Perforated Wire Cage for Dry Stone Wall Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cages for containing stone materials in dry stone wall structures are deformable, difficult to fill and handle, result in uneven surfaces, and lack proper alignment and connection features for forming stable and aesthetically pleasing structures.
Innovation Solution
A cage with a parallelepiped configuration and rectangular walls formed by perpendicularly crossed wire elements, connected by welding, featuring bracing tie rods, tubular rod elements for fixation, and comb-like coupling members for lifting and alignment, allowing for stable stacking and connection of cages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flexible wire meshes are folded into box-like configurations to form cages, then the cages can be easily manufactured and assembled, but the cages become deformable when empty and when filled, making them difficult to fill and resulting in uneven surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into multiple planar elements (front, rear, left, right walls) that are interconnected through coupling members. Each wall can be manufactured separately and then assembled, providing both manufacturing ease and structural stability when connected.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage combines flexible wire mesh with rigid coupling members (such as rectangular tubes or bars) to create a composite structure. The wire mesh provides flexibility and ease of assembly, while the rigid coupling members provide structural stability and resistance to deformation.
2Ease of manufacture
If flexible wire meshes are used to form cages, then the cages can be easily assembled, but they lack strong coupling features for connection of lifting machine arms, making them difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling members serve multiple functions: they connect the wire mesh walls to form the cage structure, provide structural reinforcement, and serve as attachment points for lifting machine arms. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between ease of assembly and ease of handling.
3Ease of manufacture
If flexible wire meshes are folded into box-like configurations, then the cages can be easily constructed, but the stone wall structures formed have uneven surfaces and irregular corners, creating aesthetically and structurally defective products
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the cage into separate planar wall elements connected by rigid coupling members, each wall can be manufactured with precise flat surfaces and right angles. The rigid couplings ensure that the corners and joints maintain geometric precision, resulting in even surfaces and regular corners in the final stone wall structure.
4Ease of manufacture
If cages are made with flexible wire meshes, then they can be easily formed, but proper alignment of longitudinally adjoined cages is not easily achieved, weakening the dry stone wall structure
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is segmented into modular planar elements with standardized coupling members, allowing for precise alignment when assembling multiple cages longitudinally. The rigid coupling members provide reference surfaces and geometric constraints that ensure proper alignment between adjacent cages.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling members serve as both structural connectors and alignment references. Their standardized geometry and rigid connection to the wire mesh walls provide built-in alignment features that facilitate proper positioning of longitudinally adjoined cages without requiring additional alignment mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cage for containing stone materials (8) for use in making a dry stone wall structure by stacking at least two of these, which comprises perforated walls joined together to impart a closed three-dimensional configuration to the cage, said configuration having a base wall (6), a pair of side walls (2, 3) mainly extending in a longitudinal direction, a pair of walls (4, 5) located at the ends of said side walls (2, 3) mainly extending in a longitudinal direction, as well as a cover wall (7), wherein said walls (4,5) comprises at their ends (2,3) tubular rod-like elements (14,15), said tubular elements (14, 15) having openings (16, 17, 18, 19) at their ends, and said openings being accessible from outside the cage (1, la), to telescopically receive, through their respective end openings, respective end portions (31, 32) of a pair of connecting rod-like elements (20, 21) which are fitted between two identical closed cage configurations, stacked one above the other to form the dry stone wall structure.