Articulated Lap Support Frame for Foldable Ergonomic Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable lap desks and supports are inflexible and unable to comfortably accommodate a laptop computer, keyboard, and mouse, often requiring users to balance these items on their lap at suboptimal heights and angles, and fail to support a variety of objects of different shapes and sizes, while also lacking compact storage and transportation options.
Innovation Solution
A portable articulated support device with a quadrilateral frame that can expand and collapse between a rectangular and diamond-shaped configuration, allowing for adjustable support on the lap, easy assembly and disassembly, and compact storage, using pivotally connected elongate thin rectangular panels for versatile object support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a fixed rectangular lap desk is used, then it provides stable support for objects, but it cannot be compactly folded for portable storage and transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The lap desk is divided into four separate panel segments that can be independently connected and disconnected. Each panel can be individually manipulated during folding and assembly operations, allowing the structure to transition between stable rectangular configurations and compact folded states without requiring complex interlocking mechanisms throughout the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The panels are designed to nest within each other when folded, with each panel containing or receiving adjacent panels in a nested arrangement. This nesting approach allows the four-panel structure to collapse into a compact configuration that fits within a small storage space while maintaining structural integrity during both extended and folded states.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional lap supports are used, then they are simple in structure, but they cannot accommodate various objects of different shapes and sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The lap desk employs a dynamic four-bar linkage mechanism that allows the panels to pivot and adjust their relative positions. This dynamic structure enables the frame to adapt its shape and size to accommodate objects of varying dimensions while maintaining structural stability, transitioning from a static support surface to a flexible, adjustable framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulated four-panel design creates a universal support structure that can accommodate multiple types of objects including laptops, keyboards, mice, books, and other peripherals. The same basic frame structure serves multiple functions by adjusting its configuration rather than requiring different specialized supports for different object types.
3Ease of operation
If the lap desk is designed for ergonomic support at optimal heights and angles, then it improves comfort, but it increases the device's size and reduces portability
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot connections between panels enable the lap desk to dynamically adjust its geometry to achieve ergonomic angles and heights during use, then collapse to a minimal volume for portability. The same dynamic mechanism that provides ergonomic positioning capability also enables compact folding, resolving the contradiction between comfort optimization and portable size reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable articulated support device has an articulated quadrilateral frame having four straight sides formed of elongate thin rectangular panels pivotally connected at opposed ends with opposed sides disposed in parallel spaced relation. The frame can be expanded and collapsed between a generally rectangular configuration and a generally diamond-shaped rhombus configuration to be supported in a generally horizontal plane upon the lap of a seated user for supporting various objects on the lap of the seated user. A first pair and a second pair of the panels each are pivotally connected together at a first end, and the first pair and second pair of panels are pivotally and detachably connected together at a second end. The first pair of panels can be detached from the second pair of panels and each pair can be pivoted about their first end to assume an overlapped parallel superposed relation for compact storage.