Transportable Sauna with Adjustable Legs and Sloped Drainage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Transportable saunas face challenges such as laborious disassembly and reassembly, structural weaknesses, inadequate performance in cold weather, and water buildup due to uneven ground installation, which limit their usability on various surfaces and environments.

Innovation Solution

A transportable sauna with a prefabricated wooden frame and adjustable leg arrangement made of cross-laminated timber, allowing for height adjustment and use on uneven surfaces, along with a drainage system to prevent water accumulation, and the ability to be transported without full disassembly, utilizing a metal leg structure for stability and a sloping floor for water drainage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the sauna is made transportable, then it can be moved to different locations, but it requires complete disassembly and reassembly which is laborious

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovetransportabilityVSAvoidassembly effort
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The sauna is divided into separate modular components including wall panels, floor sections, and roof elements that can be independently handled. The wall panels are further segmented with integrated framing members that allow for tool-free connection, enabling quick assembly and disassembly without requiring complete breakdown of structural integrity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The sauna incorporates adjustable and detachable leg arrangements that can be quickly configured or removed. The leg height is adjustable to accommodate uneven ground surfaces, and the entire leg assembly can be detached for transport without affecting the main structure, making the sauna dynamically adaptable to different installation conditions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Stability of the object's composition

If the sauna uses a fixed wall structure, then it provides structural stability, but it performs insufficiently in cold weather conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidcold weather performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The wall structure employs composite construction combining wooden framing members with insulation panels and outer cladding. The cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor and base element provide structural stability while the multi-layer wall construction incorporates thermal insulation layers that maintain interior temperatures in cold weather, achieving both structural integrity and thermal performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The sauna implements differentiated insulation strategies in different locations. The base element and floor structure include integrated insulation layers to prevent heat loss to the ground, while wall panels incorporate insulation cores. The leg arrangements extend below ground level to provide additional thermal barrier, creating local quality improvements where heat loss is most critical

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If the sauna is installed on uneven ground, then it can be placed on various terrains, but water builds up inside causing damage

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveterrain adaptabilityVSAvoidwater accumulation
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The adjustable leg arrangements allow the sauna to be dynamically positioned on uneven ground surfaces. Each leg can be independently adjusted in height to compensate for ground irregularities, and the legs can be detached entirely for transport. This dynamic adjustment capability enables installation on various terrains while maintaining proper drainage angles to prevent water accumulation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The sauna base element is designed with a sloped configuration that redirects water flow toward drainage openings. The floor structure incorporates a longitudinal slope that channels rainwater and condensation toward designated drainage points at the perimeter, preventing water buildup in the interior space by utilizing gravitational flow in another dimension

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Object-affected harmful factors

If the sauna requires planar soil for installation, then it ensures proper drainage, but it limits installation locations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedrainage controlVSAvoidinstallation location
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The detachable and adjustable leg arrangements provide the adaptability needed to install the sauna on non-planar surfaces such as slopes, uneven ground, or snow-covered terrain. The legs can be adjusted to create a level platform for the sauna body while maintaining the sloped drainage configuration of the base element, thus preserving drainage control while expanding installation location options

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The base element incorporates an integrated drainage system with sloped surfaces and perimeter drainage openings that actively manage water flow. The floor structure is designed with a longitudinal slope that channels water toward drainage points, utilizing gravitational flow in the longitudinal dimension to maintain effective drainage even when installed on varied terrain

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

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

Enables quick setup and teardown, improved structural integrity, effective temperature insulation, and water management, allowing the sauna to be used on diverse terrains and in various conditions without the need for additional insulation or planar surfaces.

Implementation Method 1

A frame being made of cross laminated timber makes it possible that no isolation on wooden elements and floor surfaces is needed in order to take into account the temperature changes

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal insulation: Thermal Insulation

Implementation Method 2

a sloping floor for water drainage

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGravitational drainage: Gravitation

Data Source

PatentEP3597169B1sauna
Publication Date: 2021.07.14 RIPAVI OY
  • EP3597169B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3597169B1 patent drawingFigure 2a~2b
  • EP3597169B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

Invention relates to a sauna, which comprises a wooden frame consisting of a roof element, a base element and a plurality of side wall elements, the interior being defined by the said elements joined to one another at their edges, having one or more doors arranged at least at one of the said elements, and sauna benches and a heater. The frame is a load bearing structure, and that the sauna comprises an adjustable and detachable leg arrangement on which the frame is mounted, having a plurality of adjustable legs and a plurality of actuators operatively coupled to the plurality of legs, and being arranged to move said frame in opposite first and second directions.