{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.wedge","code":"thing-q131408","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q131408/","name":"wedge","alternateNames":["wheel chock"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A wedge is a rigid tapered body - classically a triangular prism, equivalently two inclined planes joined at an apex - that converts a driving force directed toward its thin end into contact forces on its faces, with any force amplification depending on wedge geometry and contact conditions, and is counted among the classical simple machines.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical wedge, assess its fitness for a specific contact arrangement, and decide whether and how it may be inserted, loaded, adjusted or removed.","scope":{"in":["Functional taper, entry edge or tip, bearing faces and driving or extraction features","Material and construction as they affect the wedge's working behaviour","Contact arrangement, insertion direction and available engagement","Evidence for load capacity, displacement, retention and removal limits","Wear, damage and application-specific readiness"],"out":["The complete machine, joint or support assembly containing the wedge","The full material behaviour and damage state of the object being split or restrained","Hammers, presses and other devices that drive the wedge","Screws, cams and levers whose primary working mechanism is not wedge insertion","Objects called wedges solely because of their appearance, including food portions and diagram sectors"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Identify a working region whose thickness increases along an intended insertion direction, rather than relying on a triangular silhouette alone.","Establish whether advancing the taper between contacts is intended to change separation or contact force; an inclined surface used only as a travel path is more plausibly a ramp.","Check whether restraint or adjustment depends on the taper; a constant-thickness spacer does not meet this draft's wedge criterion.","Determine whether the taper is a separately recognised object or only the working geometry of a blade, chisel or other tool; registry ownership of these cases remains unresolved."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"working-taper","name":"Working taper","description":"The geometry that makes this object function as a wedge and bounds its useful engagement.","layers":[{"id":"taper-identity","name":"Taper identity","description":"Identify the active taper and its intended mechanical role.","findings":[{"id":"active-wedge-region","name":"Active wedge region","description":"Record the region whose increasing thickness is intended to create separation, contact force or restraint.","questions":[{"text":"Which faces form the working taper, and in which direction does effective thickness increase?","id":"active-wedge-region-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does the object's intended function depend on advancing this taper, or is its wedge-like shape incidental?","id":"active-wedge-region-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"entry-and-travel","name":"Entry and travel","description":"Establish the dimensions controlling initial entry and useful insertion.","findings":[{"id":"usable-taper-envelope","name":"Usable taper envelope","description":"Record entry thickness, thickness profile, bearing width and the portion of travel available for working contact.","questions":[{"text":"What are the entry thickness, taper angle or profile, and effective width at the intended engagement?","id":"usable-taper-envelope-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Where must insertion stop because the taper ends, a shoulder interferes or the receiving space runs out?","id":"usable-taper-envelope-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"contact-and-driving","name":"Contact and driving","description":"How the wedge meets the receiving objects and how insertion or extraction force reaches it.","layers":[{"id":"bearing-arrangement","name":"Bearing arrangement","description":"Identify the working contacts and their alignment with the intended action.","findings":[{"id":"engaged-contact-pair","name":"Engaged contact pair","description":"Record the objects bearing on the wedge, the engaged face regions and any unintended edge contact.","questions":[{"text":"Which objects contact each working face, and where are the actual bearing regions?","id":"engaged-contact-pair-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does the proposed orientation produce the intended separation or restraint without unsupported twisting or edge loading?","id":"engaged-contact-pair-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"force-application","name":"Force application","description":"Identify permitted driving and extraction interfaces.","findings":[{"id":"driving-and-withdrawal-features","name":"Driving and withdrawal features","description":"Record how force may be applied to advance or retrieve this wedge, including access constraints.","questions":[{"text":"What instructions or design evidence establish whether the wedge may be struck, pressed, hand-inserted or drawn by a mechanism?","id":"driving-and-withdrawal-features-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which face, head, hole or other feature accepts driving or extraction force, and will it remain accessible after insertion?","id":"driving-and-withdrawal-features-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"load-and-retention","name":"Load and retention","description":"The supported operating envelope and the conditions governing wedge migration.","layers":[{"id":"working-envelope","name":"Working envelope","description":"Connect intended loading and movement to applicable evidence.","findings":[{"id":"supported-load-and-displacement","name":"Supported load and displacement","description":"Record substantiated limits for the proposed role without assigning an unsupported universal capacity.","questions":[{"text":"What source establishes allowable loading, insertion force or displacement, and what material, contact and engagement conditions does it assume?","id":"supported-load-and-displacement-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What load, engagement depth and required movement describe the proposed use?","id":"supported-load-and-displacement-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does the proposed use remain within the evidenced conditions, or does it require further assessment?","id":"supported-load-and-displacement-q03","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"migration-and-restraint","name":"Migration and restraint","description":"Assess the potential for backing out, slipping or expulsion.","findings":[{"id":"retention-basis","name":"Retention basis","description":"Record how position is maintained and whether the supporting evidence applies to current surfaces and loading.","questions":[{"text":"Is retention supplied by a positive restraint, assessed frictional contact or an unverified assumption?","id":"retention-basis-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence addresses retention under the relevant surface condition, vibration and changes in load direction?","id":"retention-basis-q02","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What restraint or operating restriction is required if migration cannot be ruled out?","id":"retention-basis-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"damage-and-release","name":"Damage and release","description":"Changes to wedge geometry or integrity and the conditions for withdrawing a loaded wedge.","layers":[{"id":"working-feature-integrity","name":"Working feature integrity","description":"Assess deterioration of the entry region, bearing faces and force-application features.","findings":[{"id":"damage-affecting-wedge-action","name":"Damage affecting wedge action","description":"Record defects by location and their implications for entry, bearing, driving and retention.","questions":[{"text":"What rounding, cracking, mushrooming, crushing, bending or surface contamination is present at the working and driving regions?","id":"damage-affecting-wedge-action-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which documented acceptance criteria determine whether those observations permit reuse, repair or retirement?","id":"damage-affecting-wedge-action-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"controlled-withdrawal","name":"Controlled withdrawal","description":"Identify what depends on the wedge before reducing engagement.","findings":[{"id":"release-dependencies","name":"Release dependencies","description":"Record the supported load, restraint or stored deformation that may change when the wedge is removed.","questions":[{"text":"Which objects could move, close, fall or spring back as wedge engagement decreases?","id":"release-dependencies-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What unloading, substitute support or restraint must be established before withdrawal?","id":"release-dependencies-q02","kind":"action"},{"text":"What evidenced extraction method applies if the wedge is jammed or its normal withdrawal feature is inaccessible?","id":"release-dependencies-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of wedge this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the wedge as a simple machine.","Recommend safe use of wedges, such as door stops or wheel chocks."],"mustNot":["Use wedges to hold loads instead of proper supports.","Strike hardened wedges with hard hammers without eye protection.","Remove wheel chocks without checking that the vehicle is secured."],"requiresHuman":["Using wedges in lifting or structural work."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Wedges hold loads that can fall and crush.","Splitting tools can injure."],"affectedParties":["Workers","Bystanders"]},"owners":{"steward":"The person who owns it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q115170682","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q11789812","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q186713","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q39546","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q728","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q8205328","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.wedge","Wikidata: Q131408 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131408)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Working role: splitting | separating | lifting | tightening | locating | restraining | other | unknown","Taper profile: single-face taper | opposed-face taper | curved taper | compound taper | other | unknown","Working taper angle: degrees, with reference faces and local or included angle identified","Thickness along insertion path: mm at stated distances from the entry edge or tip","Effective bearing width: mm over the engaged working region","Material and construction: documented material, treatment, grain or reinforcement orientation, and construction type; unknown where unverified","Contact arrangement: working face to contacted object, with contact location and intended load direction","Insertion depth: mm from an identified entry datum","Retention condition: externally retained | friction-dependent | observed migration | unassessed","Application limit evidence: manufacturer instruction, test result or engineering assessment tied to a stated contact and loading arrangement","Working-surface and driving-end condition: observed wear, rounding, burrs, mushrooming, cracks, crushing, deformation or contamination, with location and extent"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A tapered block thick at one end and thin at the other.","Axe heads, chisels and door stops."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Match the wedge's entry thickness, taper and bearing width to a proposed gap and working role.","Orient and insert the wedge using an evidenced driving method and travel limit.","Adjust separation, preload or restraint by changing engagement within established limits.","Assess whether retention or a secondary restraint is required for the proposed loading.","Inspect working faces and driving features to decide whether continued use is supported.","Plan unloading and withdrawal while accounting for supported objects and stored force."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Flying fragments when struck.","Load collapse if a wedge slips."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulation 29 CFR 1910.242 establishes general safety requirements for hand and portable powered tools, including wedges used as workplace hand tools."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Wedges are used in woodworking, stoneworking, assembly and positioning tasks to split, separate, tighten or support contacting objects.","Their tapered shape converts insertion force into forces acting across the contacting surfaces.","Suitability depends on the wedge material, taper, surface contact and intended load."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wedge (mechanical device) - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_(mechanical_device)","note":"Classification as a simple machine; splitting, lifting, holding and cutting uses; relation to the inclined plane."},{"title":"29 CFR 1926.301 Hand tools - Occupational Safety and Health Administration / U.S. eCFR","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-1926.301","note":"Struck wedges must be kept free of mushroomed heads; construction-site impact-tool hazard."},{"title":"ISO 2491, Thin taper keys with or without gib head and their corresponding keyways - International Organization for Standardization","url":"","note":"Standardized shaft keys that work as fastening wedges; dimensions and keyway geometry."},{"title":"wedge (mechanics) - Encyclopædia Britannica","url":"","note":"Simple-machine definition and the force-multiplying action of a taper."},{"title":"Wikidata item Q131408: wedge","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131408","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Wedge","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does vr.tr.wedge denote a mechanical wedge specifically, or a broader geometric class of physical objects?","Which existing registry entries or world models own tapered shims, chocks, splitting wedges and wedge-shaped working parts of tools?","Which authoritative sources establish operating and inspection limits for the wedge families included in the eventual scope?","How should retention be assessed when friction, surface condition or vibration is unknown?","Should paired or adjustable wedge mechanisms be represented as wedge instances in an assembly, or owned entirely by a neighbouring mechanism model?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q131408/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q131408/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T14:32:26Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 4 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}