Foldable counter assembly for use within the interior of a vehicle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recreational vehicles face challenges in efficiently utilizing their limited interior space to accommodate essential items like showers, storage facilities, working areas, and sleeping accommodations for multiple people without requiring excessively large vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A deployable privacy curtain assembly, a foldable counter assembly, and a seat/bed conversion assembly that can be easily deployed and stored within the vehicle, utilizing multi-purpose components such as a storage receptacle with a collapsible shower curtain, a folding counter, and a seat/bed conversion system that adapts to various configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If large RVs are used to accommodate multiple essential items and sleeping accommodations, then space for all items is sufficient, but vehicle size becomes excessively large and undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
The counter assembly transitions from a static structure to a dynamic, reconfigurable one. The panels can be folded between horizontal and vertical positions, and support legs can be extended or retracted, allowing the same physical structure to provide different functional configurations (counter vs. storage) without requiring additional space or a larger vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The counter is divided into multiple panels (first panel, second panel) that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the counter to be broken down into compact segments for storage and reassembled into a functional surface when needed, effectively multiplying the utility of the limited interior space.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple essential items like showers, storage facilities, and work benches are included in the RV, then functionality is improved, but interior space becomes overcrowded and difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The counter assembly serves multiple functions: it provides a work surface when panels are horizontal, and transforms into additional storage capacity when panels are vertical. This multi-functionality means one physical structure replaces what would traditionally require separate dedicated items (counter plus storage), reducing overall space requirements while maintaining functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic reconfigurability of the counter assembly allows it to adapt between different functional states. The same structure can serve as a counter during daytime activities and transform into storage during nighttime or when not in use, maximizing the utility of limited interior space without requiring permanent allocation to single functions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If fixed counters and storage facilities are installed in the RV, then structural stability is ensured, but space flexibility and reconfigurability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs incorporate a telescopic or extendable mechanism that provides structural stability when extended (supporting the counter surface) and allows compact storage when retracted. This dynamic adjustment capability maintains stability during use while enabling reconfigurability during storage, resolving the contradiction between fixed stability and flexible adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
By dividing the counter into separate panels with individual support legs, each segment can be independently stabilized when needed and independently stored when not in use. This segmentation allows the system to maintain structural integrity during operation while providing flexibility in configuration and storage, unlike a monolithic fixed structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable counter assembly for use within the interior of a vehicle. The assembly comprises a first lower support member and a second lower support member, a first panel having a first end rotatably affixed to the first lower support member and a second end, and a second panel having a first end rotatably affixed to the second lower support member and a second end, the first and second panels configured to be converted from a non-deployed configuration to a substantially horizontal deployed configuration to form a substantially horizontal support surface. The first and/or the second panel include a pair of foldable support legs vertically extendable beneath the second end of the respective panel towards a bottom surface of the vehicle when the panel to which it is attached is in the deployed configuration to provide support in the substantial center of the substantially horizontal support surface.