Convertible Bench Structure With Fold-Out Table Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seating furniture, such as benches, typically lack the functionality to convert into a table surface due to space constraints and additional manufacturing costs, limiting their use to only seating multiple people without the option for a separate table.
Innovation Solution
A bench design featuring a main frame with a pivotably connected sitting surface and backrest section that can be lifted and extended to form a table surface, utilizing a hinge mechanism and adjustable support for stability, allowing the backrest and sitting surface to be folded out and locked into a horizontal position, creating a table top without the need for additional table elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a separate table furniture is added to provide a table surface, then the table function is improved, but the space occupation and manufacturing expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the table function with the bench structure by integrating the table surface as an extension of the bench's sitting surface. The table surface is formed by extending the sitting surface structure forward, merging two separate furniture functions (seating and table) into a single unified structure, thereby eliminating the need for separate table furniture and reducing space occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bench is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a seating furniture and a table furniture. The sitting surface can be configured to provide both seating areas and an extended table surface, allowing the same structure to fulfill multiple functions depending on arrangement and usage, thus improving adaptability without requiring additional dedicated furniture pieces.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a separate table furniture is added to provide a table surface, then the table function is improved, but the manufacturing expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The table function is merged into the bench structure by extending the sitting surface framework. This integration means that the table surface shares the same structural support, materials, and manufacturing process as the bench, eliminating the need for separate table manufacturing and reducing overall production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The bench structure is designed to serve multiple functions (seating and table) using the same components and materials. This multi-functionality approach allows a single manufacturing process to produce furniture that can be configured for both seating and table use, reducing the need for additional manufacturing operations and associated expenses.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the backrest section is lifted out to form a table surface, then the table function is provided, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backrest is divided into multiple sections that can be independently moved or adjusted. This segmentation allows specific portions of the backrest to be lifted or reconfigured to form the table surface, while the remaining backrest sections stay in place, thereby achieving table functionality without requiring complete structural redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The backrest sections are designed with dynamic movement capability, allowing them to be lifted, adjusted, or repositioned as needed. This dynamic design enables the transformation from a static backrest to a functional table surface when required, providing adaptability while maintaining relatively simple structural mechanisms through hinge or pivot connections.
Data Source
AI summary
A bench includes a main frame (10), a sitting surface (11) and a backrest (12) which are each supported by the main frame. A sitting surface section (13) and a backrest section (14) are formed separately from the subregions (15, 16) of the sitting surface (11) and backrest (12). The sitting surface section (13) is pivotably connected to the backrest section (14) and can be lifted off from the main frame (10) and, by pivoting the backrest section (14) can be lifted out together with the backrest section (14) in a horizontal section (14) in a horizontal position at a distance from the sitting surface (11) of the seating furniture, forming an elongate arrangement of the backrest section (14) and sitting surface section (13).