Portable Wind-Resistant Shade Structure with Asymmetric Hypar Canopy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable shade structures are unstable in wind and require significant construction or attachment to other structures for stability, making them impractical for quick or temporary installations, especially in areas like sidewalks and parking lots.
Innovation Solution
A portable, free-standing shade structure with a frame of interconnected pillars and cross members, featuring a sheet connected at alternating heights to create an uneven planar surface that transfers wind forces for stability, allowing it to be installed quickly without permanent anchoring or permits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If portable shade structures are made lightweight and easy to assemble, then they can be installed quickly without significant construction, but they become unstable in wind and require attachment to other structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by creating an uneven planar surface in the sheet through pillars of alternating heights. This asymmetric configuration allows wind to flow over the surface in a controlled manner, generating aerodynamic downforce that stabilizes the structure without requiring attachment to other structures, thus resolving the contradiction between portability and wind stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of wind into a beneficial stabilizing force. By designing the sheet with an uneven planar surface, wind forces that would normally destabilize the structure are transformed into aerodynamic downforce that actively anchors the structure to the ground, eliminating the need for complex anchoring systems while maintaining wind stability.
2Reliability
If permanent shade structures are constructed with significant construction and anchoring, then they achieve wind stability, but they require significant time and cost for installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the shade structure into modular components including interchangeable panels and detachable frame elements. This segmentation allows the structure to be assembled quickly from pre-fabricated parts without requiring significant construction, while the aerodynamic design of each segment maintains overall wind stability, resolving the contradiction between installation time and wind stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the sheet by creating an uneven planar surface through pillars of varying heights. This parameter change transforms the sheet from a flat, wind-catching surface into an aerodynamic surface that generates stabilizing downforce, achieving permanent-structure-level wind stability with portable, quickly-assembled components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If shade structures are designed to be free-standing and portable, then they can be installed without attachment to other structures, but they lack stability in wind
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses asymmetry in the pillar heights to create an uneven planar surface that generates aerodynamic stabilizing forces. This asymmetric design allows the free-standing structure to resist wind forces effectively without requiring attachment to buildings or other structures, maintaining both portability and wind stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms wind force from a destabilizing harm into a stabilizing benefit by designing the uneven sheet surface to generate aerodynamic downforce. This allows the free-standing portable structure to achieve wind stability through the wind itself rather than through attachment mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between free-standing capability and wind stability.
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
The structure is resistant to wind forces, providing stability and compliance with wind stability regulations, enabling quick and temporary installations without the need for extensive construction or attachments to other structures.
Implementation Method 1
the uneven planar surface in the sheet transfers wind forces to the frame to provide an anchoring force that stabilizes the shade structure against the surface upon which the shade structure rests
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a portable, free-standing shade structure that is resistant to wind. The inventive shade structure can comprise a frame and a sheet, or canopy, that is connected to the frame under tension at two or more different heights to create an uneven, hypar conformation in the sheet. The uneven, hypar conformation of the sheet transfers wind force to the frame so as to press the frame against the surface upon which the shade structure rests, thereby making the inventive shade structure resistant to the movement, tipping, lift, and vibration that typically results when a portable shade structure is exposed to wind.