Folding Cot Assist Arm for Easier Taut Fabric Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Assembling conventional cots can be difficult, especially in poor lighting conditions or on uneven terrain, and achieving a desired level of tautness in the support fabric can require more strength than some users possess.
Innovation Solution
A folding cot design featuring an assist arm with pivotally secured connections and mechanisms that facilitate easier assembly by allowing users to apply necessary force to engage connection mechanisms, thereby enabling the cot to be assembled with a desired level of tautness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the support fabric is pulled tight to achieve desired tautness, then the tautness level is improved, but the assembly difficulty increases and requires more user strength
Solution Approach 1:
The assist arm acts as an intermediary tool between the user and the connection mechanisms. It provides mechanical leverage that amplifies the user's input force, enabling the support fabric to be pulled tight and connected mechanisms engaged without requiring excessive user strength. The arm temporarily stores and transmits force through its pivotal connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The assist arm utilizes dynamic pivotal connections that allow it to move through different positions during the assembly process. The arm pivots relative to the side rail and leg, enabling it to adapt its angle and leverage ratio throughout the motion sequence, optimizing force application at each stage of the assembly.
2Device complexity
If conventional assembly methods are used, then the cot structure is simple, but assembly becomes difficult in poor lighting or on uneven terrain
Solution Approach 1:
The assist arm is integrated as part of the cot structure itself, using the cot's own components (side rail, leg, connection mechanisms) to create the assisting tool. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external tools or complex additional mechanisms, maintaining structural simplicity while providing assembly assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The assist arm is implemented as a separate, movable segment that can be positioned and manipulated independently. This segmentation allows the arm to be used temporarily during assembly and then stowed or removed, keeping the overall cot structure simple for storage and transport while providing complexity only when needed for assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed cot may include a first side rail having a first connection mechanism, a second side rail having a second connection mechanism, a leg secured to the second side rail, a pivoting mechanism that pivotally secures the leg to the second side rail. An end rail may include a third connection mechanism that engages with the first connection mechanism and a fourth connection mechanism that engages with second connection mechanism. The cot may further comprise a pivoting arm having a proximal end that pivotally engages with the leg, the first side rail, the second side rail, the end rail or a pivoting mechanism that enables the leg to pivot relative to one of the side rails. The pivoting arm may comprise a distal end having a sixth connection mechanism that engages with a fifth connection mechanism disposed on another portion of the cot.