Outdoor platform flooring attachment device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Outdoor flooring systems face challenges in securely attaching items like furniture and umbrellas due to strong winds, as existing methods either damage the flooring or fail to provide easy removal and reattachment.
Innovation Solution
A device that slips between floor planks and locks onto joists using a blade with a hook and linear translator, allowing secure attachment and easy removal by varying the distance between the blade and the joist, enabling items to be moved to different locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If items are permanently nailed to the flooring, then they are securely fixed against wind forces, but they cannot be easily removed and cause permanent damage to the flooring
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment system is divided into separate components: a mounting device with blades that attach to joists, and items that attach to the mounting device. This segmentation allows the item to be easily removed while the mounting device remains securely attached to the flooring structure, resolving the contradiction between secure attachment and easy removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting device uses adjustable blades with hooks that can be positioned at different heights and tightened to different degrees. This dynamic adjustability allows the device to securely hold items during use, then be easily loosened and removed without damaging the flooring, achieving both secure attachment and easy removal.
2Ease of operation
If items are not securely fastened, then they can be easily removed and repositioned, but strong gusts of wind can move or turn them over
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting device is pre-installed and securely attached to the joists before items are placed on the flooring. This preliminary secure attachment provides a stable base that resists wind forces, while still allowing items to be easily repositioned by simply moving them between different mounting device locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting device acts as an intermediary between the flooring structure and the items. It transfers wind loads to the sturdy joists through its blade-and-hook mechanism, while providing a simple interface for easily attaching and repositioning items without direct attachment to the flooring planks.
3Reliability
If screws or nails are used to attach items, then they are securely fixed, but they cause permanent damage to the flooring
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism extracts the fastening function from the flooring planks themselves and relocates it to the underlying joist structure. The blades attach to the joists, which are designed to bear structural loads, eliminating the need to damage the cosmetic flooring planks with screws or nails while still providing secure fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting device with its blades and hooks serves as an intermediary that transfers attachment forces to the joists rather than the flooring planks. This protects the flooring from damage while maintaining secure fixation, as the joists are structurally designed to handle such loads without cosmetic damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides secure attachment and easy removal of items from outdoor flooring systems, resisting wind forces without damaging the flooring, and can be adapted for various outdoor platforms like decks and docks.
Implementation Method 1
the linear translator is a threaded rod and rotation of the threaded rod imparts movement of the rod relative to the base to thereby translate the first blade relative to the mount
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a blade configured for extending between adjacent floor panels and having a bottom portion thereof that defines a floor member engaging recess for engaging a bottom side of the floor member and a hook on an end thereof for engaging a vertical side of the floor member. A mount to which the blade is translatable about and engaged with a top surface of the adjacent floor panels when installed on a floor surface is provided. A linear translator is selectively directed to translate the blade relative to the mount such that the distance between a bottom surface of the mount and the floor member engaging recess is varied in order to securely receive the floor member therebetween. A related method is also disclosed.