Adjustable Cabinet Leg with Tool-Driven Rotation for Easy Leveling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional adjustable legs for cabinets are inconvenient to adjust, especially for heavy cabinets, as they require reaching under the cabinet to grip the foot and rotate it, which is time-consuming and potentially unsafe, and may necessitate sawing the foot to accommodate uneven floors, making it difficult to level the cabinet correctly.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable leg kit with a first component attached to the cabinet base via lugs and a second component with a threaded element and a driving formation accessible through the first component, allowing for tool-driven rotation without manual gripping, even when the leg is on the floor, and featuring a foot that can rotate freely to reduce resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the installer manually grips and rotates the foot of the leg to adjust the cabinet level, then the leg can be adjusted, but the installation process becomes time-consuming and inconvenient especially for heavy cabinets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical gripping and rotating of the foot with a tool-driven system. A driving formation (such as a hexagonal socket or square drive) is provided on the lower shaft section, allowing a tool like an Allen key or spanner to be inserted and used to rotate the lower shaft section and adjust the leg length. This substitution of manual operation with a tool-assisted mechanical system resolves the contradiction by making adjustment easier and faster, particularly for heavy cabinets where manual rotation would be difficult.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the installer needs to shorten the leg to accommodate prominent floor features, then the leg can be adapted to the floor, but the foot must be sawn off making further adjustment difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the leg into distinct components: an upper shaft section, a lower shaft section, and a foot that can be selectively removed. The lower shaft section retains the driving formation even after the foot is sawn off, allowing continued adjustment capability. This segmentation allows the foot to be removed for adaptability to uneven floors while preserving the adjustment mechanism on the lower shaft section, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and ease of further adjustment.
3Reliability
If the installer needs to adjust heavy cabinets, then the cabinet can be leveled, but the installer must relieve weight from the leg by tilting or jacking the cabinet which is inconvenient and potentially unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the unsafe and inconvenient method of relieving weight by tilting or jacking the cabinet with a tool-driven adjustment system. The driving formation allows the installer to use a leveraged tool to rotate the lower shaft section and adjust the leg length while the cabinet remains in its normal position, bearing its full weight. This eliminates the need for unsafe weight-relief maneuvers while maintaining full adjustment capability, resolving the contradiction between safety and convenience.
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 easy and safe adjustment of cabinet legs without needing to reach under the cabinet, reducing installation time and improving the ability to level heavy cabinets by allowing tool-driven rotation of the leg, even when loaded, and accommodating uneven floors without sawing.
Implementation Method 1
The upper shaft section and the lower shaft section are threaded together so that when one is rotated relative to the other the distance between the foot and the head plate changes
Data Source
AI summary
A kit comprising a cabinet base (30), an adjustable leg for supporting a cabinet, the leg comprising: a first component (60) having an attachment structure for attachment to a cabinet and a first threaded element (63) integral with and extending from the attachment structure, the attachment structure comprising at least two lugs (65) projecting away from the first threaded element (63); and a second component (40) comprising a second threaded element (70) threadedly engageable at one end of the second component (40) with the first threaded element (63), a foot (72) located at the opposite end of the second component (40), and a driving formation (73) whereby the second component (40) can be engaged by a tool and driven to rotate, the driving formation (73) being located inboard of the thread of the second threaded element (63); the first and second components (40, 60) being configured so that when they are threadedly engaged the driving formation (73) is accessible through the first threaded element (63); the cabinet base defining a hole (38) therethrough and a first set of at least two sockets on its underside for receiving respective ones of the lugs (65), the sockets being positioned relative to the hole (38) such that when the leg is attached to the base (30) with the fixing lugs (65) located in the sockets the driving formation (73) is accessible through the hole (38).