Raised Floor Support Head Tilting Fixed Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing raised floor supports require multiple types of heads (tilting and fixed) to manage uneven surfaces, leading to increased costs and complexity due to the need for separate accessories and cumbersome designs, which complicate management and assembly.
Innovation Solution
A support head with a tilting element and a ring nut system that allows reversible conversion between tilting and fixed configurations without additional accessories, using a spherical cap design for self-levelling and a threaded protrusion for secure locking, enabling easy switching between configurations without specialized tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate accessories are used to fix the tilting head, then the head can be locked in fixed configuration, but the device complexity increases and management becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the locking function directly into the tilting element by incorporating a threaded hole that receives a screw, eliminating the need for separate accessories. The tilting element itself becomes the locking mechanism when the screw is engaged, merging the tilting and locking functions into a single integrated component.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting element serves multiple functions: it provides the tilting capability when the screw is removed, and it becomes the fixed locking structure when the screw is engaged. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate accessories and simplifies the overall system while maintaining both tilting and fixed configuration capabilities.
2Reliability
If a thick head design is used with central pivoting, then the tilting mechanism has space, but the head thickness increases and is not suitable for limited space applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the pivoting mechanism from a central location to a peripheral location on the head. This dimensional repositioning allows the tilting element to rotate around an axis at the edge of the head rather than through the center, significantly reducing the required head thickness while maintaining stable tilting functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a spherical cap geometry for the tilting element, where the peripheral pivoting point allows rotation along a spherical surface. This curved geometry enables the tilting mechanism to function with minimal head thickness, as the spherical cap provides the necessary mechanical advantage and stability without requiring a thick central structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of supports are kept in inventory, then both tilting and fixed head requirements are met, but the economic cost and warehouse management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the support head dynamically configurable by allowing the tilting element to be freely positioned when the screw is removed, and locked in place when the screw is engaged. This dynamic capability enables a single support type to adapt to both tilting and fixed configuration requirements, eliminating the need to maintain multiple static support types in inventory.
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 solution simplifies management by allowing reversible and repeatable switching between tilting and fixed head configurations without separate accessories, reducing costs and complexity, and allowing for thin, efficient head designs suitable for limited space applications.
Implementation Method 1
supports having the tilting head so that the weight of the building elements which rest on it induces the automatic angle in a horizontal direction
Implementation Method 2
The support body comprises at least one protrusion emerging from its upper surface and having an at least partially threaded side wall... at least one ring nut having at least one inner surface and at least one outer surface, the inner surface being at least partially threaded to mesh with the threaded portion
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 2~3
AI summary
A head for supports (2) of raised floors comprising: a support body (4) having an upper surface (8) provided with a cavity (9) partially counter-shaped onto a spherical cap; a protrusion (15) emerging from the upper surface (8) of the support body and having a threaded side wall (16); a tilting element (5) having in its upper part a flat surface (6) for supporting building elements and in its lower part a portion (10) partially shaped like a spherical cap for being laid on the support body (4), the tilting element (5) having a through hole (17) capable of accommodating the protrusion (15) of the support body (4); a ring nut (18) having an inner surface (19) and a lateral surface (20), the inner surface (19) being threaded to mesh with the threaded portion of the side walls (16) of the emerging protrusion (15), the outer surface (20) of the ring nut (18) being shaped to abut against the inner surface (22) of the through hole (17) of the tilting element (5).