Raised Floor Support with Removable Shock-Absorbing Levelling Accessory

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing raised floor supports face challenges in accurately adjusting to uneven surfaces, leading to imperfect support of building elements, noise, and increased production and maintenance costs due to unstable and complex levelling solutions, which require multiple head types and materials for varying thicknesses and wear replacement.

Innovation Solution

A support system with a removable shock-absorber levelling accessory integrated with a plate-like support body and soft material, allowing for stable coupling and easy replacement without altering the head, using snap-type coupling and releasing means for stability and versatility.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If shock-absorbing levelling disks are arranged separately on the head of supports, then shock absorption and levelling functions are provided, but the arrangement becomes unstable and production costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestability of levelling diskVSAvoidcomplexity of support assembly
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent integrates the shock-absorbing levelling disk directly into the head of the support by co-moulding the soft material with the head structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate assembly steps, ensures stable positioning, and reduces the risk of displacement during installation and use, thereby resolving the instability issue while simplifying the overall device structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The shock-absorbing levelling disk is pre-integrated into the head structure during manufacturing through co-moulding. This preliminary action ensures that the levelling function is already in place before installation, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and ensuring consistent positioning, which resolves both stability and complexity issues.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple different heads are produced for various soft materials and thicknesses, then adaptability to different building elements is improved, but production costs and warehouse management complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadaptability to different soft materialsVSAvoidproduction cost of supports
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent separates the shock-absorbing levelling disk from the head structure by making it a replaceable accessory rather than an integral part. This segmentation allows the same head to be used with different levelling disk accessories made of various soft materials and thicknesses, thereby maintaining adaptability while reducing the need to produce multiple head variants, thus lowering production costs and simplifying warehouse management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The head structure is designed to be universal and compatible with multiple types of shock-absorbing levelling disk accessories. This universality allows a single head design to serve multiple functions with different soft materials and thicknesses, eliminating the need for multiple specialized heads and thereby reducing production complexity and inventory requirements while maintaining full adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Stability of the object's composition

If the head is designed as a complex body with various shaped portions for co-moulding, then the shock-absorber is integral with the head, but manufacturing complexity and quality risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintegral connection of shock-absorberVSAvoidcomplexity of head structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the shock-absorbing levelling disk as a separate replaceable accessory that couples to a simplified head structure. This segmentation reduces the complexity of the head design while maintaining stable connection through dedicated coupling means, thereby lowering manufacturing complexity and quality risks while preserving the integral connection benefit.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Reliability

If the shock-absorber is integral with the head through co-moulding, then stable connection is achieved, but replacement requires replacing the whole head

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconnection stabilityVSAvoidease of shock-absorber replacement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the shock-absorbing levelling disk as a separate replaceable accessory that couples to the head through dedicated coupling means. This segmentation maintains stable connection during use while enabling easy replacement of just the accessory without replacing the entire head, thereby resolving the contradiction between connection stability and ease of repair.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the shock-absorbing levelling disk accessory to be easily removed and replaced when worn or damaged, while the head structure is retained and reused. This approach allows selective replacement of only the consumable accessory component, reducing maintenance costs and improving ease of repair while maintaining reliable connection through the coupling mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #34Discarding and recovering

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 provides a cost-effective and stable levelling and damping function that can be easily adapted to different materials and thicknesses, reducing production complexity and maintenance costs while ensuring the accessory's stability during assembly and use, allowing for easy replacement without affecting the head.

Implementation Method 1

a layer of soft material (9) co-moulded on at least one portion of the upper surface (6) of the support body (5)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectShock absorption: Damping

Implementation Method 2

layer of soft material co-moulded at least on one portion of the upper surface of the support body

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentEP3807477B1A support for raised floors
Publication Date: 2022.09.07 PROFILITEC S P A SOCIO UNICO
  • EP3807477B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3807477B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A support for raised floors comprising a base (2) which can be positioned on a support surface and a head (3) operatively coupled to the base (2). The support (1) also comprises a shock-absorber levelling accessory (4) arranged above the head (3) to be interposed between the head and a building element, the shock- absorber levelling accessory (4) in turn comprising: a plate-like support body (5) with an upper surface (6) and a lower surface (7); a layer of soft material (9) co-moulded on a portion of the upper surface (6) of the support body (5); coupling and releasing means (10) of the support body (5) with respect to the head (3).