Open-Slot Decking Panels for Lightweight Heavy-Duty Shelving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current heavy-duty shelving systems are overly heavy, reducing their load capacity, difficult to install, and fail to meet fire safety and water penetration requirements due to their weight and construction, leading to increased costs and safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A decking member composed of roll-formed panels with slots and side supports that allow for a minimum 50% open deck, made from a single piece of material, with connections that enable water passage and increased strength, reducing weight while meeting building codes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If heavy-duty decking is used to ensure structural strength, then the shelving unit can support heavy loads, but the overall load capacity of the system is reduced due to the weight of the decking itself
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the decking material by using roll-formed metal panels with integrated slots and side supports, transforming the decking from solid heavy material to a configured structure with optimized strength-to-weight ratio. The roll-forming process creates specific geometric parameters that enhance structural strength while minimizing weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The decking is constructed as a composite structure integrating multiple functions into a single roll-formed panel: the panel body, side supports, and slots are all formed from one piece of material, creating a composite-like structure that achieves the strength of multiple components without their combined weight.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional decking materials like wood slats or wire grids are used, then the shelving system can be constructed, but the systems are overly heavy and difficult to install requiring more than one person
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple previously separate components (panel, side supports, reinforcement elements) into a single roll-formed piece of material. This integration eliminates the need for complex assembly and reduces the number of parts that need to be handled during installation, making the decking easier to install despite maintaining structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The roll-formed decking panels are designed with inherent flexibility and adaptability, allowing them to be easily manipulated and installed by a single person. The dynamic design enables the panels to be bent, shaped, and positioned without requiring multiple workers, while still providing the necessary structural rigidity when installed.
3Reliability
If solid decking panels are used to ensure safety and structural integrity, then the shelving unit is strong, but fire safety mandates and water penetration requirements cannot be met
Solution Approach 1:
The decking incorporates slots and openings that create a porous structure, allowing water to pass through while maintaining structural integrity. This porous design enables the decking to meet water penetration requirements (allowing sprinkler water to reach the ground) while the surrounding material provides fire safety compliance and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The decking design applies different properties to different locations: solid material provides structural strength and fire safety, while slots and openings in specific locations enable water penetration. This local differentiation of material properties allows the single decking structure to simultaneously meet multiple conflicting requirements.
4Stability of the object's composition
If welded wire grid decking is used to create a strong shelving system, then the structure is stable, but the cost of manufacture increases due to welding each joint
Solution Approach 1:
The decking is segmented into multiple roll-formed panels that can be manufactured independently and then assembled. This segmentation allows each panel to be produced efficiently through roll-forming without welding, and the panels are connected using simpler, less costly methods such as mechanical fasteners or interlocking mechanisms, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A decking member can have a plurality of panels each with first and second side supports. The plurality of panels can each have a plurality of slots and optional hooks. A shelving system has a frame and at least one decking member.