Boat Seat Hinge Assembly With Stop Notch Rotation Limiting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing boat seat hinge assemblies do not effectively allow for smooth and controlled rotation from a folded to an extended position, often resulting in undesirable lateral bending and potential user injury due to uncontrolled rotation beyond the intended extended position.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly comprising a seat back support, a seat bottom support, a hinge pivot, and a stop pin, where the stop pin engages a stop notch to prevent further rotation beyond the extended position, guiding the seat back hinge portion between the stop pin head and seat bottom hinge portion to ensure smooth and controlled movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional hinge assembly is used without a stop pin, then the seat back can rotate freely from folded to extended position, but this results in unimpeded rotation beyond the intended extended position causing lateral bending and potential user injury
Solution Approach 1:
The stop pin acts as an intermediary element between the seat back hinge portion and the seat bottom hinge portion. It provides a controlled stopping point through the stop notch mechanism, mediating the rotation process to prevent excessive movement while maintaining smooth operation throughout the intended range of motion.
2Reliability
If the stop pin shaft contacts the seat back hinge portion during rotation, then rotation is controlled, but this causes friction and potential wear reducing operation smoothness
Solution Approach 1:
The contact function is extracted from the stop pin shaft and relocated to the stop notch. The stop notch engages with the stop pin shaft only at the intended extended position, separating the control function from the rotation path. This allows the seat back hinge portion to rotate smoothly between the stop pin head and seat bottom hinge portion without friction, while still achieving controlled stopping at the desired position.
3Reliability
If the seat back hinge portion contacts the stop pin shaft during rotation, then rotation is prevented beyond extended position, but this creates lateral bending and potential user injury
Solution Approach 1:
The stop notch serves as an intermediary engagement feature that transfers the stopping force from the stop pin shaft to the seat back hinge portion in a controlled manner. This intermediary mechanism prevents direct contact between the stop pin shaft and the main body of the seat back hinge portion, eliminating lateral bending forces while still achieving reliable rotation limitation at the extended position.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a hinge assembly includes a seat back support, a seat bottom support, a hinge pivot, and a stop pin. The seat back support has a seat back mounting portion and a seat back hinge portion. The seat back hinge portion includes a stop notch formed at an end of the seat back hinge portion. The seat bottom support has a seat bottom mounting portion and a seat bottom hinge portion. The hinge pivot passes through the seat back hinge portion and the seat bottom hinge portion to hingedly couple the seat back hinge portion to the seat bottom portion. The stop pin has a stop pin shaft and a stop pin head positioned at a first end of the stop pin shaft. A second end of the stop pin shaft is affixed to the seat bottom hinge portion of the seat bottom support proximate to the seat back hinge portion of the seat back support.