Collapsible Work Stand Rail Mounting for Compact Tool Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing work support stands that are portable and configurable for supporting power tools, such as miter saws, often result in bulky designs that are difficult to ship, display, and store due to the need for secure mounting mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A work support stand with a pair of support legs, elongated rails, and an extendable workpiece support, featuring a tool mount with engagement members that engage the rails in a press fit manner, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, and a collapsible design for efficient packaging and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If secure mounting mechanisms are used to support power tools on work support stands, then the reliability of tool mounting is improved, but the device complexity and bulkiness increase, making it difficult to ship, display, and store
Solution Approach 1:
The work support stand is divided into modular components: collapsible legs, extendable rails, and separate tool mounting brackets. Each component can be independently assembled and disassembled, reducing overall complexity while maintaining secure tool mounting capability through dedicated engagement members on the rails.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool mounting brackets and engagement members are designed to nest within or along the elongated rails when not in use. The collapsible legs fold inward toward the rail structure, allowing the entire stand to compact into a space-efficient configuration that is easy to ship and store while providing robust tool support when deployed.
2Ease of operation
If collapsible design is implemented for efficient packaging and storage, then the ease of operation for assembly and disassembly is improved, but the strength and stability of the work support stand may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The legs are pre-configured with hinge joints and alignment features that guide them into proper positions during collapse and expansion. The rails include pre-positioned engagement members and locking mechanisms that automatically align with corresponding features on the legs and tool brackets, enabling strong connections through simple user actions without requiring complex assembly procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The critical load-bearing functions are extracted into dedicated structural elements: the elongated rails serve as the primary load-bearing component with integrated engagement members, while the legs provide support through their collapsible framework. This separation allows the collapsible portions to be simplified for ease of assembly while the extracted structural elements maintain overall strength and stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A work support includes a pair of support legs, a first elongated rail and a second elongated rail each extending between and being coupled to the pair of support legs and spaced apart from one another, and an extendable workpiece support comprising a third elongated rail and a material support supported by the third elongated rail. The material support is movable laterally and axially relative to the third elongated rail. The third elongated rail is axially movable between extended and retracted positions.