Flexible Card Phone Stand with Interlocking Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cellphone stands are bulky and difficult to carry, lacking a compact and stable solution for supporting smartphones in both upright and landscape orientations for viewing videos or receiving notifications.
Innovation Solution
A convertible card and electronic device stand made of flexible material with score lines allowing it to transform from a flat business card configuration into a bowed electronic device stand, supporting smartphones in an upright position with interlocking arms for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cellphone stands are used to support smartphones in upright position, then stability and support function are improved, but portability and compactness deteriorate due to bulky size
Solution Approach 1:
The card body is segmented into multiple functional zones including first and second card portions that can be selectively separated along score lines. This segmentation allows the stand to be divided into discrete components that can be stored compactly yet assembled into a stable support structure when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The stand transitions from a two-dimensional flat card configuration to a three-dimensional upright support structure by folding along score lines and interlocking card portions. This dimensional transformation enables the stand to maintain stability in use while occupying minimal space during storage.
2Reliability
If card body is deformed into bowed configuration with interlocked stand arms, then electronic device stand stability is improved, but ease of transformation and operation worsens due to complex deformation process
Solution Approach 1:
Score lines are pre-formed in the card body at specific locations to guide the folding and deformation process. These pre-marked lines reduce the cognitive load and physical effort required by the user to transform the stand, as the correct folding paths are already indicated on the card itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The card structure is designed to be self-assembling through interlocking mechanisms where card portions automatically engage with each other when folded along the score lines. The stand arms interlock without requiring additional fasteners or complex manipulation, allowing the user to transform the stand with minimal effort.
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
Provides a compact, easy-to-carry solution that stably supports smartphones in both upright and landscape orientations, allowing for video viewing and notification access without the bulk of traditional stands.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible card body... The card body can be deformed into an electronic device stand configuration by deforming the card body into a bowed or flexed configuration
Implementation Method 2
The stand arms may be delimited by initially untorn, tearable score lines in the card body... The stand arms are flexed away from the remainder of the card body thereby defining an elongated opening
Data Source
AI summary
A convertible card and electronic device stand includes a card body fabricated of a flexible material. A pair of stand arms formed within the card body, oriented towards one another from opposite side portions of the card body. The card body is selectively deployable from an initially flat configuration in which the stand arms and remainder of the card body are arranged coplanar with each other, into a deformed, electronic device stand configuration. In the electronic device stand configuration, an electronic device opening is formed in the card body by flexing the stand arms away from a remainder of the card body; in turn, the remainder of the card body is arranged in a bowed configuration and the stand arms are interlocked with each other to secure the remainder of the card body in the bowed configuration.