Toroidal Fabric Cover for Monument Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for protecting monuments, such as aircraft seats, during manufacturing and testing are inadequate as they often result in scratches, debris, and other undesirable conditions, and the use of universal nylon slip covers can cause gapping or loose portions, leading to trip hazards and surface damage.
Innovation Solution
A protective removable cover is designed with multiple sheets of fabric joined in a toroidal shape, where the interior and exterior surfaces are the same, allowing it to roll over monuments without friction and accommodate various seat types, featuring elastic material, elongate openings for access, and handles for easy installation and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional seat covers are used to protect monuments during manufacturing, then the monuments are protected from damage, but multiple different designs must be kept on hand for different seat types, increasing cost, storage space requirements, and complexity of locating and transporting specific designs
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover is designed with a toroidal shape that can be rolled over various seat types, providing universal protection across different monument designs. The cover's continuous surface without seams allows it to adapt to different seat contours while maintaining protective functionality, eliminating the need for multiple specialized cover designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is constructed from flexible fabric material that can conform to different seat shapes when rolled over them. This flexibility allows a single cover design to protect multiple seat types effectively, resolving the contradiction between universal protection and design variety requirements.
2Reliability
If universal nylon slip covers are used to protect seats, then protection is provided, but gapping or loose portions occur that create trip hazards and cause surface damage
Solution Approach 1:
The toroidal (doughnut-shaped) configuration of the cover allows it to roll over seats in a curved manner, eliminating gaps and loose portions that occur with flat covers. This curved geometry ensures continuous contact with the seat surface, preventing trip hazards while maintaining full protective coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed to be rolled over the seat in advance before manufacturing operations begin, establishing continuous protective coverage. This preliminary application method ensures the cover conforms to the seat shape without creating gaps or loose portions that could cause hazards.
3Reliability
If multiple different styles of seat covers are maintained for different seat types, then appropriate protection can be provided for each seat type, but this creates burden in terms of cost, storage space, and locating and transporting specific designs
Solution Approach 1:
A single toroidal cover design serves multiple seat types universally, eliminating the need to maintain inventories of different cover styles. The cover's rolled configuration and flexible material allow it to adapt to various seat contours, providing appropriate protection across different seat types while reducing quantity requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functionality of multiple specialized covers into a single universal design. By combining the protective features needed for different seat types into one toroidal cover that can be applied to various seats, the system reduces the quantity of covers needed while maintaining appropriate protection for each seat type.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a protective removable cover are presented. The protective removable cover comprises a number of sheets of fabric joined together in a toroidal shape such that an interior of the toroidal shape and an exterior of the toroidal shape have a same surface. The number of sheets of fabric joined together in the toroidal shape is configured to roll over a monument such that the monument is substantially covered.