Cake protector assembly and kit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cake covers are bulky and difficult to store, making them less accessible when needed, which poses a risk in preventing breath contamination and ensuring hygiene during celebrations.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable cake guard system comprising a rectangular frame with notched elongated members, pivotable legs, and serrated cross-members that allow easy assembly and disassembly, enabling storage and quick deployment, with a transparent plastic film for visibility and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional cake covers are used to protect cakes from breath contamination, then hygiene protection is improved, but storage difficulty and bulkiness worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The cake cover is divided into multiple frame members (first pair of elongated members, second pair of elongated members) that can be separated and stored individually. Each member contains notches for interlocking, allowing the frame to be assembled from discrete components that occupy minimal storage space while forming a complete protective structure when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame members are designed to nest within each other when disassembled, with the notched elongated members fitting together in a compact configuration. This nesting arrangement significantly reduces the storage volume required compared to traditional rigid cake covers, while maintaining the full protective function when assembled.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional cake covers are used to protect cakes, then hygiene protection is improved, but accessibility and quick deployment worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The frame members are pre-configured with notches and interlocking features that enable rapid assembly without requiring complex alignment or fastening operations. The notched design allows members to snap together quickly, reducing deployment time from minutes to seconds while maintaining secure structural integrity for effective protection.
3Loss of information
If a transparent plastic film is used to allow cake visibility, then visibility is improved, but structural strength worsens
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent plastic film is stretched across the frame members to create a protective barrier that maintains cake visibility while providing hygiene protection. The film is tensioned between the notched frame members, creating a taut surface that is both transparent for viewing the cake and sufficient for preventing breath contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines rigid notched frame members with a flexible transparent plastic film to create a composite structure. The frame provides structural strength and shape, while the film provides the protective barrier with visibility. This composite approach allows each material to contribute its optimal properties without compromising the other.
Data Source
AI summary
A kit for constructing a cake-protecting assembly, including at least two first elongated frame members, at least two second elongated frame members connectable to the pair of first elongated frame members to yield a frame defining a working plane, at least two leg members pivotably connected to each respective elongated first frame member, and at least two elongated stabilizing members connectable to extend orthogonally from a leg member connected to each respective elongated support member and oriented parallel to the working plane. The kit also includes four pegs connectible to the elongated first frame members for limiting the movement of each respective leg member.