Floating table leg cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing tolerances and material variations in metal table and desking systems lead to insecure connections between table legs and support members, causing wobbling and shifting due to temperature changes and material expansion/contraction.
Innovation Solution
A resiliently movable cap member is used on table legs, featuring a planar shape corresponding to the leg, with a resilient member and fasteners to secure the cap against a supporting member, ensuring a tight connection and compensating for manufacturing tolerances and temperature changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal pieces are assembled using press fit connections, then structural strength is improved, but manufacturing tolerances and temperature changes cause the connections to loosen and the assembly to wobble
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a resilient member that changes its physical state between compressed and relaxed conditions. When compressed, it provides strong biasing force to secure the connection; when relaxed, it allows for assembly tolerance compensation. This parameter change enables the connection to maintain both strength and stability under varying conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member is pre-compressed during assembly to store elastic potential energy, creating a beforehand cushioning effect. This pre-compression ensures that the connection maintains constant biasing force to counteract loosening effects from temperature changes and manufacturing tolerances, preventing wobble and shifting before they occur.
2Reliability
If resilient members are used to compensate for tolerances, then connection stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member is integrated with the cap member and supporting member into a unified assembly structure. The cap member, supporting member, and resilient member work together as a single functional unit, reducing the need for separate adjustment mechanisms and simplifying the overall assembly process while maintaining connection stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member automatically adjusts to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and temperature changes without requiring external intervention or complex control systems. The biasing force self-regulates based on the compression state, providing stable connections through passive mechanical action rather than active control.
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
The solution provides a secure, gap-free connection that remains stable across temperature variations, enhancing the assembly and disassembly of modular tables and desking systems while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient member in a fastened coupling between the cap and supporting member
Implementation Method 2
Due to manufacturing tolerances and material variation, manufacturers are in a near continual struggle to configure metal pieces that fit together against one another in a secure and robust assembly. This is particularly difficult under specific conditions, such as a change of temperature, wherein the various metal pieces tend to contract and expand loosening joints
Data Source
AI summary
A floating tabletop leg cap configured for movable receipt onto the connecting portion of supporting member for positioning adjacent to an end portion of a table leg receiving the connecting portion. The floating tabletop leg cap including a resilient member affixed in a coupling between the supporting member and floating tabletop leg cap. Preferably, the resilient member is a compression spring configured to bias in a direction along a length of the table leg.