Multi-layer floor tile with lightweight composite core
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional removable or reversible floor systems for scenes are heavy and difficult to handle due to their dense construction, making them challenging for quick scene modifications.
Innovation Solution
A multi-layer tile floor system comprising a lightweight core component made of composite material, such as glass fiber, sandwiched between denser plywood panels, secured within a frame made of extruded aluminum with outward projections for added support and ease of handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional dense plywood is used for removable floor systems, then structural strength and durability are improved, but weight increases and ease of handling deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining plywood panels with a foam core and frame structure. The multi-layer construction uses different materials (plywood for surface durability, foam for lightweight core, metal for frame strength) to achieve both structural integrity and reduced weight. This composite approach allows the floor system to maintain strength while being significantly lighter than solid plywood construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor system is segmented into multiple independent components: top panel, bottom panel, core component, and frame. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while reducing overall weight. The modular design enables easier handling and assembly compared to a monolithic plywood structure.
2Strength
If traditional dense plywood is used for removable floor systems, then structural strength is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The floor system is divided into separable components including panels, core, and frame that can be independently handled. This segmentation makes the system easier to operate, assemble, and store compared to a solid plywood construction, while maintaining structural strength through the composite design.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite construction with lightweight foam core and metal frame reduces overall weight and improves handling characteristics while maintaining the structural strength provided by the plywood panels and frame configuration.
3Weight of moving object
If a lightweight core component is used, then weight is reduced and ease of handling is improved, but density and structural rigidity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure where a lightweight foam core is sandwiched between plywood panels and enclosed in a metal frame. The foam provides weight reduction while the plywood panels and frame restore structural rigidity, creating a balanced composite system that achieves both lightweight and strong characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the structure have different density and material properties optimized for their specific functions: the core is lightweight for weight reduction, while the panels and frame are denser and stronger for providing structural rigidity and support. This local optimization resolves the contradiction between overall weight reduction and localized structural strength.
4Weight of moving object
If a multi-layer composite structure is used, then weight is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-layer structure is segmented into standardized components (panels, core, frame) that can be manufactured separately and assembled together. This modular segmentation reduces the complexity of manufacturing and assembly compared to creating a complex lightweight structure as a single piece, while still achieving weight reduction through the composite design.
Data Source
AI summary
A lightweight multi-layer tile of a floor system for scenes or stages easy to install and easy to flip to show up any of its two faces is described. The multi-layer tile has a top surface and a bottom surface that can both be shown. The multi-layer tile has a frame defining a rigid structure; a core low-density component inserted in the frame such that the frame surrounds it; and dense plywood panels affixed to opposed walls of the core component. The panels extend beyond the core component over a section of the frame, with a surrounding lip of the frame surrounding and protecting the edges of the panels. The panels provide the reversible surfaces of the multi-layer tile, allowing to show one or the other surface by flipping the tile upside down.