Tensioned Sheet Wall System with Integrated Railing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing temporary weather enclosures for construction sites, typically made of plastic sheets, fail to withstand wind loads and precipitation, and lack sufficient safety barriers to prevent falls or object penetration during building construction.
Innovation Solution
A wall system comprising a flexible sheet of high-quality, abrasion-resistant fabric tensioned between frame members, with a rigid railing member integrated for safety and additional frame members to secure the sheet, providing both weather protection and safety barriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If plastic sheets are used for temporary weather enclosure, then the enclosure can be installed quickly, but the sheets cannot withstand wind loads and precipitation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a flexible sheet with a rigid railing member to create a composite wall system. The flexible sheet provides weather protection while the rigid railing member provides structural strength to withstand wind loads and precipitation, resolving the contradiction between quick installation and wind load resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining flexible sheet material and rigid railing elements. This composite approach allows the system to benefit from both the ease of installation of flexible materials and the strength of rigid structures, addressing both productivity and strength requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If plastic sheets are used for temporary enclosure, then the installation is simple, but the sheets lack safety barriers to prevent falls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the flexible sheet enclosure with an integrated rigid railing member that serves dual functions: maintaining the weather enclosure and providing fall protection. This combination maintains installation simplicity while adding reliable safety barriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid railing member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support against wind loads, creates a safety barrier to prevent falls, and maintains the weather enclosure. This multi-functionality addresses both installation simplicity and fall protection requirements.
3Device complexity
If small sheets are used with minimal retaining means, then the device complexity is reduced, but the coverings cannot withstand wind loads and precipitation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the flexible sheet with a rigid railing member to create a unified wall system. This integration provides adequate retention and structural strength to withstand precipitation loads without significantly increasing device complexity, as the railing member serves multiple functions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A wall system for forming a weather enclosure across a building opening in the frame of a building includes a flexible sheet of flexible material, a first rigid frame member secured across a first end of the flexible sheet, and a second rigid frame member secured across the flexible sheet in proximity to an opposing second end of the sheet. The first rigid frame remember is fixedly mounted on the building frame. A tensioning assembly is operatively connected between the second rigid frame member and the building frame so as to apply tension in the longitudinal direction to a portion of the flexible sheet. The tensioning between rigid frame members spanning across opposing ends of the sheet ensures that the sheet can be supported under significant tension throughout the sheet to enable the sheet to withstand considerable wind and precipitation loads.