Spa Cover With Segmented Rigid Shell And Removable Envelope
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spa covers are difficult to handle due to water absorption, leading to weight increase and mold growth, and often deteriorate quickly due to environmental exposure, requiring frequent replacement and posing challenges in snow removal.
Innovation Solution
A spa cover with rigid, fluid-impermeable portions joined by a continuous hinge, featuring internal channels for insulative inserts and a U-shaped carrier for easy lifting, which resists water absorption and supports snow loads, while allowing for efficient heat retention and easy installation/replacement of insulative inserts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If spa covers are made from rigid insulative sheets enclosed in flexible synthetic sheets, then insulation performance is improved, but weight increases and handling becomes difficult due to water absorption
Solution Approach 1:
The spa cover is divided into a rigid inner shell and a separate flexible outer envelope that can be detached. This segmentation allows the insulative rigid portion to retain heat while the flexible envelope can be removed to prevent water absorption and weight gain, resolving the contradiction between heat retention and manageable weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid insulative shell is nested within the flexible synthetic envelope. This nested structure provides the benefits of both materials - the rigid inner shell maintains insulation performance while the flexible outer layer provides protection and can be removed to prevent waterlogging, thus maintaining lightweight handling capability.
2Ease of manufacture
If spa covers use flexible material seams to join portions, then ease of manufacture is improved, but water absorption increases leading to mold growth and deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible synthetic envelope is extracted as a separate removable component from the rigid insulative shell. This extraction eliminates the water absorption and mold growth problems associated with flexible seams while maintaining manufacturing simplicity, as the two components can be separately manufactured and then assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the spa cover have different properties: the rigid inner shell provides structural integrity and insulation with non-absorptive surfaces, while the flexible outer envelope provides protection and ease of handling. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between manufacturing ease and resistance to water absorption.
3Strength
If spa covers are made heavier for structural strength, then snow load support is improved, but ease of removal and installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spa cover is segmented into a rigid insulative shell that provides structural strength for snow load support and a separate flexible envelope. The segmented design allows the rigid portion to bear the snow load while the overall cover remains manageable in weight and can be easily removed by detaching the flexible envelope first.
Solution Approach 2:
The spa cover transitions from a static monolithic structure to a dynamic system where the flexible envelope can be detached and reattached. This dynamic configuration allows the cover to adapt between providing full structural support when assembled and being easily handled when the envelope is removed, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
4Ease of manufacture
If manufacturers use lower quality materials to minimize cost, then product price is reduced, but environmental resistance and durability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The spa cover is segmented into components that can be manufactured using different material qualities appropriate to their specific functions. The rigid insulative shell can use higher quality, more durable materials for long-term structural integrity and environmental resistance, while the flexible envelope can use standard materials since it is replaceable. This segmentation allows cost-effective manufacturing while ensuring durability where it matters most.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter distribution across different components rather than using uniform low-quality materials throughout. By applying higher quality materials selectively to the rigid shell that requires environmental resistance and durability, the overall service life is extended while keeping manufacturing costs reasonable through the use of standard materials for the flexible envelope.
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 spa cover remains lightweight and resistant to water absorption, maintaining heat retention and preventing mold growth, with improved ease of use and durability, supporting snow loads and allowing for efficient spa access.
Implementation Method 1
individual, light weight, unitary, insulative inserts which are conformably dimensioned for telescoping receipt within each of the elongated internal channels defined by the respective first and second portions of the spa cover
Implementation Method 2
first and second rigid and substantially fluid impermeable portion
Data Source
AI summary
A spa cover is described and which includes first and second rigid portions joined together by a continuous hinge and which each define a multiplicity of spaced, uniformly elongated internal channels extending between opposite peripheral edges thereof; individual lightweight unitary insulative inserts are dimensioned for telescoping receipt within each of the internal channels which are defined by the respective first and second portions, a pair of brackets are mounted on the spa, and which define, at least in part, a course of travel for the spa cover so as to expose the spa for use; and a generally U-shaped carrier is rotatively affixed to the pair of brackets and which cooperates with the second portion of the spa cover.