Portable Flooring Coupling With Ramped Recess for Flush Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Portable flooring systems face issues such as misalignment and warping due to temperature fluctuations, humidity, and liquid spills, leading to potential injuries and uneven surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A connection system with a ramped recess design and a single set screw is used to align and secure adjacent floor sections, ensuring they remain in a common plane, using materials like MDO plywood and adhesive for stability, and optionally incorporating a shim for compatibility with existing designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If multiple set screws are used to hold coupling halves together, then the connection strength is improved, but the device complexity and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling structure is divided into two halves, with the tongue feature segmented from the main body. This segmentation allows the tongue to be independently positioned by the ramp structure, eliminating the need for multiple set screws while maintaining connection strength
Solution Approach 2:
The ramp structure acts as an intermediary element between the tongue and recess. It mediates the positioning function, ensuring the tongue remains vertically aligned without requiring multiple fastening points, thus reducing complexity while maintaining strength
2Manufacturing precision
If the recess depth is increased to prevent tongue displacement, then the alignment precision is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and risk of tripping hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ramp structure introduces a curved surface geometry within the recess, replacing the need for increased depth. The curved ramp surface guides the tongue into proper alignment through a controlled descent path, achieving precision without excessive depth that would create tripping hazards
Solution Approach 2:
The ramp structure changes the vertical parameter profile within the recess from a uniform deep cavity to a graduated inclined surface. This parameter change allows the tongue to be guided into position through the ramp's slope, achieving alignment precision while maintaining a shallow overall recess depth
3Stability of the object's composition
If the tongue height is increased to match the recess depth, then the connection stability is improved, but the ease of installation deteriorates due to difficulty in alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The ramp structure provides a curved guiding surface that facilitates the insertion process. As the tongue descends the ramp, the curved geometry naturally guides alignment while the gradual slope reduces insertion force requirements, improving ease of installation without compromising connection stability
Solution Approach 2:
The ramp structure performs preliminary alignment action during the insertion process itself. As the tongue engages the ramp, the inclined surface automatically positions the tongue in the correct vertical orientation before final seating, eliminating the need for separate alignment operations and maintaining connection stability
Data Source
AI summary
At each straight edge of a plywood section which is to be coupled to an adjacent plywood section, one half of a coupling structure is provided and the other half of the coupling structure is provided to the other plywood section which is to be coupled thereto. A system is provided which only requires a single set screw to hold elongated coupling halves together while absolutely preventing warpage or displacement of plywood sections with respect to one another. Thus, a ramp structure is incorporated into a recess which results in the vertical dimension of a tongue substantially matching the vertical dimension of the recess when the coupling halves are coupled together. The ramp structure best facilitates sliding the coupling halves into connection and a single set screw can be advanced to hold the coupling halves together with assurance that no warpage or misaligning will take place.