Threaded Tile Locking Element for Adjustable Overlap Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tile locking systems face issues with precise assembly, inability to adjust tightness, waste generation during disassembly, and compatibility with tiles of varying flange heights, leading to unstable connections and inefficiencies in assembly and disassembly processes.
Innovation Solution
A locking element with a multisided geometry head portion and a threaded body that allows for adjustable tension and reuse, featuring a bendable section for accommodating different tile inclinations and a recess design for compatibility with various aperture shapes, enabling secure engagement and easy assembly/disassembly without tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If snap coupling locking elements are used to connect adjacent layers, then assembly is simplified, but the connection stability deteriorates due to tolerance accumulation and inability to adjust tightness
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element transitions from a static snap-fit design to a dynamic threaded connection that allows for adjustment. The threaded body enables the locking element to be screwed into the aperture and adjusted to different positions, providing dynamic control over the connection tightness and compensating for manufacturing tolerances in the tiles and flanges.
2Productivity
If locking elements are designed with predetermined length for snap fitting, then assembly is quick, but adaptability to different flange heights deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element incorporates a threaded body that can be adjusted to different lengths by screwing it into the aperture to varying degrees. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the same locking element design to accommodate different flange heights and tile configurations, eliminating the need for multiple predetermined length variants.
Solution Approach 2:
The effective length of the locking element is changed by adjusting the threading depth into the aperture. This parameter change allows a single locking element design to serve multiple purposes across different tile types and flange heights, providing versatility without compromising assembly efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If snap coupling locking elements are used, then initial assembly is easy, but disassembly causes waste as locking elements must be destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The threaded connection allows the locking element to be easily unscrewed and removed from the aperture, enabling disassembly and reuse. This dynamic reversible connection eliminates the need to destroy the locking element during disassembly, contrasting with snap-fit designs that require drilling or breaking to remove.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking element is designed to be recovered and reused after disassembly. The threaded body can be completely removed from the aperture without damage, allowing it to be collected and used again in future assembly operations, thereby preventing waste and reducing material consumption.
4Reliability
If precise distance control is required for snap locking engagement, then locking reliability improves, but manufacturing precision requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring precise predetermined distances in the locking element design, the threaded connection allows for dynamic adjustment during assembly. The locking element can be screwed in to the exact position needed, compensating for manufacturing tolerances in the tiles, apertures, and flanges, thereby achieving reliable engagement without stringent manufacturing precision requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A locking element for engaging and connecting at least two overlapping tiles, where the tiles are of the type having a surface with at least one aperture, and where the tiles are defined by a surface having a material thickness, where said surface along its periphery is provided with a flange which flange in use is oriented downwards relative to the surface where at least one aperture is provided in each tile, such that one aperture in one tile may be superposed an aperture in an underlying tile, where said locking element has a head portion attached or integral with a body portion, where said body portion is symmetric around an axis of symmetry, said axis of symmetry being coaxial with a longitudinal axis of said body portion, and where on at least a length x parallel to the axis of symmetry, the body portion is provided with a circumferential thread.