Playground Assembly with Flexible Strips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional playground systems with 'post and deck' structures can impede creativity and create safety hazards when used in unintended ways due to their modular design.
Innovation Solution
A playground assembly featuring an elongate beam supported above ground level with flexible strips extending between the beam and the ground, providing a unique structure that encourages creative play while enhancing safety by minimizing the risk of injury from unintended use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional modular post and deck structures are used, then the playground is easy to manufacture and assemble, but it impedes creativity and creates safety hazards when used in unintended ways
Solution Approach 1:
The playground structure is divided into modular components including a beam element, flexible strip elements, and anchor elements that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation allows for easy manufacturing while the combination of these modules creates a structure that encourages creative play patterns without the rigid constraints of traditional post-and-deck designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of flexible strip elements that can bend and deform under children's weight and play actions transforms the static modular components into a dynamic structure. This flexibility allows the playground to adapt to various play scenarios and creative uses while maintaining safety, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and adaptability.
2Device complexity
If traditional modular post and deck structures are used, then the structure is simple and easy to assemble, but it creates safety hazards when used in unintended ways
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strip elements are designed to provide cushioning and give way under children's weight, preventing injuries from falls or unintended use. This beforehand cushioning feature is integrated into the simple modular structure, allowing easy assembly while eliminating safety hazards associated with rigid traditional designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The structural parameters of the playground elements are optimized to balance simplicity with safety. The beam element dimensions, flexible strip flexibility, and anchor point configurations are carefully selected to create a structure that is easy to assemble but inherently safe against unintended use, resolving the contradiction between structure complexity and safety hazards.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an elongate beam structure with flexible strips is used, then creative play is encouraged and safety is enhanced, but the manufacturing and assembly process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The creative beam and flexible strip structure is segmented into standardized elements that can be manufactured separately and assembled together. This segmentation maintains the creative design benefits while simplifying the manufacturing and assembly process, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and ease of manufacture.
4Shape
If the beam is supported at height above ground level, then the playground structure becomes more impressive and encourages creative play, but the risk of injury from unintended use increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strip elements extending from the elevated beam provide beforehand cushioning that mitigates the injury risk associated with height. These flexible components are designed to deform and absorb impact, allowing the structure to be mounted at impressive heights while maintaining safety against unintended use.
Solution Approach 2:
The parameters of the flexible strip elements are specifically optimized to balance the structural configuration at elevated heights with safety requirements. The flexibility, length, and material properties are carefully selected to provide both the impressive visual appearance and the safety cushioning needed to reduce injury risk from unintended use at height.
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 design promotes creative play and safety by allowing children to interact with the structure in various ways while reducing the risk of injury through the use of flexible strips that provide support and traction, thus addressing the limitations of traditional modular designs.
Implementation Method 1
at least one flexible strip extending between the beam and the ground level
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a playground assembly includes a beam having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a longitudinal axis that extends between the first end and the second end such that the beam is elongate along the longitudinal axis. The beam defines a length measured between the first end and the second end along the longitudinal axis, and a width measured in a direction perpendicular to the length, wherein the length is at least five times greater than the width and the beam is at a height above a ground level. The playground assembly also includes at least one flexible strip extending between the beam and the ground level.