Segmented Modular Enclosures with Radial Wings for Durable Shelter Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for low-cost, portable, and durable temporary shelters that can withstand various weather conditions and provide extended service life, suitable for disaster relief, refugee housing, and other temporary uses, while being easy to assemble and disassemble without specialized tools.
Innovation Solution
A modular enclosure system composed of identical segments that form a spherical core with radially offset wings, allowing for quick assembly and disassembly, weatherproofing, and expandable interior space, using materials like durable polymers, metals, or ceramics, with features such as doors, windows, and insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If tents are used for temporary shelters, then they are low cost and easy to erect, but they have low internal height, short life, are frangible, not insulated, and collapse in heavy snow-load environments
Solution Approach 1:
The shelter is divided into multiple modular segments that can be independently manufactured and then assembled together. Each segment contains standardized connection features that enable simple joining without specialized tools, while the modular structure distributes structural loads across multiple components, enhancing overall durability and snow-load resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelter employs composite material construction combining rigid structural elements for framework with insulating materials integrated into walls and roof. This composite approach provides simultaneous benefits of structural strength, thermal insulation, and weather resistance, eliminating the need for separate insulation layers while maintaining durability.
2Reliability
If expedition tents with advanced materials are used, then they provide better protection and insulation, but they are much too expensive
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the shelter into standardized modules, the design enables efficient manufacturing and assembly processes that reduce labor costs. The modular approach allows for economies of scale in material procurement and simplifies quality control, making advanced protective features accessible at lower cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular segments are designed with universal connection interfaces and standardized components that can be used across multiple shelter configurations. This universality reduces the variety of unique parts needed, simplifying manufacturing and reducing overall cost while maintaining high protection standards through consistent quality across all modules.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional temporary shelters are used, then they are simple to manufacture, but they are not insulated and provide poor protection from weather
Solution Approach 1:
The shelter walls and roof are constructed using composite material systems that integrate structural support and thermal insulation functions into unified components. This eliminates the need for separate insulation installations while maintaining simple assembly procedures, as the insulated panels are designed to be self-contained modules that attach directly to the structural framework.
4Productivity
If modular segments are used to form spherical core with wings, then assembly is quick and expandable, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shelter is divided into standardized modular segments with identical connection interfaces, enabling rapid assembly through repetitive joining operations. The segmentation creates a systematic structure where each module follows the same design pattern, reducing the cognitive load on assemblers and enabling quick erection even as the overall structure becomes more complex and larger in scale.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular enclosure apparatus includes six segments that couple together to form a spherical core having three wings extending radially from spherical core. The three wings are angularly offset from one another about the spherical core. The spherical core and the wings are hollow. The modular enclosure apparatus is configured to be provided in a modular enclosure system including multiple modular apparatus configured to be coupled together.