Modular Shower Tray Structure for Flush or Raised Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current shower trays require separate production lines and storage for flush and elevation models, limiting aesthetic and chromatic variants due to distinct frame structures, which increases manufacturing and storage costs and restricts user selection.
Innovation Solution
A shower tray with a metal structure and interchangeable plates that can be adjusted to fit either flush or elevated installations, using cross bars with protuberances and adjustable supports to create a versatile design that allows multiple aesthetic and chromatic variations with a single structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate production lines and storage are used for flush and elevation shower trays, then structural requirements for each installation type are met, but manufacturing and storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed with a universal structure that can accommodate both flush and elevation installation types through adjustable supports. The frame includes a bottom bar with adjustable supports that can be positioned to create either a flush mounting (supports at minimum height) or an elevated mounting (supports at increased height), allowing a single frame design to serve multiple installation requirements without needing separate production lines.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable supports on the bottom bar allow the frame structure to dynamically adapt between different installation configurations. The supports can be adjusted in height and position during installation to transform the same frame into either a flush-mounted or elevated shower tray configuration, providing structural adaptability without requiring separate static designs for each installation type.
2Reliability
If separate production lines are maintained for flush and elevation shower trays, then installation-specific structural needs are satisfied, but storage space increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal frame design with adjustable supports replaces the need for separate frame inventories for flush and elevation installations. The frame can be configured for either installation type using the same physical component, thereby halving the storage space required for frame inventory while still meeting all structural requirements for both installation methods.
3Ease of manufacture
If the number of aesthetic and chromatic variants is limited, then manufacturing and storage costs are contained, but user selection is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The shower tray is divided into separable components: a universal frame and interchangeable plate elements. The plates can be produced in various aesthetic and chromatic variants and swapped on the same frame, allowing manufacturers to offer diverse design options without needing to produce multiple complete shower tray assemblies. This segmentation enables extensive user selection while keeping frame production and storage costs low.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal frame serves as a common platform that can accommodate multiple aesthetic and chromatic variants through interchangeable plates. This allows a single frame design to support numerous design variations, expanding user selection without requiring separate production lines or increased storage space for each variant.
4Volume of stationary object
If physical display of multiple shower tray variants is limited by space, then storage costs are reduced, but end user selection is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the shower tray into a universal frame and interchangeable plates, the display space requirement is dramatically reduced. Instead of needing to display complete assembled shower trays for each aesthetic variant, vendors can display a single universal frame with a few sample plates, allowing customers to visualize multiple variants through the plate interchangeability concept, thereby expanding selection while minimizing physical display space.
Data Source
AI summary
A shower tray comprises a metal structure (2) and a plurality of plates (3), the structure (2) in metal material comprising an upper peripheral frame (4), a bottom wall (6), and side walls (7) defining a collection tank, the metal structure (2) comprising at least one hole (8) for a drain pipe, the structure (2) in metal material further comprising a plurality of cross bars (9) extending between two opposite side walls (7), arranged in contact with the bottom wall (6) and comprising protuberances (10) projecting on the opposite side with respect to the bottom wall (6), each plate (3) comprising a first (3a) and a second (3b) surfaces that are mutually opposite, the first surface (3a) comprising grooves (11) designed to engage corresponding protuberances (10) of the cross bars (9).