Collapsible Mounting Frame With Midpoint Hinges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional mounting frames are either complicated to assemble, unstable, or expensive to ship due to their design, lacking a balance between user-friendliness, stability, and compactness.
Innovation Solution
A horizontally collapsible mounting frame system with two horizontal rails and two side rails, hinged at their midpoints, allowing the frame to fold inward for compactness and stability, and featuring locking straps and a padlock aperture for security, eliminating the need for assembly and using a compact rectangular design for efficient shipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional H-shaped frame with two horizontal rails and vertical supports is used, then the frame can be disassembled for efficient shipping, but the assembly process becomes complicated and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the two horizontal rails and vertical supports into a single integrated wall plate structure with four rails forming a rectangular frame. This merging eliminates the need for separate assembly steps while maintaining the ability to ship compactly, as the frame can collapse horizontally when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces hinges at the mid-point of each horizontal rail, allowing the frame to dynamically collapse horizontally for compact shipping and expand to a full rectangular shape for stable mounting. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between compact shipping and easy assembly.
2Ease of operation
If a simple single horizontal wall plate with three rails is used, then the assembly is simpler, but the stability for mounting appliances is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges three rails into a four-rail rectangular frame structure, where the additional rail provides enhanced stability while maintaining a simple single-wall-plate design that requires no assembly. The rectangular configuration distributes mounting loads more effectively than a three-rail design.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a pre-assembled fold-over frame with four rails is used, then the mounting stability is improved, but the shipping cost and difficulty increase due to larger size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a horizontal collapse mechanism with hinges at the mid-points of horizontal rails, allowing the four-rail rectangular frame to compress into a compact configuration for shipping. This dynamic collapse capability maintains full mounting stability when deployed while dramatically reducing shipping volume compared to traditional fold-over designs.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of folding the frame vertically (fold-over design), the patent collapses it horizontally by hinging the horizontal rails, utilizing a different dimensional approach to achieve compactness while maintaining the stable four-rail rectangular structure when mounted.
4Ease of manufacture
If a disassembled three-rail frame is shipped, then the shipping efficiency is improved, but the user experience becomes frustrating and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines all frame components into a single pre-assembled wall plate unit that ships compactly through horizontal collapse. This eliminates the need for users to perform any assembly operations, reducing assembly time to zero while maintaining shipping efficiency through the collapsible design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a user-friendly, stable, and secure mounting system that is compact and cost-effective to ship, offering improved stability and security while eliminating assembly complexity and reducing shipping costs through its accordion-like collapse and pre-assembled design.
Implementation Method 1
The side rails are hinged to the two horizontal rails to form a rectangular frame. Each of the side rails is hinged at its midpoint to allow the side rails to flex inward toward the center of the frame when the frame is collapsed.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible mounting system and apparatus, the system comprising a horizontally collapsible frame and one or more vertical mounting rails coupled to the horizontally collapsible frame. The horizontally collapsible frame is comprised of two horizontal rails, a first side rail pivotally mounted to the two horizontal rails, wherein the first side rail is hinged at the midpoint by a first stationary connector, and a second side rail pivotally mounted to the two horizontal rails, wherein the second side rail is hinged at the midpoint by a second stationary connector.