Tactile Embedment Plate Assembly with Alignment Bracket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tactile detection embedment plates for visually impaired individuals are either too heavy and difficult to install, or made of fragile materials that deteriorate quickly, posing challenges in durability and maintenance, especially under impact from snowplow equipment.
Innovation Solution
The development of lighter, durable embedment plates with alignment brackets that allow for secure, co-planar connection and easy assembly of multiple plates, enabling single-person installation and reducing labor intensity, using a bracket system with shoulders and wedges for precise alignment and secure joining.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cast iron embedment plates are used for durability and strength, then reliability is improved, but weight increases making installation difficult and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The embedment plate system is divided into multiple individual plates that can be assembled together using alignment brackets. Each plate is lighter and easier to handle individually, while the brackets provide secure connection between plates, maintaining overall structural integrity and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
Alignment brackets serve as intermediary components between embedment plates. These brackets facilitate the connection and alignment of multiple plates, enabling easier installation while maintaining the durability and strength of the overall assembly through secure bracket-to-plate connections.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple heavy embedment plates are installed edge-to-edge to cover large areas, then coverage is improved, but installation complexity and difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Large coverage areas are achieved by assembling multiple individual embedment plates together using alignment brackets. Each plate can be installed separately and connected to adjacent plates, making the installation process more manageable and less difficult compared to handling and positioning single large heavy plates.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple embedment plates are merged into a unified assembly using alignment brackets that connect the plates together. This combining approach allows for large coverage areas while maintaining installation ease, as the brackets provide pre-designed connection mechanisms that simplify the assembly process.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise alignment of multiple embedment plates is required for co-planar installation, then manufacturing precision is improved, but installation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment brackets act as intermediary components that embody precise alignment features. The brackets include built-in alignment mechanisms such as positioning surfaces and connection points that ensure accurate co-planar alignment of multiple plates, thereby achieving high manufacturing precision without requiring time-consuming manual alignment procedures during installation.
4Ease of operation
If plastic embedment plates are used for ease of installation and light weight, then ease of operation is improved, but durability and resistance to UV damage and impacts deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple lightweight plates that can be easily handled and installed individually, combining the ease of installation advantage of lightweight materials with improved durability through the bracket connection system. The segmentation allows each plate to be light and easy to install while the overall assembly maintains structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedment plate system combines different materials with complementary properties. Lightweight plates provide ease of installation and handling, while the alignment brackets and connection mechanisms provide structural integrity and durability. This composite approach allows the system to achieve both ease of operation and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
Tactile detection embedment plates used in pedestrian walkways releasably aligned by a bracket on at least one of the embedment plates. The bracket can be mated with a bracket on another plate to define a receiver yoke in which a wedge is disposed for a releasable plate assembly connection.