Collapsible Support Structure with Removable Axle and Sliding Handle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional collapsible support structures have complex and unreliable fold mechanisms, making them cumbersome to use, and often lack efficient wheel systems that can accommodate large bulky items like picnic coolers, with removable wheels being difficult to assemble and disassemble.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible support structure featuring a horizontal and vertical support system with a removable axle assembly for wheels and a sliding handle, allowing for easy conversion between deployed and stowed configurations, and enabling efficient movement and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional collapsible support structures use complex fold mechanisms to enable deployment and stowage, then the structure can be folded between configurations, but the mechanism becomes overly complex and requires cumbersome user actions
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into modular segments (horizontal support members, vertical support members, leg members) that can independently fold and collapse. Each segment has simplified connection points that allow straightforward assembly and disassembly without complex mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fold mechanism is extracted from complex multi-step procedures to simple pivot points and connection joints. The essential folding function is isolated to specific locations (e.g., where vertical members connect to horizontal members) rather than requiring complex mechanisms throughout the entire structure, simplifying both operation and overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If conventional collapsible support structures use simple fold mechanisms to reduce complexity, then the device complexity is reduced, but the mechanisms become unreliable and fold/unfold at undesirable times
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure includes pre-configured locking positions and guide features that ensure folds occur only at intended moments during deployment or stowage. The geometry of the connecting joints is designed to naturally guide members into proper alignment before engagement, preventing premature or unintended folding while maintaining simple mechanism design.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex locking mechanisms to prevent unwanted folding, the design inverts the approach by using gravity-assisted collapse and spring-loaded return mechanisms. The structure naturally folds in the desired direction through its geometric configuration, making unintended folding mechanically impossible without adding complexity.
3Ease of operation
If conventional collapsible support structures equip wheels to enable travel, then mobility is improved, but the wheels become bulky and difficult to remove and reassemble
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is segmented into separate components (wheels, axles, mounting brackets) that can be independently handled. The axle assembly serves as a modular unit that attaches to the horizontal support members, allowing wheels to be removed and reinstalled without manipulating the entire support structure, reducing the effective volume handled during assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The axle assembly acts as an intermediary component between the wheels and the main support structure. This mediator element simplifies wheel installation by providing a pre-assembled interface that connects multiple wheels to the frame simultaneously, reducing the complexity and volume of manual assembly operations.
4Ease of operation
If conventional collapsible support structures use removable wheels to improve assembly ease, then wheel removability is improved, but the wheels are unable to efficiently roll across support surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is designed with differentiated local qualities: the wheel contact surfaces have optimized geometry and material properties for efficient rolling, while the mounting interfaces use simplified connection mechanisms for easy removal. This local specialization allows the wheels to excel at their primary function (rolling) without requiring complex assembly mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between removability and rolling efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A collapsible support structure includes a horizontal support structure, a vertical support structure, a handle assembly, and an axle assembly. In use, the collapsible support structure may be folded/unfolded between a deployed configuration, in which the collapsible support structure may be capable of rolling along a support surface to transport items, and a stowed/storage position, in which the collapsible support structure is collapsed in a compact geometry for storage. The collapsible support structure includes an axle assembly that enables removal of the wheels from the axle assembly for storage, as well as a handle assembly that can slide completely underneath the horizontal support structure for storage and when not in use.