Device for securing temporary structures
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Temporary structures such as open tents, shade structures, and signs are prone to displacement due to wind and other environmental factors, requiring additional securing methods that are often time-consuming and insufficient, such as using stakes.
Innovation Solution
A device that fits around the legs of these structures, featuring a cylindrical or rectangular container with a slot to hold mass-weighted materials like sand or water, distributing weight evenly around the circumference to secure the structure without mechanical connections, using plastic injection molding or 3D printing for easy manufacturing and transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional securing methods like stakes are used, then temporary structures can be anchored, but the process is time-consuming and often insufficient against strong winds
Solution Approach 1:
The device is pre-assembled with a tray and container structure before deployment. The container is designed to be filled with weighting material (sand, water, or other dense materials) as a preliminary step, creating a pre-weighted securing device that can be quickly positioned around the structural element without requiring time-consuming assembly or installation procedures during the securing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The device introduces a container as an intermediary element between the tray and the structural element. This container serves as a mediator that holds weighting material and transfers the weight force to the structural element through the tray, enabling effective securing without direct mechanical connection methods like stakes or ropes that would require more time and complexity.
2Reliability
If mechanical connections like straps or ropes are used to secure structures, then anchoring can be achieved, but additional securing devices are required increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges the tray structure with the container into a single integrated unit. The tray and container are combined such that the container sits within or on the tray, creating a unified securing device that eliminates the need for separate straps, ropes, or multiple individual components. This merged structure provides both support and securing functions in one device.
Solution Approach 2:
The device replaces mechanical connection systems (straps, ropes, fasteners) with a gravity-based securing mechanism. By substituting the need for mechanical fastening elements with a weight-based system where the container filled with dense material provides securing force through its weight, the invention eliminates complex mechanical connection requirements while maintaining reliable anchoring.
3Force
If heavy weighting materials are added to secure structures, then wind resistance improves, but the device becomes harder to transport and manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: a tray portion and a container portion. This segmentation allows the container to be separately manufactured and then integrated with the tray. The container can be produced as a standalone component using standard molding techniques, simplifying the overall manufacturing process while maintaining the ability to provide heavy weighting when filled with sand, water, or other dense materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes parameter changes in the weighting material - by selecting materials with different densities (sand, water, or other substances), the same container structure can provide varying levels of weight and wind resistance. This allows optimization of the securing force without changing the fundamental device structure or manufacturing complexity, simply by adjusting the material parameter of the weighting substance.
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
Effectively secures temporary structures by adding significant mass, resisting wind forces and lateral movement, eliminating the need for additional securing devices like straps or ropes, while being easy to manufacture and store.
Implementation Method 1
A device that fits around the legs of these structures, featuring a cylindrical or rectangular container with a slot to hold mass-weighted materials like water or sand
Data Source
AI summary
A device and method for securing a structural object, including a bottom tray configured to support thereon a container having an open top portion and a closed bottom portion, the bottom tray having a vertical wall configured to support the container around a circumference thereof; and a slot integrated into an end of the bottom tray and vertical wall and configured to fit around a pole shaped structural object adapted to be received within the slot, the bottom tray of the slot configured to rest upon a base of the pole shaped structural object.