Bi-Material Slat Suspension Mount for Faster Bed Base Assembly

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing suspension devices for bed base slats are costly to produce due to separate end pieces and anchoring studs made of different rigidities, requiring assembly and resulting in inefficient manufacturing processes and unstable attachment to the bed base.

Innovation Solution

A single-piece suspension device is created using a rigid anchoring stud and a flexible support plate, eliminating the need for assembly and ensuring correct positioning, with features like orthogonal housings and anchoring studs extending along the slat insertion direction for improved stability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If separate end piece and anchoring stud are used, then different rigidities can be achieved, but assembly time increases and manufacturing efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedifferent rigiditiesVSAvoidmanufacturing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the end piece and anchoring stud into a single integrated component made of bi-material. The flexible support plate and rigid anchoring stud are molded together as one piece, eliminating the need for separate assembly operations while maintaining the functional benefits of different rigidities in different parts of the device.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses composite materials by integrating two materials with different rigidities into a single component. The flexible support plate material and rigid anchoring stud material are combined through co-molding or insert molding techniques, creating a bi-material device that achieves both adaptability and manufacturing efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Adaptability or versatility

If separate end piece and anchoring stud are assembled, then flexibility in material selection is achieved, but positioning precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial selectionVSAvoidpositioning precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

By merging the end piece and anchoring stud into a single molded component, the invention ensures that the anchoring stud is automatically positioned with high precision relative to the support plate during the molding process. This eliminates the positioning errors that occur when assembling separate components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The anchoring stud is pre-positioned within the mold cavity before the flexible support plate material is injected. This preliminary positioning ensures that the stud is correctly located relative to the support plate features, achieving high positioning precision without requiring subsequent assembly operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If assembly step is eliminated, then manufacturing time is reduced, but structural complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemounting speedVSAvoidstructural complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bi-material construction allows a single molding operation to produce a component with complex internal structure and varying material properties. The flexible support plate and rigid anchoring stud are integrated through co-molding, achieving both simplified manufacturing and functional complexity in one step.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the material parameters by using two different materials with different rigidities in a single component. This allows the device to have both flexible and rigid regions while being manufactured as one piece, eliminating assembly steps and reducing manufacturing time despite the increased material complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP2026682B1Single-piece slat suspension device
Publication Date: 2013.12.11 TOURNADRE STANDARD GUM
  • EP2026682B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2026682B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5
  • EP2026682B1 patent drawingFigure 6~7

AI summary

The present invention relates to a device (10) for the suspension of bed slats comprising at least one tip (12) having an upper part (13) that includes at least one receptacle (14, 16) to accommodate the end of a slat, a lower part (18), and an intermediate part (20) comprising at least one suspension element (22, 24) connecting the lower part to the upper part, the lower part comprising a support plate (26), the device further comprising at least one anchor stud (28) produced from a more rigid material than that of the support plate (26), said anchor stud (28) extending perpendicularly with respect to the support plate (26) while passing through it. The invention is characterized in that the tip (12) and the anchor stud (28) are produced as a single piece by molding.