Foldable Adjustable Shelf for Easier High-Position Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adjustable shelves are difficult to move and position within storage apparatuses due to their solid nature, requiring significant angular manipulation and often preventing placement near the top, especially when obstructed by doors and structural members.
Innovation Solution
A foldable adjustable shelf with hingeably coupled planar members and an optional spring or moveable latch mechanism, allowing for easier insertion and removal by pivoting at angles and maintaining a substantially planar configuration for stable item support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a solid shelf is used for stable item support, then the shelf can maintain structural integrity, but it becomes difficult to move and position within the storage apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is divided into multiple planar members that can pivot relative to each other about hinge mechanisms. This segmentation allows the shelf to be manipulated in a folded configuration for easier insertion and removal, while maintaining structural integrity when deployed in a substantially planar configuration for stable item support.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the shelf is moved by pivoting at significant angles, then the shelf can be repositioned to different heights, but it cannot be positioned at certain locations near the top of the storage apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf utilizes a folding dimension perpendicular to its primary support function. By pivoting planar members about hinge mechanisms, the shelf can transition between a compact folded state for insertion/removal and a substantially planar state for item support, enabling access to top locations that would be inaccessible with traditional solid shelves.
3Ease of operation
If the shelf is made foldable with hinge mechanisms, then it becomes easier to insert and remove, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is divided into multiple planar members connected by hinge mechanisms, allowing it to fold for easier insertion and removal. The segmented structure enables compact manipulation while maintaining a substantially planar configuration when deployed for stable item support.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelf transitions from a static solid structure to a dynamic foldable structure with hinge mechanisms that allow pivoting. This dynamic capability enables the shelf to assume different configurations - folded for easy manipulation and substantially planar for stable item support - balancing operational ease with structural functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage apparatus with a shelf having first and second planar members hingeably coupled to each other by a hinge mechanism, and first and second walls spaced apart from each other, wherein each of the first and second walls have a means for holding the shelf at a location between the first and second walls, wherein the shelf is configured so that the first and second planar members are pivotable at angles relative to each other about the hinge mechanism for insertion into and removing from the location between the first and second walls.