Modular Ship Floor Construction with Hook-in Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
The labor-intensive and skill-dependent methods used in constructing floors in complex ship spaces, such as engine rooms, require innovative solutions to simplify installation and ensure efficient use of resources.
Innovation Solution
A floor construction system utilizing strut members, support members with hook-in openings, connecting members, and prefabricated elements, along with vibration damping and extension couplings, allows for easy assembly by less experienced tradesmen, using profiles and laser cutting for precise manufacturing and standardized fitting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional labor-intensive methods are used to construct floors in complex ship spaces, then the floor can be fitted to the complex form, but the installation requires highly skilled tradesmen and is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The floor construction is divided into separate modular components: support members with hook-in openings, connecting members with hooking members, and floor plates. These standardized modules can be assembled without skilled tradesmen, resolving the contradiction between ease of installation and construction complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The support members, connecting members, and floor plates are designed and prepared in advance with standardized features (hook-in openings, hooking members). This preliminary standardization enables simple assembly operations while handling complex ship space forms, improving ease of installation without increasing construction complexity.
2Reliability
If skilled tradesmen with extensive experience are used for floor construction, then the installation quality is high, but the cost increases due to shortage of such workers
Solution Approach 1:
The floor construction system is designed to be self-assembling using standardized components with intuitive connection features (hook-in openings and hooking members). This self-service design enables unskilled or semi-skilled workers to achieve reliable installation quality without requiring expensive highly skilled tradesmen, resolving the contradiction between installation quality and construction cost.
3Adaptability or versatility
If measurements and cutting are performed during fitting in inaccessible spaces, then the floor can be adapted to the space, but the process requires great skill and is difficult to perform
Solution Approach 1:
Floor plates with edges cut along predetermined shaped lines are prepared in advance in accessible workshop environments. This preliminary action transfers the complex measuring and cutting operations from inaccessible ship spaces to accessible workshops, maintaining adaptability to space form while dramatically improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor construction is segmented into pre-prepared floor plates and modular support/connecting members. This segmentation allows complex adaptive shaping to be done beforehand in workshops, while the actual installation in inaccessible spaces involves only simple assembly operations, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and operational difficulty.
4Length of stationary object
If long support members are used to reach lower spaces, then the floor can be supported properly, but the elements are difficult to handle and fit
Solution Approach 1:
Long support members are divided into shorter, manageable segments that can be easily handled and assembled. The extension coupling enables these shorter segments to be joined on-site to achieve the required total length, resolving the contradiction between the need for long support members and the difficulty of handling them during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension coupling acts as an intermediary component that joins shorter support member segments to achieve the required length. This mediator enables proper support of lower spaces while maintaining ease of handling during assembly, as the coupling allows simple connection of manageable segments rather than requiring manipulation of long, unwieldy single pieces.
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
This solution enables rapid, cost-effective, and skill-friendly installation of ship floors, reducing construction time and costs by separating component sizing from fitting, allowing for flexible project management and efficient use of resources.
Implementation Method 1
For the purpose of vibration damping the floor construction preferably comprises damping means between the support and/or connecting members and the floor plates. This prevents undesirable transmission and/or sounds amplified by resonance.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a floor construction for use in a ship, comprising: - strut members for supporting the floor construction relative to a construction of the ship, such as frame ribs or a hull; - support members which can be mounted on the strut members and comprise hook-in openings for hooking in connecting members; at least one connecting member for connecting support members, wherein the connecting members comprise hooking members for hooking into hook-in openings of the support members. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a floor construction.