Modular Building Panels with Decorative Shelving Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional modular buildings, such as log cabins, face logistical challenges due to varying component sizes, requiring specialized transport and extensive inventory management, as they are typically supplied as kits with components of different lengths that must be transported loose or as flat packs, complicating the loading and distribution process.
Innovation Solution
A modular building design featuring panels of standard size (no longer than 1.83m) with a novel jointing system using interlocking planks and decorative walls that incorporate shelving for structural support, allowing for efficient assembly and transport on standard shipping pallets, with a joint cover strip system that provides both structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional modular buildings are supplied as kits with components of varying lengths, then different size log cabins can be assembled, but logistical difficulties arise in transporting multiple kits on a single vehicle and extensive inventory must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using standardised panel dimensions (e.g., 1.83m width) that can be universally transported on standard pallets while still allowing assembly of different building sizes through varying panel quantities and configurations. This resolves the contradiction by making the transport system universal while maintaining design versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the building into standardized panels of uniform dimensions that can be independently manufactured and transported. Each panel is further segmented into planks that can be interlocked. This segmentation allows efficient palletization while maintaining the ability to assemble different building sizes by varying the number of panels used.
2Quantity of substance
If panels are made with standard size for efficient transport, then shipping costs are reduced, but the jointing system must be simplified to work with standardized dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the jointing function with decorative elements by incorporating joint cover strips that are visible and aesthetically designed as part of the final appearance. This combines structural joining with decorative function, simplifying the overall system while maintaining standardized panel dimensions for efficient shipping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces joint cover strips as intermediary elements that simplify the jointing process. These covers mask the complexity of the underlying plank interlocking system while providing a clean finished appearance, thus simplifying the visible jointing system while maintaining standardized panel dimensions.
3Shape
If decorative walls extend beyond the planks to provide aesthetic appeal, then visual appeal is enhanced, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces shelving units as intermediary structural elements that provide internal bracing between decorative walls. These shelves act as mediators that transfer and distribute loads, enhancing structural stability while allowing the decorative walls to extend beyond the planks for aesthetic appeal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing enhanced structural support specifically at critical locations where decorative walls extend beyond the planks. The shelving and bracing are strategically positioned at these vulnerable points rather than uniformly throughout, maintaining aesthetic appearance while providing targeted structural reinforcement.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A modular building 2, at least one outer wall 16 of the building 2 comprising at least first and second panels 17 aligned end to end at a panel joint, each panel 17 comprising first planks 18 forming a part of the outer wall 16 of the building and second planks 20 forming a first decorative wall 22 fixed to the outer wall 16, the decorative wall 22 extending substantially perpendicular to the outer wall 16 and terminating beyond the first planks 18 on at least one side of the panel 17, the space between the first decorative wall 22 of the panel 17 and an adjacent decorative wall 22 of a second panel 17 accommodating a shelving unit or a joint cover strip 32a which covers the panel joint.