Collapsible leg assembly for self-leveling devices
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-leveling platforms face challenges in maintaining stability on uneven surfaces due to the lack of adjustable leg structures, leading to wobbling or tipping, which poses safety hazards and complicates transportation and storage.
Innovation Solution
The development of collapsible leg assemblies with a first and second tubular leg, a crossbar with flexible or detachable sections, and receptacles for hinged connections, allowing the legs to pivot and collapse, facilitating level adjustment and compact storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fixed leg assemblies are used for self-leveling platforms, then stability on uneven surfaces can be maintained through self-adjusting mechanisms, but the devices become difficult to transport and store due to their rigid structure
Solution Approach 1:
The leg assembly is divided into multiple segments that can fold relative to each other. Each leg contains a telescoping mechanism with nested tubes and a folding mechanism with hinged sections, allowing the structure to be broken down into compact segments for transport while maintaining full functionality when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg assembly transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure. The telescoping tubes allow length adjustment, the hinged sections enable folding, and the locking mechanisms maintain position during use. This dynamic design allows the legs to adapt between extended stable configuration and compact folded configuration.
2Ease of operation
If collapsible leg assemblies are implemented, then transportation and storage become easier due to compact folding capability, but the complexity of the leg structure increases with multiple moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into integrated components. The telescoping mechanism combines extension and retraction functions, the hinged sections combine folding and support functions, and the locking mechanisms integrate position maintenance with structural support. This merging reduces the number of separate components while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg assembly components serve multiple functions. The telescoping tubes provide both length adjustment and structural support, the hinged sections enable folding for transport while maintaining rigidity when loaded, and the locking mechanisms secure positions during use. Each component is designed to fulfill multiple roles within the system.
3Volume of moving object
If the leg assembly includes multiple telescoping and hinged sections, then the collapsible functionality is enhanced for compact storage, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The leg is segmented into standardized telescoping sections and hinged units that can be manufactured independently using similar processes. Each segment follows a repeating pattern of tube-and-connector or hinge-and-brace configurations, allowing for modular production and reducing tooling complexity despite the overall complexity of the assembled leg.
Data Source
AI summary
A collapsible leg assembly that includes a first leg having an upper portion and a lower portion; a second leg having an upper portion and a lower portion; a crossbar extending between the lower portions of the first and second legs, wherein the crossbar further includes a first section and a second section that are either flexibly connected to one another or detachably connected to one another; an upper leg receptacle that is adapted to receive the upper portion of the first leg in a hinged manner and the upper portion of the second leg in a hinged manner; a first lower leg receptacle that is adapted to receive the bottom portion of the first leg in a fixed manner and the first section of the crossbar in hinged manner; and a second lower leg receptacle that is adapted to receive the bottom portion of the second leg in a fixed manner and the second section of the crossbar in hinged manner.