Shower floor panel with functional element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shower base panel modules require expansive reinforcement bodies that cannot be installed flush with wooden floor structures, lacking the necessary rigidity and stability for floor-level shower applications and suitable substructures.
Innovation Solution
A shower base panel module featuring a flattened, annular reinforcement body produced in one material piece with a circular axial opening, serving both as a mechanical stabilizer and fastening element, made from corrosion-resistant materials like stainless steel or water-resistant plastics, which can be adhesively bonded to the panel element and annular body, ensuring torsion-free design and compatibility with wooden flooring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If an expansive reinforcement body is used to provide mechanical stability, then the rigidity and stability are improved, but the module cannot be installed flush with wooden floor structures
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement function is transitioned from a three-dimensional volumetric body to a two-dimensional annular element with strategic three-dimensional features (beads, protrusions). This dimensional reduction allows the reinforcement to provide mechanical stability while maintaining a minimal thickness profile that enables flush installation with wooden floors.
Solution Approach 2:
The module combines the thin panel element material (acrylic, glass fiber-reinforced plastic) with a separate reinforcement body material (stainless steel, aluminum, or plastic) to achieve both flexibility for flush installation and mechanical stability through material properties rather than volume.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a thin panel element is used to enable flush installation, then the adaptability to wooden floors is improved, but the rigidity and torsional stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The panel element is designed with locally varied thickness, being thinnest at the outer edges for flush installation and thickest at the borehole region for structural support. The reinforcement body similarly features localized thickness variations with beads and protrusions that concentrate rigidity where needed while maintaining overall thinness.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of thin panel material with reinforcement body material creates a composite structure that achieves both the flexibility required for flush installation and the torsional stability needed for structural integrity, with each material contributing its optimal properties.
3Device complexity
If the reinforcement body serves only as a stabilizing element, then the structural function is simplified, but the installation complexity increases due to separate components
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement body is designed to simultaneously fulfill multiple functions: mechanical reinforcement, drain element retention, and positioning of the panel element. By integrating these functions into a single component rather than using separate elements, the overall device complexity is reduced while maintaining ease of installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement body serves as a multi-functional element that provides structural reinforcement, retains the drain element, positions the panel element during installation, and potentially serves as a mounting surface. This universality reduces the number of separate components needed while simplifying the installation process.
Data Source
AI summary
A shower base panel module that includes: a panel element; a continuous borehole provided on the panel element, an annular body accommodated in the borehole for inserting a drain element. The panel element has a first pan-shaped surface and a second planar surface facing away from the first surface, so that the outer edge of the panel element has a panel thickness that exceeds a panel thickness at the borehole. The annular body protrudes beyond the second planar surface in the drain direction. A reinforcement body, which receives the annular body protruding beyond the planar surface, is placed beneath the second planar surface of the panel element.