Raised Floor Anchoring Washer for Wind Lift and Tile Fragmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Raised flooring systems are prone to tile lifting and fragmentation due to wind and heavy loads, leading to damage and safety hazards, and existing solutions are cumbersome and costly to install.
Innovation Solution
A windproof and anti-fragmentation device using support plates with grooves and anchoring washers that couple together to form a single block, allowing easy installation and disassembly, and featuring a grid structure for enhanced stability and adhesive gluing areas for increased tile coupling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If tiles are supported exclusively by the beam along the perimeter portion adjacent to the edge, then the installation is simpler and faster, but the tiles are weaker in their central part and prone to cracking and shattering under heavy loads
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is segmented from the perimeter beam only to include intermediate support elements (girders or beams) positioned beneath the central portion of the tiles. This segmentation allows the tile support system to distribute loads more effectively while maintaining installation simplicity through modular assembly.
2Reliability
If washers are used that are arranged on the upper surface of the support plates and coupled to the underlying foot by means of screws to securely fix each plate, then the flooring becomes more resistant to wind lift, but the installation becomes particularly cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The complex screw coupling system is extracted and replaced with a simplified mechanical retention system. The washer-like element retains the support plate through friction and geometric retention features rather than requiring multiple screws, thereby maintaining wind resistance while dramatically improving installation speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The support plates and washer elements are pre-configured with alignment features and retention geometries that enable quick assembly without requiring precise alignment during installation. The preliminary design of the mechanical retention system eliminates the need for time-consuming screw fastening operations.
3Reliability
If the tiles are made heavier by using support plates directly coupled to support feet to make the flooring a single block, then the resistance to wind and atmospheric phenomena increases, but the installation time and cost increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static, heavily anchored configuration to a dynamic assembly where lightweight support plates are quickly retained by friction-based washer elements. This dynamic retention system provides sufficient wind resistance during service while enabling rapid installation through simple placement and retention actions.
Data Source
AI summary
A windproof and anti-fragmentation device of a raised flooring includes a plurality of support plates of cover tiles. The support plates are arranged side by side and each have a groove defined on a perimeter portion. The windproof and anti-fragmentation device also includes an anchoring washer configured to be coupled to the support plates and having an edge emerging transversely with respect to the perimeter of the anchoring washer and conformed so as to partially fit inside the groove of two contiguous plates so as to keep those plates joined together.