Ribbed Metal Sheets Stacking via Modular Pitch Parameterization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ribbed metal sheets with identical ribs are not easily stackable due to varying rib distributions, leading to increased storage and transport costs and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The development of ribbed metal sheets with identical ribs and a specific relationship between the non-ribbed parts, defined by the formula DP = m * PU - LB, where m is a non-zero integer and PU is the sum of the rib base width and the smallest non-ribbed part width, allowing for consistent stacking regardless of rib distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If metal sheets have identical ribs with regular distribution, then stacking is simplified and storage/transport is optimized, but aesthetic variety and visual randomness are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The rib distribution is segmented into modular units defined by the useful pitch PU. Each sheet can have different numbers of ribs and different spacing patterns, but all rib positions are multiples of PU from the sheet edge. This modular segmentation allows aesthetic variety while maintaining stacking compatibility through the common modular unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of rib spacing by defining it as DP = m×PU - LB, where m is a non-zero integer. This parameterization allows different sheets to have different rib distributions (different m values) while maintaining a consistent underlying pitch PU, enabling both aesthetic variety and stacking ease.
2Adaptability or versatility
If metal sheets have varying rib distributions for aesthetic effects, then visual randomness and aesthetic variety are achieved, but stacking becomes difficult and storage/transport costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The useful pitch PU serves as a universal unit that functions both as the basis for creating aesthetic variety (different rib distributions) and as the guarantee for stacking ease. All sheets in the set share the same PU value, making them universally stackable despite having different aesthetic appearances.
Solution Approach 2:
By parameterizing rib positions as DP = m×PU - LB, the patent allows different integer values of m to create different aesthetic patterns while maintaining the same PU parameter across all sheets. This parameter control enables sheets to be visually different but structurally compatible for stacking.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the non-ribbed portion width varies between sheets, then aesthetic variety is increased, but consistent stacking is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The non-ribbed portion widths are segmented into discrete multiples of the useful pitch PU. This segmentation creates a standardized set of possible widths that vary between sheets for aesthetics but remain compatible with the stacking system through their relationship to the common PU unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The width of non-ribbed portions is controlled through the parameter m in the equation DP = m×PU - LB. By changing m, different sheet widths are achieved while maintaining consistency through the shared PU parameter, ensuring stacking compatibility despite width variations.
Data Source
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AI summary
Set of at least two sheets (1), each sheet being provided with at least two identical, parallel ribs (2) with an open base (B), at least two ribs (2) of the same sheet (1) being separated by a non-ribbed part (P) and at least two sheets (1) constituting the same set of sheets having a different distribution of ribs (2). The width (DP) of the unribbed portion (P) between two adjacent ribs (2) of the same sheet (1) is non-zero and defined by the relation: DP = m PU − LB, where m is an integer, PU is a so-called non-useful number, corresponding to the sum of the width (LB) of the open base (B) of a rib (2) with the smallest width (Lpp), taken from all the sheets (1) constituting the sheet set, of the unribbed portion (P) separating two adjacent ribs (2) on the same sheet, and LB is the width (LB) of the open base (B) of a rib (2). The invention also relates to a stack made with the sheets of such a set.