invisible from the viewing perspective through the translucent walls.
2Strength
If a metal frame is placed on the underside of the box to maintain rigidity, then structural strength is improved, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates because the frame becomes visible through transparent walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different transparency qualities to different parts of the structure: the side and bottom walls are made transparent or translucent for aesthetic purposes, while the top surface and underside frame can be opaque metal, creating a localized quality distribution that satisfies both aesthetic and structural requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal frame is positioned in a different spatial dimension (on the underside) where it provides structural support without being visible through the transparent side and bottom walls, effectively separating the structural function from the aesthetic view.
3Strength
If transverse bars are used to stiffen the box, then structural rigidity is improved, but light transmission deteriorates due to shadow casting on the translucent sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the stiffening function from the interior space where transverse bars would block and shadow the light. By relocating the structural support to an external metal frame on the underside, light transmission through the translucent walls is maintained without interruption or shadowing.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The box (1) has a translucent lower wall (3) including a translucent layer (4) fixed in a longeron (6) at a level of an upper edge of a lateral wall (2). The layer is placed in tension by a translucent or transparent panel (5). The panel has a lower face that is in support at an interior of the box. A median plane of an edge of the panel is merged with a plane passing through centre of a light source (8), and intersects the lower wall and the lateral wall. An upper lateral edge of the translucent or transparent panel is fixed to the longeron. The panel is made of Plexiglas(RTM: thermoplastic polymer of methyl methacrylate), Lucite(RTM: transparent thermoplastic acrylic resin), Perspex(RTM: acrylic), Limacryl(RTM: transparent thermoplastic acrylic resin) or Vitroflex(RTM: methyl polymethacrylate).