Modular Rooftop Flower Bed with Rotatable Holders for Sloped Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional rooftop gardens are often not removable and can interfere with roof maintenance, and they do not easily adapt to different slope angles and sizes, making them unsuitable for versatile use on various rooftops and surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A modular flower bed system featuring an elongated frame with adjustable risers and a flowerpot holder that allows for easy assembly and disassembly, with pins and notches enabling the flowerpots to rotate freely and maintain an upright position on sloped surfaces, and swivel casters or nails for stability on different surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional rooftop gardens are constructed for specific roofs, then they can provide greenery and absorb CO2, but they cannot be easily removed or adapted to different roof slopes and sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The rooftop garden is divided into modular flower bed units that can be independently assembled and disassembled. Each unit consists of a frame, risers, and flowerpot holders that can be configured separately, allowing the system to adapt to different roof slopes and sizes without requiring complete redesign for each location.
Solution Approach 2:
The flowerpot holders incorporate rotatable pins that allow the flowerpots to rotate and adjust to different slope angles. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the same modular units to function on roofs with varying slopes without requiring fixed, location-specific construction.
2Ease of operation
If traditional rooftop gardens are made permanent, then they provide stable greenery, but they interfere with roof maintenance and cannot be easily removed
Solution Approach 1:
The garden system is segmented into discrete modular units connected by removable joints. The frame, risers, and flowerpot holders can be easily disconnected and reconnected, allowing rapid assembly and disassembly for maintenance access while maintaining structural integrity when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
Rotatable pins serve as intermediary elements between the flowerpot holders and the frame structure. These pins provide both stable support when assembled and easy removal when disassembly is needed, mediating between the requirements for operational stability and ease of maintenance access.
3Stability of the object's composition
If flowerpots are fixed rigidly, then they remain stable, but they cannot rotate freely to maintain upright position on sloped surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The flowerpot holders use rotatable pins instead of rigid fixed connections. This dynamic joint allows the flowerpots to rotate freely around the pin axis, enabling them to automatically orient themselves upright on sloped surfaces while maintaining stable support through the pin connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational degree of freedom changes the orientation parameter of the flowerpots, allowing them to adjust their angle relative to the sloped surface. This parameter change enables the flowerpots to maintain an upright position regardless of the roof slope angle.
Data Source
AI summary
A flower bed system includes an elongated frame having a first side bar and second side bar in a longitudinal direction thereof, a first and a second riser removably attached to the first and second side bar, respectively, the first riser having a first notch away from the first side bar by a predetermined distance and the second riser having a second notch away from the second side bar by approximately the same predetermined distance, and a flowerpot holder having a first and second pin rigidly protruding from opposite sides thereof, respectively, the first and the second pin being substantially aligned in an axial line transverse a center of the flowerpot holder, wherein the first and second pin removably rest in the first and second notch, respectively, so that the flowerpot holder can rotate freely around the axial line.