Modular Scaffold Frame with Rotatable Couplers for Weight Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional scaffold devices are heavy due to their large components with high mass per unit volume, making them labor-intensive to assemble and maintain, and they lack efficient methods for reducing weight while maintaining load capacity.
Innovation Solution
The scaffold device features a frame with longitudinal and transverse beams connected by coupling members, intermediate beams, and multiple scaffolding plates, where the beam bodies are made of lightweight materials and the connecting parts are made of rigid materials, allowing for detachable components and improved assembly safety features like rotating coupling members and anti-rotation pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If components are made large or formed of materials with high mass per unit volume to ensure load capacity, then the load capacity is improved, but the weight of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scaffold device is divided into multiple independent components including frame members, couplers, cross-braces, and platform sections. Each component can be independently manufactured, transported, and assembled, reducing the weight that any single component must bear while maintaining overall structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction techniques where steel components are strategically placed only where high strength is required (such as connection points and load-bearing joints), while other portions use lighter materials or reduced cross-sections, optimizing the strength-to-weight ratio across the entire structure.
2Strength
If components are made large or formed of materials with high mass per unit volume to ensure load capacity, then the load capacity is improved, but the assembly work becomes heavy labor
Solution Approach 1:
The scaffold is segmented into modular components that can be easily handled by workers during assembly. The frame members are divided into standard-length sections, and platforms are segmented to match the modular bay structure, enabling workers to assemble the scaffold piece-by-piece without moving heavy monolithic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling members incorporate rotatable joints that allow frame members to be connected in multiple orientations during assembly, providing dynamic adaptability that simplifies the assembly process and reduces the physical effort required to align and connect components.
3Strength
If conventional scaffold components are used, then the load capacity is ensured, but the assembly process is labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The couplers are designed as universal connection elements that can join various types of frame members (longitudinal, transverse, cross-braces) at different orientations. This multi-functionality reduces the variety of components needed and simplifies the assembly process, as workers use the same coupling mechanism throughout the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable coupling members enable dynamic assembly where frame sections can be connected in sequence without requiring precise pre-alignment, significantly improving assembly speed and productivity compared to rigid fixed-orientation connections.
Data Source
AI summary
[Problem] An object of the present invention is to provide a scaffold device and a method of assembling the scaffold device, whereby it is possible to reduce the weight of the components that constitute the scaffold device, simplify assembly work, and shorten the time required for assembly.[Resolution Means] Means for solving the problem is characterized in that the means is provided with a frame 6 having a pair of longitudinal beams 2, 2, a pair of transverse beams 3, 3, and four coupling members 5 disposed between each end portion of the longitudinal beam 2 and each end portion of the transverse beam 3 and rotatably connecting the longitudinal beam 2 and the transverse beam 3 on the same plane; two or more intermediate beams 7 spanning between the longitudinal beams 2, 2 at a predetermined interval; and a scaffolding plate 8 spanning between the longitudinal beams 2, 2 and supported by at least one of the intermediate beams 7, the number of scaffolding plates being one greater than the number of intermediate beams 7 installed.