Self-Rolling Flexible Mat Using Bistable Resilient Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible mats suffer from difficulties in maintaining their shape when rolled or unrolled, requiring significant effort to roll and unroll, and often require straps to stay bundled, leading to inconvenience and potential unrolling.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a roll mechanism with bistable resilient members and rigid elements that allow the mat to self-roll into a tight bundle and easily unroll into a flat position without losing shape, eliminating the need for straps and reducing effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional flexible material is used, then the material provides cushioning and flexibility, but the material easily bends out of shape and cannot maintain its proper stance when rolled or unrolled
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible material is divided into multiple segments or sections, each capable of independent movement. This segmentation allows the material to flex and adapt to different positions while maintaining overall shape integrity through the coordinated movement of segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The material utilizes changes in physical parameters such as flexibility and rigidity at different locations. By varying these parameters across the material, it can maintain shape in rolled positions while allowing flexibility during use. This is achieved through differential material properties or structural variations in different regions of the material.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional flexible material is rolled-up, then the material can be stored, but rolling requires great effort and the mat may telescope or unroll
Solution Approach 1:
The material is designed with inherent curvature or pre-formed rolled sections that guide the rolling process. This curvature design allows the material to roll up naturally into a compact bundle without requiring significant user effort, while the curved structure prevents telescoping and maintains a tight roll during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The material incorporates self-rolling mechanisms such as elastic bands, springs, or friction-based structures that automatically maintain the rolled position and prevent unrolling. This self-service feature eliminates the need for straps and reduces the effort required to keep the material bundled during storage.
3Volume of moving object
If the mat is stored upright on its rolled edges, then storage space is utilized, but the corner ends bend and remain bent, losing proper stance
Solution Approach 1:
Protective elements such as rigid corner guards, reinforced end sections, or cushioning materials are incorporated at the corner ends before storage. These protective features prevent bending and damage during upright storage, ensuring the material maintains its proper stance and shape integrity when removed from storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The material uses composite construction with different materials or structural layers, particularly at the corner ends. This composite design provides enhanced rigidity or protective features at vulnerable areas while maintaining overall flexibility, preventing bending during upright storage and ensuring proper stance restoration after storage.
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 flexible material with the integrated roll mechanism can self-roll into a compact, stable bundle and unroll effortlessly, maintaining its shape without the need for additional straps, enhancing user convenience and storage efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a pair of bistable resilient members coupled with the mat
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a device that is comprised of a flexible material and a roll mechanism associated with the flexible material. A bistable resilient member maintains the flexible material flat due to a tension force within the body of the bistable resilient member in a first stable state, and maintains the flexible material to a rolled-up, bundled closed position after the tension force within the body of the bistable resilient member is fully released (the second stable state). Further, the bistable resilient member compels the flexible material to a self-roll-up motion (during a transition state) while a tension force within the body of the bistable resilient member is released.