Screed Levelling Hand Tool Using a Laid Slab as Depth Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-professional slab layers face challenges in achieving a uniformly levelled screed with the correct depth and direction when laying paving slabs, leading to uneven slabs, trip hazards, and improper water drainage.
Innovation Solution
A hand tool with a screed levelling member comprising a first and second non-coplanar portion joined at a vertex, allowing the laid slab to act as a guide for levelling, featuring enhanced stability and manoeuvrability, and adjustable depth to accommodate varying slab depths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If professional installers use lengths of wood and/or trowels to level the sub-base and screed, then levelling can be achieved, but it requires experience and skill to execute in an effective manner
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary tool (the levelling device with guide member and screed-levelling member) that mediates between the worker and the screed material. This device translates the simple action of dragging along a laid slab into precise levelling action, eliminating the need for workers to have expert skill with traditional tools while maintaining high levelling precision.
2Productivity
If non-professional slab layers attempt to level screed manually, then they can lay slabs, but the slabs may be laid in an uneven manner causing trip hazards and drainage problems
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service levelling by using the laid slab itself as the guide reference. The guide member contacts the laid slab and automatically establishes the correct height and orientation, allowing non-professionals to achieve professional-quality uniformity without requiring expert knowledge or complex adjustment procedures.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional levelling tools are used, then screed can be levelled, but it is difficult to determine whether the screed is being levelled to the correct depth
Solution Approach 1:
The device provides immediate visual feedback through the guide member's contact with the laid slab. The fixed vertical distance between the guide member and screed-levelling member creates a built-in reference system that automatically indicates correct depth, eliminating the need for separate measurement tools or expert judgment about whether the correct depth has been achieved.
4Productivity
If adjacent slabs have settled by the time the subsequent slab is laid, then laying can proceed, but it is difficult to determine the correct depth for levelling
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs preliminary action by establishing the depth reference in advance through the guide member's contact with the laid slab. This pre-establishes the correct levelling plane before the screed is laid, ensuring depth consistency even when slabs settle during the laying process, without requiring repeated measurements or adjustments.
Data Source
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AI summary
A hand tool (1) for levelling screed, the hand tool (1) comprises a main body (10) and a screed-levelling member (20), the screed levelling member (20) comprises a first portion (21) and a second portion (22) joined together at a vertex (V), the first and second portion (21, 22) being non-colinear or non-coplanar, wherein the first portion (21) is secured to the main body (10), and the second portion (22) is configured to level screed in use.