Modular Spacer Assembly for Signage Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sign mounting systems face challenges in easily removing signs for maintenance, cleaning, or repair without damaging the silicone bonds between studs and the wall, as screws or adhesives require tools and often necessitate decoupling individual fasteners in incremental stages.
Innovation Solution
The use of slidably and rotatably coupled spacer members that allow for the sign to be removed by decoupling the spacer assemblies without disturbing the attachments to the sign or wall, using a system of first and second spacer members with coupling features that can be advanced and retracted to fix and adjust the longitudinal spacing, and anchoring features for secure attachment to both the sign and wall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional mounting systems use screws or adhesives to secure signs to walls, then the signs are firmly fixed and stable, but the signs cannot be easily removed for maintenance, cleaning, or repair without damaging the silicone bonds or requiring tool-based decoupling of individual fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into separate modular components: a first spacer member attached to the sign, a second spacer member attached to the wall, and a coupling feature that connects them. This segmentation allows the sign to be removed by decoupling the spacer members without damaging the silicone bonds between the second spacer member and the wall, while maintaining firm fixation during normal use
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling feature includes a coupling shaft that can be moved between a coupled position (where it engages the recess to fix the spacers together) and an uncoupled position (where it can be withdrawn to allow separation). This dynamic mechanism enables easy removal and reinstallation of signs while maintaining stable fixation when coupled, resolving the contradiction between ease of removal and firm fixation
2Manufacturing precision
If the spacer members are rigidly fixed together to maintain precise longitudinal spacing, then the spacing accuracy is maintained, but the system loses the ability to adjust spacing or accommodate misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling shaft can be positioned in a coupled state that provides precise longitudinal spacing through engagement with the recess, or moved to an uncoupled state that allows the spacers to be separated or repositioned. This dynamic capability enables both precise spacing when installed and adjustability during installation or maintenance
Solution Approach 2:
The separation of the spacer members into distinct first and second components, connected through a movable coupling feature, allows independent positioning and adjustment. The first spacer member can be attached to the sign, the second to the wall, and their relative positions adjusted through the coupling mechanism before final fixation, achieving both precision and adaptability
3Stability of the object's composition
If the coupling shaft is fully engaged to fix the spacer members together, then the longitudinal spacing is secured, but the spacers cannot be removed or repositioned without tool-based manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling shaft is designed to move between a coupled position where it engages the recess to secure the spacers together with fixed spacing, and an uncoupled position where it can be easily withdrawn from the recess. This dynamic design allows the spacing to be fixed during normal operation while enabling tool-free disassembly by simply moving the coupling shaft to the uncoupled position and separating the spacers
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling shaft can be extracted from the recess to disengage the spacer members. This extraction mechanism allows the first spacer member to be removed from the second spacer member without requiring tool-based manipulation of screws or adhesives, maintaining both fixed spacing when engaged and ease of disassembly when the shaft is extracted
Data Source
AI summary
A spacer assembly for mounting a sign to a wall includes proximal and distal spacer members. The proximal spacer member includes a barrel and a coaxial coupling shaft extended distally from the barrel. The distal spacer member includes a distal barrel and a recess extending into the barrel and sized to slidably and rotatably receive the coupling shaft. A threaded stud extends proximally from the proximal barrel, and a distal threaded stud extends distally from the distal barrel. Each stud is removably threaded into its associate barrel. The distal member barrel supports a radially oriented set screw, movable toward and away from an advanced position in which the screw engages the coupling shaft to integrally secure the barrels. The spacer assembly allows the sign to be detached from the wall while leaving in place the studs coupled to the sign and wall.