Foldable Seat with Locking Top Wall for Dual-Function Storage Box
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable seats lack the ability to function as a storage box for objects due to their design, which prevents them from being used in a 180° swivel state for storage and custody of objects, as they are always capable of swiveling their top wall parts outward with a hinge.
Innovation Solution
A foldable seat design featuring a two-part top wall with swiveling parts connected by a top wall hinge, A-sidewalls connected by sidewall hinges, and B-sidewalls that support the top wall, incorporating locking devices with form-fitting elements to block the swiveling of top wall parts and absorb compressive forces, allowing the seat to transform into a storage box with the bottom surface facing upwards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the top wall parts are made swivelable with a top wall hinge, then the seat can be folded into a compact storage position, but the seat cannot reliably function as a storage box because the top wall parts can swivel outward
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device dynamically changes the state of the top wall hinge from movable to locked, allowing the structure to transition between folded and storage box states while maintaining structural integrity when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The locking device changes the positional parameter of the top wall parts by blocking their outward swiveling motion, transforming the structure from a flexible folded state to a rigid storage box configuration
2Reliability
If locking devices are added to block swiveling of top wall parts, then the seat can function as a stable storage box, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is designed to be activated by the user's own action of placing or removing objects, making the locking mechanism self-serving rather than requiring separate complex control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The locking function is segmented as a separate, modular device that can be independently added to the foldable seat structure, allowing the core folding mechanism to remain simple while adding storage box functionality
Data Source
AI summary
Foldable seat, which is foldable between a use position for use as a seat and a storage position for storage and transport of the seat, comprising a two-part top wall for the direct or indirect formation of a seating surface, two two-part A-sidewalls to support the top wall on a floor, two B-sidewalls to support the top wall on a floor, two top wall parts, which are swivelable to each other outwards with a top wall hinge, and form the top wall, whereby the foldable seat comprises at least one locking device for locking of the two top wall parts in the use position of the seat, so that the foldable seat additionally forms a storage box for storing objects on the bottom surface of the top wall with an orientation of the foldable seat with the bottom surface of the top wall upwards.