support
Enable an AI agent to recognise a weight-bearing device, assess its suitability and condition for a particular supported thing, and identify actions permitted by the available evidence.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 23 questions
Weight-bearing role Establishes what makes the candidate a support and identifies the extent of its responsibility.
Supported thing
Identifies what is borne and whether the bearing role is intended or incidental.
Bearing relationship
Record the supported thing, the bearing locations and the evidence for the support role.
- Which thing's weight is this device intended to bear, and at which locations? definition
- What documentation or observation establishes that weight-bearing role? provenance
Device boundary
Separates the support from neighbouring devices and from the receiving structure.
Support assembly boundary
Record which members, feet, pads and integral adjustment components constitute this support.
- Which components belong to this support, and which are separate anchors, foundations or supported objects? boundary
- Does the device also lift, transport or restrain the supported thing, and where are those roles represented? boundary
Load transfer and limits Relates the actual loading to the device's load path and applicable evidence of permissible use.
Applied load path
Tracks how weight enters the support and passes to other elements.
Load entry and exit
Record load application points, transfer members and receiving interfaces, including unresolved load sharing.
- Where does the weight enter this support, through which members does it pass, and where is it transferred onward? definition
- What forces and moments act in the proposed use, and how was this support's share established when several supports are present? measurement
Configuration-specific limits
Connects loading limits to the settings and conditions for which they are evidenced.
Applicable load evidence
Record the basis, applicability and gaps of any claimed loading limit.
- Which rating, test or assessment establishes permissible loading for this exact support and configuration? provenance
- Does that evidence cover the actual extension, orientation, load offset and any changing or impact loading? boundary
- What additional evidence is required before accepting a use outside the documented conditions? action
Bearing interfaces and adjustment Describes how the device fits the supported thing and retains its working geometry.
Contact compatibility
Examines the surfaces through which the supported thing's weight enters the device.
Bearing fit
Record actual contact, alignment and any pads, saddles or adapters needed for the bearing interface.
- What contact area, alignment and load offset exist between the supported thing and the bearing surface? measurement
- What evidence establishes that the bearing surface and any adapter are suitable for the supported thing? provenance
Working geometry retention
Identifies adjustable parts and how their selected positions are maintained.
Settings and locks
Record extension, angle and engagement of mechanisms that retain the load-bearing configuration.
- What are the current adjustable settings, and which pins, threads, clamps or other mechanisms retain them? measurement
- How is correct engagement verified, and what documented conditions govern adjustment while carrying weight? action
Installed stability Assesses the installed arrangement's resistance to unintended movement and its dependence on surrounding structures.
Receiving interface
Identifies the surface or structure receiving the support's load and the quality of engagement.
Base or attachment engagement
Record foot contact or attachment engagement and reference assessments of the receiving structure.
- Which floor, ground, wall or frame receives the load, and what contact or attachment is actually engaged? boundary
- What evidence establishes that the receiving interface can accept the transferred load in its current condition? provenance
Movement and restraint
Relates loading and placement to relevant modes of unintended displacement.
Stability assessment
Record assessment of applicable tipping, sliding, swinging or separation risks and dependencies on restraints.
- Which unintended movements are relevant to this arrangement, and what assessment covers the actual load position and restraints? provenance
- What slip, tilt, settlement or other movement has been observed under stated loading conditions? measurement
- Which changes to placement, supported load or restraint require stability to be reassessed? action
Bearing condition and intervention Connects observed deterioration and service evidence to decisions about continued bearing and intervention.
Load-carrying condition
Records defects and changes in the members and interfaces that carry weight.
Defects and deformation
Locate observed damage, wear, looseness and deformation, distinguishing observations from assessed acceptability.
- Where are cracks, corrosion, wear, looseness or deformation observed along the load path? measurement
- Which inspection or acceptance criteria determine the significance of these observations for continued weight-bearing? provenance
Service decisions
Records the evidence and prerequisites for loading, continued use, adjustment, repair or removal.
Intervention prerequisites
Make service decisions traceable and identify how the supported weight is handled during intervention.
- What recorded decision permits or restricts current use, and which configuration and inspection evidence does it cover? provenance
- Before adjustment, repair or removal, how will the supported weight be unloaded or transferred, and what verifies the alternative arrangement? action
- What checks are required before returning this support to weight-bearing service? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- noun.artifact
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
- Tags
- artifactdevice
- Facets: substance
- material
- Facets: origin
- manufactured
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- portable
- Facets: scale
- handheld
- Facets: affordances
- graspable, operable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- andiron, firedog, dog, dog-iron, angle bracket, angle iron, ankle brace, arch support, arm, armrest, atlas, telamon
What it is Filled
any device that bears the weight of another thing
In scope
- The device's weight-bearing role and relationship to the thing it supports
- Contact, attachment and load transfer through the support
- Support geometry, adjustment and installed configuration
- Evidence of permissible loading for the actual configuration
- Stability, deterioration and readiness for continued use
Out of scope
- The supported thing's internal construction, function and general condition
- The ground, building or foundation as an independently assessed asset
- Fasteners and anchors as independently specified products
- Lifting machinery and transport equipment beyond their support interfaces
- Detailed structural design calculations and certification processes
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a weight-bearing device, assess its suitability and condition for a particular supported thing, and identify actions permitted by the available evidence.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Identify another thing whose weight the device is intended to bear; incidental contact alone does not establish a support role.
- Trace how the supported thing's gravitational load enters and leaves the device; a component that only aligns or laterally restrains something may belong to a neighbouring model.
- Establish whether the candidate is an identifiable device rather than merely terrain or an available surface.
- Distinguish sustained weight-bearing from lifting or transport, recording multiple roles when one device performs more than one function.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Remove or adjust a support while it is carrying a load.
- Load a support beyond its rating or use an improvised support for heavy loads.
- Leave people working under a load held only by a temporary or damaged support.
Only with a human decision
- Returning a damaged support to service.
- Removing supports from a structure.
May
- Inspect supports for damage, overload and correct installation and report findings.
- Check that a support is rated for the load before placing something on it.
Moral aspects Filled
- When supports fail, loads fall on people; safety margins exist for that reason.
Who is affected
- Workers below loads
- Users of supported equipment
- Bystanders
Owners Filled
Steward
The owner or operator of the equipment or structure it holds up.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-03187746-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.support-4
- Open English WordNet: oewn-04366676-n
Direct properties required Filled
- Supported thing: References to supported objects and their bearing locations
- Support arrangement: Freestanding, attached, suspended, integrated, other or unresolved
- Applied loading: Force in N and moment in N·m, with location, direction, operating condition and uncertainty
- Permissible loading evidence: Referenced rating, assessment or test tied to a specified configuration; unknown if unavailable
- Bearing geometry: Contact dimensions, footprint, height, extension and offsets in mm or m
- Adjustment and locking state: Fixed, adjusted and verified locked, unlocked, partially engaged, not applicable or unknown
- Receiving structure: Reference to ground, floor, wall, frame or other element receiving the transferred load
- Observed displacement: Deflection, settlement or slip in mm and tilt in degrees, with load and observation time
- Weight-bearing condition: Recorded defects, affected locations, inspection date and assessed service status
Recognition required Filled
- A stand, bracket, prop, jack stand or frame carrying the weight of something else.
- Load ratings marked on manufactured supports.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Match a support to a proposed supported thing using interface, loading and configuration evidence.
- Record placement, attachment and adjustment for assessment before loading.
- Compare observed use with documented limits and flag missing evidence.
- Inspect bearing surfaces, load-carrying members, joints and locking mechanisms.
- Identify whether repositioning, adjustment or removal requires unloading or an independently verified alternative support.
- Recommend continued use, further assessment, repair or withdrawal according to documented criteria.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Collapse from overloading, corrosion or poor footing.
- Tipping from uneven ground or off-centre loads.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- EN 1993-1-1, issued by the European Committee for Standardization, provides structural design rules applicable to steel supports within its scope.
Context of use required Filled
- A support bears the weight of an object in buildings, machinery, furniture, storage systems and temporary installations.
- It transfers that load to another component or the ground while maintaining the intended position of the supported object.
- Suitability depends on the load, attachment, supporting foundation and conditions of use.
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-04366676-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: support - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this concept and therefore need to remain its single source of truth?
- How does the registry distinguish support devices from shelves, stands, brackets, hangers and integral structural members that also bear weight?
- Which support families require specialised extensions for flexible suspension, compliant bearing or active height control?
- Which authoritative sources establish configuration-specific loading evidence, inspection criteria and intervention rules for the support families included?
- How should shared loading across multiple supports be represented when the distribution has not been measured or otherwise established?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-support-4/spec.json