Set comprising a fitting and a plurality of cover plates for the fitting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fittings in shower cubicles, particularly those made of glass or plastic, are difficult to retrofit or modify after installation, as they often require costly and labor-intensive disassembly to change their visual or haptic appearance or functionality.
Innovation Solution
A modular fitting system featuring interchangeable cover caps that can be easily attached and detached from a base body using a groove design, allowing for changes in appearance and properties without the need for extensive disassembly, with options for different materials, colors, and surface structures to adapt to various environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fitting is mounted and a heavy glass door is hung and/or rigidly mounted, then the fitting provides stable support, but retrofitting or changes to the fitting become difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into a base body and interchangeable cover caps. The base body remains fixed and provides stable support, while the cover caps can be easily removed and replaced. This segmentation allows the support structure to remain reliable while enabling easy modification of the visible portions without costly disassembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If the fitting is designed as a single integrated unit, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability to changing environments is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting consists of a base body and separate cover caps that can be interchangeably mounted. This segmentation maintains manufacturing simplicity for each component while enabling adaptability through the replacement of cover caps with different materials, colors, or designs to match changing environmental requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The base body serves as a universal mounting structure that can accommodate multiple types of cover caps. This multi-functionality allows the same base body to support various cover cap designs, enabling the fitting to adapt to different aesthetic and functional requirements without redesigning the entire fitting.
3Reliability
If cover caps are completely surrounded by the base body, then the connection is more stable, but the cover cap becomes difficult to grip and remove
Solution Approach 1:
A groove is extracted from the base body to create a gripping zone on the cover cap. This groove provides a mechanical feature that allows tools to engage with the cover cap for removal, while the cover cap remains substantially surrounded by the base body to maintain stable connection during normal use.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the visible surface of the cover cap differs from the base body in material or color, then aesthetic adaptability is improved, but material property consistency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cover caps provide local quality variation in terms of material, color, or surface structure to match different aesthetic requirements, while the base body maintains consistent material properties for structural reliability. This local differentiation allows aesthetic adaptation without compromising the overall material property consistency of the load-bearing components.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A set comprising a fitting (1) with a base body (2) for mounting on a wall (3) and/or door (4) and at least two cover caps (5a, 5'a, 5"a) which can be detachably attached to the base body (2) is characterized, with regard to the task of specifying a fitting which can be connected to additional components as reliably and easily as possible, in that a first cover cap (5a) which can be interchangeably attached to the base body (2) has a first visible surface (6a) and at least one further cover cap (5'a, 5"a) which can be interchangeably attached to the base body (2) has a further visible surface (6'a, 6"a) which differs graphically, haptically, in color and/or by a pattern or image from the first visible surface (6a).