Unitary Ribbed Playground Slide Bed for Tool-Free Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional playground slides require fasteners and tools for assembly, which can be cumbersome and costly for shipping and installation, and often lack structural integrity and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A playground slide design featuring a unitary one-piece slide bed and side rails that connect without fasteners, utilizing complementary structures and locking mechanisms for assembly, and incorporating a rib structure for flexibility and strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional playground slides use fasteners and tools for assembly, then structural integrity is improved, but assembly complexity and shipping cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slide bed and side rails are merged into a single unitary component formed from one piece of material, eliminating the need for separate fasteners and tools. This integration maintains structural integrity while dramatically simplifying assembly to require no additional parts or tools beyond basic handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The unitary slide bed structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the sliding surface, structural support, and connection interfaces for side rails. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate fastening components while maintaining both strength and assembly simplicity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional playground slides use fasteners for assembly, then structural stability is improved, but shipping cost and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the slide bed and side rails into a single unitary structure, the patent eliminates the time-consuming fastening process. The integrated design maintains structural stability through its monolithic construction while reducing installation time to simple assembly steps requiring no tools.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional playground slides use multiple components, then flexibility in design is improved, but manufacturing cost and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The unitary slide bed design consolidates multiple components into one, reducing manufacturing steps and material costs. The integrated structure maintains design flexibility by allowing varied configurations of ribs and surfaces to be formed in a single molding or fabrication process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs variable rib heights, spacing, and cross-sectional shapes within the unitary structure to achieve different structural and aesthetic outcomes. These parameter variations provide design flexibility without requiring separate components, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional playground slides lack integrated support structures, then ease of manufacture is improved, but structural strength and stability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The unitary slide bed incorporates ribs with varying heights, spacing, and cross-sectional properties at different locations to provide localized structural reinforcement. This local quality variation strengthens areas subject to higher loads while maintaining ease of manufacture through a single integrated fabrication process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds vertical dimensionality through three-dimensional ribs that extend upward from the slide bed surface. This vertical structure provides additional structural strength and stiffness without complicating the manufacturing process, as the ribs are formed as integral features of the unitary component.
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
Enables easy assembly and disassembly without tools, reduces shipping costs, and provides a strong and flexible slide structure that maintains stability without supplemental supports.
Implementation Method 1
a rib structure that may lend strength and flexibility to a panel
Data Source
AI summary
In one example, a panel includes a series of hollow ribs arranged generally parallel to each other, and the hollow ribs define part of a first side of the panel. A flexible web is disposed between each two successive ribs of the plurality of ribs. The panel is made of plastic and is in the form of a unified single-piece structure in which the flexible webs are integral with the plurality of ribs.