Changeable frame

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing picture frames do not facilitate easy exchange of exhibits without risking damage to the frames or the objects being displayed, especially when dealing with large, rigid carrier sheets that can crease or suffer mechanical damage during handling.

Innovation Solution

A removable frame with a slidably mounted drawer that allows for easy insertion and removal of exhibits without opening the frame, featuring a recess with a funnel-like narrowing shape and edge strips for secure alignment, enabling easy handling and reorientation of exhibits.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If conventional picture frames with rear walls are used, then the frame structure is stable and secure, but the exchange of exhibits requires removing the rear wall which complicates the operation and increases the risk of damage

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of exhibit exchangeVSAvoidframe structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The frame is divided into a stationary frame body and a movable drawer component. The drawer can be independently inserted and removed from the frame body through a recess, allowing exhibit exchange without disassembling the entire frame structure. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling easy operation while maintaining overall structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The drawer acts as an intermediary component between the user and the exhibit. It provides a convenient interface for inserting and removing exhibits through the recess, while the frame body remains stable and unchanged. This intermediary mechanism enables easy exhibit exchange without requiring access to the rear wall.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Area of stationary object

If carrier sheets are made large to accommodate exhibits, then the presentation area is increased, but the sheets lack sufficient rigidity and form creases when turned over

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepresentation areaVSAvoidsheet rigidity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The exhibit or carrier sheet is placed inside the drawer, which itself is nested within the frame body. This nested structure provides external support and rigidity to the exhibit carrier, allowing large presentation areas without the carrier sheets needing to bear the mechanical stress of handling independently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Reliability

If mechanical fasteners or adhesives are used to attach exhibits to carrier sheets, then the exhibits are securely fixed, but the sheets suffer damage such as dents, cracks, or changes in structure and color

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveexhibit fixation securityVSAvoiddamage to exhibit
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The harmful attachment mechanisms (adhesives and mechanical fasteners) are extracted from the exhibit attachment process. Instead, exhibits are held in the drawer through the geometric configuration of the drawer's receptacle and the frame's recess, eliminating direct contact between fasteners and the exhibit surface, thus preventing damage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The drawer receptacle serves as an intermediary structure between the exhibit and the frame. It provides secure retention through its geometric design (edges and bottom) without requiring direct attachment of the exhibit to the frame body, thereby preventing damage from adhesives or fasteners while maintaining fixation security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Manufacturing precision

If the drawer recess has a funnel-like narrowing shape, then the drawer aligns precisely in the frame opening, but the insertion requires more precise positioning

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedrawer alignment precisionVSAvoiddrawer insertion ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The funnel-like narrowing shape is pre-formed in the recess, creating a self-aligning geometry that guides the drawer into the correct position during insertion. This preliminary geometric preparation ensures precise alignment automatically, reducing the need for manual positioning adjustments by the user.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3585217B1Changeable frame
Publication Date: 2020.09.09 DERNDINGER KATRIN
  • EP3585217B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3585217B1 patent drawingFigure 2~5
  • EP3585217B1 patent drawingFigure 6~9

AI summary

The invention relates to a changeable frame that allows for the exhibits presented in the frame to be exchanged in a simplified manner. For this purpose, the changeable frame (1) according to the invention for presenting of exhibits (E) has a frame element (2), which surrounds a frame opening (3), in which during usage the presenting exhibit (E) is arranged so as to be visible from an observer side (S), a cut-out (9) being introduced into the frame element (2), which cut-out leads from the lateral outer surface (10) of the frame element (2) to the opposite inner surface (11) of the frame element (2) and opens into the frame opening (3) and is provided for the insertion of the respective exhibit (E) into the frame opening (3) and for the removal of the exhibit (E) from the frame opening. According to the invention, a drawer (25) is then slidably mounted in the cut-out (9), which drawer has a holder (26) for positioning the exhibit (E), the drawer (25) being slidable between a slide-in position, in which the exhibit (E) is visible in the frame opening (3), and a removal position, in which the holder (26) of the drawer (25) is outside of the frame element (2) for the removal of the exhibit (E) present in said holder.