Apparatus and method for furniture with adjustable platform height and membrane sidewalls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cribs with high sidewalls pose challenges for parents to gently place infants or children into the crib without waking them, especially for those with physical limitations, and previous solutions like drop-side cribs have safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A crib design featuring adjustable sidewalls and a flexible membrane that supports the mattress, allowing the sidewalls to be raised or lowered with mechanisms like pneumatic or hydraulic pistons, motors, or manual operation, enabling easy access while minimizing entrapment risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high sidewalls are used to prevent climbing, then safety is improved, but ease of placing child becomes worse
Solution Approach 1:
The sidewall height is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The membrane can be selectively released at different locations to lower the sidewall to a desired height, allowing parents to easily place children in the crib when needed, while maintaining high sidewalls for safety during normal use.
Solution Approach 2:
The height parameter of the sidewall is made changeable through the membrane release mechanism. By releasing the membrane at specific locations, the sidewall height can be adjusted to provide easy access for placing children, while returning to high height for safety during sleep.
2Ease of operation
If drop-side cribs are used to ease placement, then ease of operation is improved, but safety is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible membrane replaces the traditional rigid drop-side structure. The membrane can be selectively released to lower the sidewall for easy placement, but unlike drop-side cribs, it is designed with controlled release mechanisms and entrapment prevention features to eliminate safety hazards associated with traditional drop-sides.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane acts as an intermediary between the fixed frame and the mattress, providing a controlled, safe mechanism for height adjustment. It mediates the conflict between needing high sidewalls for safety and low sidewalls for easy placement, allowing temporary reduction of height only when needed and in a controlled manner.
3Reliability
If mattress height is adjusted by partial disassembly, then sidewall height is improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane system provides self-service height adjustment capability. The membrane can be released and repositioned without requiring disassembly of the crib structure, allowing parents to adjust sidewall height independently and easily, eliminating the need for complex disassembly procedures.
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
Facilitates safe and gentle placement of infants or children into the crib, accommodating parents with physical limitations, and reduces the risk of entrapment through adjustable sidewalls and a flexible membrane system.
Implementation Method 1
mechanisms like pneumatic or hydraulic pistons
Implementation Method 2
mechanisms like pneumatic or hydraulic pistons
Implementation Method 3
A crib design featuring adjustable sidewalls and a flexible membrane that supports the mattress
Data Source
AI summary
A method and corresponding apparatus that includes: a frame; one or more adjustable-height sidewalls connected to the frame, wherein the sidewalls are selectively raisable; a body support platform; and a membrane that is connected to the frame and extends from the frame over the sidewalls and is configured to support the body support platform within the one or more sidewalls at any selected one of a plurality of different heights.