Light Well Cover Structure That Prevents Edge Dirt Buildup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Light wells often accumulate dirt in their edge areas due to covers that are mechanically secured, making cleaning laborious and infrequent, leading to a dirty cityscape.
Innovation Solution
A device with a substructure that holds the cover, featuring elements projecting beyond the support element to create gaps, allowing dirt to fall through and preventing accumulation, while ensuring safety and compliance with design standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cover is mechanically secured to the support element, then security against unauthorized removal is improved, but cleaning becomes laborious and dirt accumulates in edge areas
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is divided into a cleaning area and a non-cleaning area, with the non-cleaning area forming an overhang that projects beyond the support element. This segmentation allows the cover to maintain mechanical security while creating a dirt-free visible area, as dirt accumulates only in the non-visible cleaning zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The substructure with its overhanging element acts as an intermediary between the support element and the cover. This intermediary creates the geometric relationship that allows the cover to both secure against removal and enable easy cleaning by defining a dirt-free visible area.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the support element extends to the cavity wall, then structural stability is improved, but dirt accumulates in the edge areas of the cover
Solution Approach 1:
The substructure element is designed with asymmetric geometry where it extends further in some directions than others. The overhanging portion creates a geometric relationship that prevents dirt accumulation in the visible area while maintaining structural stability through the support element's connection to the cavity wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the dirt accumulation problem by introducing a vertical dimension - the overhang creates a three-dimensional geometry where the cover projects beyond the support element. This dimensional change allows dirt to fall through or be easily removed from the visible area while maintaining structural stability.
3Reliability
If the cover completely covers the cavity opening, then safety and design requirements are met, but the cover cannot be easily cleaned due to mechanical securing
Solution Approach 1:
Different areas of the cover have different functional qualities: the cleaning area is designed to be accessible and removable for maintenance, while the non-cleaning area with the overhang provides the visible dirt-free surface. This local differentiation allows the cover to meet safety requirements while enabling easy cleaning of the necessary areas.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for covering a light well and a method for adapting such a device. A device (10) for covering a light well comprises a substructure (12) for holding a cover (15) for covering the light well. The substructure (12) has at least one support element (13) for placing the cover (15) on it. Viewed from above, at least one element of the substructure (12) projects outwards beyond the support element (13), so that the substructure (12) is able to hold a cover (15) that projects outwards beyond the support element (13). In this way, soiling of the cover is prevented.