Modular PVC Boat Fender Lock Joint Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing boat fenders, particularly for luxury boats, face challenges in absorbing impacts during docking maneuvers due to rigidity and the need for screws, which complicates assembly and aesthetics, and often result in breakage during coupling of plastic components.
Innovation Solution
A modular boat fender composed of two plastic components coupled by a lock joint, featuring a base with adaptable curved sections and an insert with deep inner grooves and outer grooves, allowing flexible coupling and impact absorption without separate fixing means, ensuring ease of assembly and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a metal laminated profile with open section is used to increase resistance to external impacts, then the fender becomes more robust, but it requires fixing screws which complicates assembly and removal, and penalizes the esthetics of luxury boats
Solution Approach 1:
The fender is divided into two separate components: a base fixed to the hull and an insert that couples to the base. This segmentation eliminates the need for screws by using a lock joint mechanism where the insert's coupling portions engage with the base's wings, allowing easy assembly and removal while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the screw-based mechanical fixing system with a lock joint mechanism. The insert couples to the base through interlocking geometric shapes (coupling portions and wings) that engage through elastic deformation, eliminating the need for separate fixing means like screws while maintaining secure attachment.
2Strength
If the insert is made of rigid plastic material to withstand impacts, then the fender becomes more durable, but the insert may crack during the coupling step when bending is required
Solution Approach 1:
The base is pre-formed with curved sections and wings that can elastically deform during assembly. This preliminary preparation of the base's geometric structure allows it to accommodate the insert's coupling portions through controlled elastic deformation, preventing stress concentration that would cause cracking in rigid plastic materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes elastic deformation (temporary change in physical state) of the base's plastic material during the coupling process. The base can temporarily deform to accommodate the insert, then returns to its original shape, allowing rigid plastic components to be assembled without cracking while maintaining their impact-withstanding properties.
3Ease of manufacture
If the fender is made as a single rigid component, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the fender cannot adapt to different curvatures of boat hulls
Solution Approach 1:
The fender is segmented into a base and an insert, where the base contains curved sections that can elastically deform to match different hull curvatures. This segmentation allows the fender to adapt to various boat shapes while maintaining a relatively simple manufacturing process for each component.
Solution Approach 2:
The base is designed with elastic properties that allow it to dynamically adapt its shape during installation. The curved sections can deform elastically to conform to different hull curvatures, providing versatility without requiring multiple rigid components for different boat types.
Data Source
AI summary
A fender for boats consisting of a base made of plastic material able to be fixed to a hull of a boat, and an insert made of plastic material able to be coupled by a lock joint to the base. The insert comprises two wings, two connection protrusions, a central body and two outer grooves between each wing and the respective connection protrusion.